New Introduction to Greek

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent yet friendly introduction to the Greek language
Review: As a beginning student in the Greek language it at first seemed an insurmountable task to learn such a language that is "Greek" to me. With a very different and imposing alphabet I thought that it would be hard to come by. Not so with Chase and Phillips text.

Even though I am still in the beginning chapters of this text, it is arranged in a very user friendly format, and the first three chapters are arranged so that it is not too complex or overwhelming, so as not to discourage, but to encourage the student to continue on with a bit of self-esteem.

I have not had the time to really compare the differences between this and Athenaze (the other Greek text) but from what I have seen and heard, the Chase and Phillips excels the Athenaze in most every aspect of the texts. I would highly recommend this text to anyone who is interested in learning CLASSICAL Greek based on the ease and friendly format of this text.

Rating:
Summary: Rigorous, Terse, and Solid
Review: I took several years to learn elementary ancient Greek and tried a number of different textbooks in the process. Athenaze (Balme and Lawall, Oxford Univ. Press) was my initial choice, and I proceeded through the entire first volume. I found, however, that the overabundance of vocabulary to learn meant that I would get bogged down with vocab flash cards rather than move through the grammar. I chose Chase and Phillips, therefore, for its brevity---and brevity it has. Hardly anything is repeated, meaning that you had better learn every paradigm and every word in each lesson's list very carefully. (The upshot of this, of course, is that you will be able to read real texts more quickly). I enjoyed Chase and Phillips' brisk pace and learned quickly to commit every table and list to memory immediately.

With all that having been said, there are some downsides to C&P. First of all, without at least some knowledge of Latin, it may take you much longer to learn the cases and their specific uses, which are almost identical to those in Latin (e.g., dative of possession). Second, the English exercises, and many of the Greek translations, are quite difficult, and you may find the lack of guidance frustrating. At times I completed the sentences knowing that my idiom was totally wrong, but sure of how to write. Third, while short vocabulary lists decrease the amount of memorizing time, they also make reading texts, once you're out of the book, more tedious at first. Freeman and Lowe's A Greek Reader for Schools might be a good set of texts to begin with; I would not, however, move straight from Chase and Phillips into Plato or Herodotus unless you have access to a good tutor. Finally, some topics, such as when to use the different forms of indirect statement, are simply not understandable without some help from an ancillary grammar (I used Smyth's Greek Grammar); the Perseus Project (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu) has some good tools on verb form recognition.

In short, if you want a very terse, challenging introduction to Greek and have the requisite grammatical knowledge, Chase and Phillips is for you. Otherwise, there are many other Greek books out there. Mastronarde is probably not appropriate for self-study, and Athenaze, though popular, is also not intended for the autodidact. Shop around: Crosby and Schaeffer, Hansen and Quinn, and White (an old American classic) are all possibilities.

Good luck in your studies, and remember that the goal of reading ancient Greek is worthy of the effort it requires.

Rating:
Summary: A very good grammar
Review: I was inducted into Greek through the Chase and Phillips book in college under a knowledgeable instructor after having had much Latin, so perhaps my experience is not that of most readers. The book divides its content well, but chapter ordering could have been done differently. Out of 40 chapters, the Aorist passive and whole perfect system doesn't show up until 31 and 32 respectively. This is particularly problematic with the perfect system, because its morphology in Greek is highly irregular for several (most?) verbs and as introduced here, the reader has little regular practice with the commonly irregulars in real literature. Imperatives and "eimí", "eiˆmi", and "oida" are crammed in even later, creating the same problem. Nonetheless, paradigms and examples are abundant and clear. If I can find what I need in this book I will not bother to open Smythe.

Vocabulary is kept at a minimum but the list selected is pretty good for going right into Plato, Xenophon, or Euripides, which I think is good for a grammar, when trying to lay down concepts efficiently. It would be nice to see an attendant reader like the Oxford course has for greater vocabulary usage.

