Course Description

Greek 101 gives students a basic overview of the Attic dialect of the ancient Greek language, including high frequency vocabulary and fundamental grammar.  Students will not only read and write but also listen and speak in Attic Greek: the course focuses on using Greek to achieve goals and complete tasks, rather than memorizing tables and charts.  

Attic Greek is the dialect of ancient Greek spoken in Athens in the classical period (roughly from the Persian Wars to the death of Alexander the Great).  The κοινή or "common" dialect of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, including the text of the New Testament, was based on Attic Greek with simplified grammar, a wider vocabulary, and a few spelling changes.  Attic, however, remained the prestigious literary dialect of Greece both in those times and later in the Byzantine empire.

This course does not teach modern Greek, which differs from Attic Greek much like modern Italian, French, and Spanish differ from ancient Latin.

Language Skills Objectives

Writing System

Learn to read and write in the ancient Greek alphabet, including breathing marks and accentuation.

Phonology

Learn to read ancient Greek aloud and speak it using the traditional reconstructed pronunciation of ancient Greek.

Morphology and Syntax

Learn to use nouns in the five cases (κλητική, ὀνομαστική, αἰτιατική, γενική, δοτική).  We'll proceed in Greek 101 case by case, focusing on function; we review declension by declension in Greek 102 and beyond.

Learn to modify nouns with adjectives and the definite article.

Learn the present tense of verbs, including -ω, -μαι, and -μι verbs.

Learn and differentiate between continuous and aorist participles, infinitives, and imperatives.

Vocabulary

Learn basic ancient Greek vocabulary, based on the top 50% vocabulary (the most common words that make up 50% of the existing ancient Greek corpus) and supplemented with less common vocabulary useful for discussing the daily life of a modern student in the Pacific Northwest.  Asking someone's astrological sign, for example, will be one of the first things you learn; ancient Greeks wrote books on astrology, so we can leverage modern life in learning ancient Greek.

Active Language Use

Ancient Greek is a language, like French or Spanish.  The fact that ancient Greek is an older language does not make it a code or logic puzzle instead of a language: it is still a language, and you should approach learning it as you would any other language.  You wouldn't try to learn Spanish by reading some grammar instructions, memorizing a list of vocabulary, and taking a quiz—you learn Spanish by using the language to get increasingly more complex points across to another human being.  The same applies to Greek: the more you use the language to express your thoughts, both in speech and writing, the better you will get at it.

Class Meetings

Greek 101 meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the fall quarter, from September 21 until December 9.  The class does not meet on Monday, September 5 (Labor Day), Friday, November 11 (Veterans Day), or Wednesday and Friday, November 25 and 25 (Thanksgiving).

There are two sections, each with its own meeting time and room:

• 40393: 8:30 AM – 9:50 AM in Miller Hall 022 (basement), and
• 41203: 11:30 AM – 12:50 PM in Humanities 110 Miller Hall 022 (basement).

Instructor

Miller Krause ( miller.krause@wwu.edu )

Office: Miller Hall 122D

Office Hours: MWF 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Required and Recommended Course Materials

There is no textbook to purchase for the class; you will be provided with chapters, both on paper and in PDF form, from a textbook being developed for active Attic Greek.

I have recommended some dictionaries and a reference grammar on the Resources page; all of them are available online for free in searchable forms as well as on paper for $20 or $30.  None of them are necessary, though.

University Services and Policies

I am more than happy to make accommodations for students with disabilities or other special needs. So that the Disability Access Center (DAC, formerly DRS) office can ensure that your needs are being met appropriately, all requests for accommodation must be made through the MyDAC system every quarter: accommodations do not automatically roll-over into future quarters. New students should enroll with the DAC office to receive accommodations.

Web: disability.wwu.edu
Email: drs@wwu.edu 
Phone: (360) 650-3083

The Student Health Center not only provides primary care services but also handles documentation of medical issues for you, making your life easier.

Web: studenthealth.wwu.edu 
Phone: (360) 650-3400

In the case of a family or personal crisis or emergency, please contact the Office of Student Life. During a personal or family crisis, the Office of Student Life can coordinate arrangements with all of your professors for you, making your life easier.

