Mrs.Cicero Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 I've given up trying to learn any language with a completely different alphabet from English. The extra letters in Polish is about as far out there as I can get. Chinese defeated me. So for kicks and giggles I have started writing mirror-image, because hey, if Leonardo da Vinci wrote his notes that way, it's good enough for me. It is far easier to write it than it is to read it without a mirror. If any of you who can do multiple alphabets have some suggestions for how to learn them, I'd love to hear them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maccabeus Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Mrs.Cicero said: If any of you who can do multiple alphabets have some suggestions for how to learn them, I'd love to hear them. Hmmm, well, that's hard to say. On the one hand, I found the grammar of Greek harder to deal with than visually interacting with the different alphabet. On the other hand, Greek letters are already somewhat familiar to English speakers through Greek life on university campuses or in the sciences, etc. Also, like with Latin, there are obvious English connections to some of the words that ended up in our language. I dabbled in some Japanese in undergrad (which I think is easier than Chinese even though it has 3 "alphabets" over the 1 in Chinese. The Kanji [or whatever they are called in Chinese] is raw memorization and even combinations of known symbols don't always have a logical connection to their component parts and radicals, but the other two Japanese alphabets are phonetic, so you can at least easily look up words you don't know in a dictionary). Later, I picked up the ancient Hebrew. I know quite a few folks who studied it that really struggled because it is so foreign compared to English. No loan words or identifiable roots. But, my brain must just be wired for it, because I found the Hebrew easier than the more familiar Greek. (And easier than Japanese Kanji). But, in the end, for all of them with their unique alphabets, it really came down to raw memorization, flash cards, and regular use. In each case, I was learning alongside others to practice with and was expected to know and show proficiency with the latest material I had learned. It would take a whole extra level of dedication to pound that stuff (including the accompanying grammar rules) into my head if I were learning solo as a side hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moshe Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I feel you. Spanish is a breeze (For me), Yiddish has a lot of borrowed words borrows from Germanic. But, Old English was basically German anyway. Hebrew phonetic is not that bad, but I am determined to do block letters, and train the mind to read from right to left is something that has to be ever present. Flash cards from raw memory, as you say. Grammar books, to learn basic expressions. It is one of the languages you have to approach from a child perspective, until you can sink your teeth into it. Paleo Hebrew interests me the most, but it is fairly illusive this side of a Seminary. If you break down and try it in Rosetta Stone, you get rote memorization of modern words like airplane, ball, etc. You can get online courses for a hefty sum, out of Israel. Most Universities I looked at in the United States will love to teach you Arabic all day long. Hebrew, not so much, for obvious reasons. This concept of Revisionist History, and pro-terrorist counties is nothing new. There was, ironically, a feminist Ancient History instructor that I dropped like a hot rock. Everything was Pro-Islam, everything the Greeks knew they stole from Africa, and to learn about Ancient Egypt (which I had already had a grasp of), she brought up the Rosecrutians (People who believe they are reincarnated Egyptians) for that portion. Mind you, this was the Mid-90's, Universities have gotten worse since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RugerCat78 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Yiddish is actually a Germanic language that uses the Hebrew alphabet. English is also Germanic, although heavily influenced by French due to the Norman invasion in 1066. Both are part of the Indo-European language family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maccabeus Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) On 1/1/2019 at 11:04 AM, Moshe said: ... I am determined to do block letters,... Have you checked out some of the online learning courses? You're right that finding biblical Hebrew classes outside of a seminary setting can be few and far between, but some make their courses available online. I'm sure there are any number of them out there. Two I'm familiar with are: The Master's Seminary (affiliated with John MacArthur): https://www.youtube.com/user/JoshuaCrooch/playlists?shelf_id=24&view=50&sort=dd Or this one from some of the conservative Lutherans (I don't know if the liberal Lutherans even bother to teach their pastors to read the bible anymore, since liberal Christianity spends all its time either ignoring or explaining away whatever the bible actually says): https://scholar.csl.edu/hebrew/ The Master's Sem. one is more professionally produced. It also has a lot more tangential info about the language, history, modern Hebrew comments, etc. You have to get 45 minutes into the 1st video before you are even introduced to the alphabet. The other is less polished, but right off the bat you learn not only the letters, but also how to write them. I'd encourage you to find an online tutorial like one of these, buy the corresponding textbook and start working through it. You'll have a great advantage over others because you are already familiar with the modern language and the transliterations. Edited January 3, 2019 by Maccabeus "buy", not but 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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