The Greek composition exercises really shouldn't be included. Chase and Phillips provide little if any instruction in writing Greek; you're meant to just guess it out from the grammar you learn with no explanation of style or common usage. I was assigned several of these in school and though I did well enough, my suggestions came from the teacher.

There is no attention given to the Ionic or Doric dialects which compels me to advise against using this for anyone seeking foremost to pick up Homer or Herodotus.

Having learned Greek through this text, I feel I cannot accurately compare it to any other grammars since I can only approach those with too much foreknowledge. New Introduction to Greek presents most concepts very lucidly, has excellent charts/graphs in each chapter and fine appendices. Under expert guidance it is a very approachable for the serious student and makes a handy quick-reference tool.

Rating:
Summary: Outdated and Frustrating
Review: If you have little or no background in Latin, then this book will only serve to confuse and frustrate you. The introduction claims that it is meant for students with two years in Latin, and if you have had this much Latin, then you should have enough knowledge of the classical grammar systems to simply re-apply it to the Greek language. WIthout this background, or without a great instructor, you will be lost, because Chase & Philips most often introduces a knew form, gives one or two paradigms for it, and nothing else. Rarely are there examples and even more rare are parallels to English given so that you can figure out the essential basic translations. Beginners beware!

Rating:
Summary: Outdated and Frustrating
Review: If you have little or no background in Latin, then this book will only serve to confuse and frustrate you. The introduction claims that it is meant for students with two years in Latin, and if you have had this much Latin, then you should have enough knowledge of the classical grammar systems to simply re-apply it to the Greek language. WIthout this background, or without a great instructor, you will be lost, because Chase & Philips most often introduces a knew form, gives one or two paradigms for it, and nothing else. Rarely are there examples and even more rare are parallels to English given so that you can figure out the essential basic translations. Beginners beware!

Rating:
Summary: Very compact introduction to Classical Greek
Review: This book is a very compact introduction to Classical Greek. It assumes some knowledge of ancient indo-European grammar, as can be learnt in a year of Latin. The advantage of this approach is that the main concepts are not obscured by repetitions and also the fact that the book is very short (All lessons are contained in 152 pages.)

The book will be useful to beginners with the appropriate grammatical knowledge and to students looking for a second Greek grammar or for a compact reference. The reference section is in appendixes at the end of the book. They are very complete and simple to use, if you already know some Greek.

I must add that the illustrations in this book are exceptionally good. They add much to the pleasure of reading this otherwise very dry work.

Rating:
Summary: Give it some time
Review: When I first started with Chase & Phillips I became very frustrated. I was used to language courses that employed repition. This book contains little to no repitition.

As unpopular as the notion is, only hard work will get you through this book. Unlike other coursebooks, however, this one will remain useful after you have finished the course. The books lack of repition is due to its systematic introduction of key concepts. Its terse style gives you exactly what you need to know, when you need to know it. The way you progress when you follow this book page-by-page is uncanny. It was written 100 years ago and hasn't been updated much at all. There is very little that one could add. I am a third year student of Greek, and still use the one copy that I purchased years ago. It is no longer a textbook to me, but a reference tool. That is what lends this text so much versatility and longevity.

Rating:
Summary: Give it some time
Review: When I first started with Chase & Phillips I became very frustrated. I was used to language courses that employed repetition. This book contains little to no repetition.

As unpopular as the notion is, only hard work will get you through this book. Unlike other coursebooks, however, this one will remain useful after you have finished the course. The books lack of repition is due to its systematic introduction of key concepts. Its terse style gives you exactly what you need to know, when you need to know it. The way you progress when you follow this book page-by-page is uncanny. It was written 100 years ago and hasn't been updated much at all. There is very little that one could add. I am a third year student of Greek, and still use the one copy that I purchased years ago. It is no longer a textbook to me, but a reference tool. That is what lends this text so much versatility and longevity.