Web: wp.wwu.edu/officeofstudentlife
E-mail: student.life@wwu.edu 
Phone: (360) 650-3706

Western has a policy on academic honesty and a statement on integrity.

Course Requirements and Grading

Grading Scale

Course Requirements

συνουσία καὶ μετάληψις (Attendance and Participation; 20%)

Classes will give you time to interact with other students in Greek, and this will be the primary way that you learn ancient Greek.  You need the practice in interpersonal communication, including listening and speaking, that class provides, so you need to come to class.  I understand that sometimes problems do arise, so Canvas will automatically excuse three absences.

If you plan to miss class to undertake military service, observe religious holidays, or travel for sports or other University-sponsored activities, let me know in writing during the first two weeks of class, so that I can excuse your absences and work with you to change due dates for your assignments.

μελετήματα κατὰ ἡμέραν (Daily Assignments; 30%)

There will be short, daily assignments to turn in, some written and some spoken, to give you individual practice.

Turn in written assignments on paper in class.  Write assignments by hand this first quarter; you might want to try typing them in later quarters, but you should spend at least a quarter writing Greek by hand to get used to the new alphabet.  These assignments will give you a chance to practice reading and short-form writing on your own.  It is much faster and easier for me to review, comment on, and grade Greek assignments on paper than on Canvas.

Record and submit spoken assignments using Canvas.  There will be fewer of these, but they give me a good opportunity to check on individual students' pronunciation.  Illustrated instructions and a video are available at https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-record-media-using-the-Rich-Content-Editor-as-a-student/ta-p/379 

συγγράμματα ἑβδομαδικά (Weekly Compositions; 20%)

Each weekend, you will have a writing prompt for compositions, like "What do you like to do after class?" for a week where we talk about liking or disliking things.  At first, these won't differ much from the μελετήματα, because the linguistic resources you have upon which to draw at the beginning are meager; as the course progresses, these will offer you more opportunities to attempt expressing your thoughts across coherent paragraphs with appropriate transitional elements.  You'll be given an ἐγχειρίδιον (small book) in which to write: keep it, because you will continue writing συγγράμματα in these ἐγχειρίδια for as long as keep taking Greek at Western, just as the Latin students write in pugillaribus (pugillares is the Latin calque on ἐγχειρίδιον).  You should be able to judge your own progression in using the language by looking back at what you have done.

You are not obligated to tell the truth in your συγγράμματα—I don't really care what you like to do after class or what you did during the summer, and you don't have to tell me your secrets.  In fact, lying may be better, because it lets you adapt your response to your own proficiency and comfort zone.

ἐξετάσεις (Tests; 20%)

Each unit will have at least one short ἐξέτασις (quiz/test/assessment).  It is possible to finish these by oneself, but they are meant to be collaborative tasks: you may talk to each other during the tests and about the tests, so long as you speak only in ancient Greek.

ἡ ἐσχάτη ἐξέτασις (Final Examination, 10%)

There will be a final examination, to be taken in class on paper.  The final exam will be collaborative like the regular tests: you may talk to each other during the exam and about the exam, so long as you speak only in ancient Greek.  The final exams will be administered according to the Registrar's schedule for final examinations:

• 40393 (8:30): Monday, December 5, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
• 41203 (11:30): Friday, December 9, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Course Schedule

Overview of Course Units and Material

September 21–23	τὰ γράμματα	alphabet, accentuation, vowel euphony
September 26–October 7	λογος αʹ· προσαγόρευσις	basic greetings, nominative case, vocative case ἐξέτασις: October 7
October 10–21	λογος β'	accusative case present tense, infinitive ἐξέτασις: October 21
October 24–November 4	λογος γʹ	adjectives participles ἐξέτασις: November 4
November 7–21	λογος δʹ	the genitive case the dative case ἐξέτασις: November 21
November 23–25	εὐχαριστία	Thanksgiving Break
November 28–December 4	Review	Review
December 5 and 9 (depends on section)	ἡ ἐσχάτη ἐξέτασις	Final Examination