A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read, Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek [Paperback]

Harvey Bluedorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Before we can learn a language, we must master its alphabet. Yet many Greek grammars spend little time teaching the symbols and sounds of the Greek alphabet. Failure to master the basics of a language -- its spelling and phonics rules -- will cripple our progress in mastering the whole language. This new edition of A Greek Alphabetarion has been thoroughly revised and reformatted to make it easier for parents to teach their children, and for older students to learn by themselves. A syllabary (practice blending consonants and vowels) and a chrestomathy (practice reading sample passages) have been added in this new edition. A Greek Alphabetarion teaches the Greek alphabet in alphabetical order, letter by letter, using a rhythmic cadence to aid the student's memorization. Then, it teaches the alphabet in phonetic order, classifying each letter by its sound. A Greek Alphabetarion helps the student step-by-step to master reading Greek before moving on to study Greek grammar. Suitable for all ages, child through adult, in homeschools, private schools, colleges, and seminaries. Pronunciation CD included. Designed to be accompanied by A Greek Hupogrammon: A Beginner's Copybook for the Greek Alphabet with Pronunciations by Harvey Bluedorn.

Editorial Reviews

Review

First, in learning Greek, one must learn the alphabet. To memorize the 24 Greek capital letters and 25 small letters is not hard. One can do it in a day or two. But Mr. Bluedorn is not satisfied with that as an introduction to Greek. He proceeds to teach the student the sounds so he or she can pronounce the letters, and finally the words, as you read. This gives one the proper foundation, for to learn the parts, the sounds, and the symbols prepares the student to thoroughly handle the Greek Language. So, he says, read your lessons out loud; engage your mouth, your ears, hands, and eyes. This is the old-fashioned way of learning. And it works! In our judgment this is an excellent way to study Greek. In fact, this reviewer plans to go through it in order to more thoroughly understand the Greek of the New Testament. . . Please do yourself a favor, learn Greek. It sharpens the mind. . . . --Jay P. Green, Sr., editor and translator of the Interlinear Greek-English New Testament

The Greek Alphabetarion is also excellent. It is thorough, informative, and maintained my children's interest (range from age 6 to 17 both boys and girls). My kids fought over it several times. My kids might fight over the last scoop of ice cream, but not school books. They started leaving little notes for each other in Greek letters and became quite competitive. The ending selections from the Gospel of John were sufficient to encourage my older son to continue to study on his own after he completed the primer. I attended graduate school at the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 1989 and was the Director of Forensic (Speech and Debate) while a graduate student there. I have been a faculty member at St. Mary's College, IN; Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois, Washington State University, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks prior to homeschooling my children. I have held administrative positions at the University level. I have worked in the area of Educational Support Materials for several principles textbooks in the field of Economics such as earlier editions Ruffin and Gregory and Parkin. I am not readily impressed by curriculum materials for either the University, Secondary, or Primary grades or for homeschool. It is not uncommon for me to re-write material my children's use. This is one of the few programs that I have bought that required NO re-writing work on my part. In fact, I've never had to re-write any materials authored by the Bluedorns that I have purchased. I have always received more than fair value. --Barbara Haney Martinez, Ph.D.

Do you wonder if learning Greek is worthwhile? Harvey Bluedorn answers, Yes, Greek is worthwhile. Greek sharpens the mind, the language is useful for serving the Lord, and studying Greek is a preparation for revival. The next question: Can you learn Greek? Bluedorn answers once again, Yes! He describes A Greek Alphabetarion as an easy start with Greek. Students of all ages will study each Greek letter, in both the book and the accompanying CD. Then, they will transliterate words, and read selected biblical passages. Part three, the Greek Phonetic system for advanced students (who are at least ten years old), includes mutes, semi-vowels, and a chart of Greek phonetics. An appendix, The History of Languages, includes Japhetic languages, Hellenistic Greek, and biblical Greek. Bluedorn believes typical Greek grammars devote very little time or space to teaching Greek literacy. Instead, they expect students to master Greek literacy while they are studying Greek grammar. This is possibly true, in some instances. I did not note that problem, however, as I enjoyed Greek in seminary. A Greek Alphabetarion could smooth the way. I recommend this book as the first step to serious study...especially for anyone overwhelmed by languages. Reviewed by Roberta Lou Jones, MDiv, Volunteer, Church Children's Library, Dexter, Kentucky --Christian Library Journal

About the Author

Author Harvey Bluedorn and his wife Laurie started homeschooling their children in the late 70's and have given workshops on homeschooling and classical education for support groups and at conventions across the country. Their publishing company, Trivium Pursuit, produces books and curricula to help parents use classical education in their homeschool. Harvey Bluedorn has also authored Handy English Encoder Decoder, A Greek Hupogrammon, Homeschool Greek Volume I, Homeschool Greek Volume II (currently in beta version -- 2008), Ancient History from Primary Sources: A Literary Timeline, A Basic Exegetical and Expository Grammar of Biblical Greek, Vocabulary Bridges from English to Latin and Greek, Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style, and Stephanus 2000 in Unicode: The Traditional Greek Text with Full Diacritical Markings. The Bluedorns live in New Boston, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Trivium Pursuit; Fifth edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974361690
• ISBN-13: 978-0974361697
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Greek Alphabetarion, May 3, 2005

By 

Clara in Miami (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read, Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek (Paperback)

This program was developed by Harvey Bluedorn who along with his wife Laurie authored Teaching the Trivium. Having encouraged parents in the wisdom to consider teaching Greek, Mr. Bluedorn now provides us a venue to do so.
This program is designed so that a parent can easily and systematically begin to teach and learn Greek alongside their young children. An older child can easily go through the program at his own pace. The text is clear, well laid out and includes a valuable pronunciation CD. After completing this course one can continue a more in depth study of Greek with Mr. Bluedorn's Homeschool Greek program.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Addition to Home Schooling, March 28, 2005

By 

T. J. Stewart (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read, Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek (Paperback)

I have been using this as a supplement for homeschooling Greek. Rather than skim over the important process of learning the Greek alphabet, this set is entirely devoted to the learning of the Greek system of writing. I recommend it to anyone interested in developing a thorough understanding of the Fundamentals of the language.

My only nit is that there are not enough reading passages, but perhaps this is too much to ask for in such a compact set.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Way to Learn Greek!, July 29, 2005

By 

homeschool mom to seven children - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read, Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek (Paperback)

I recently purchased this book along with the Greek Alphabet Flash Cards, and Greek Alphabet Banner to use in teaching my children Greek. I love the way that Mr. Bluedorn has set up this language program.

Mastering the sounds of the Greek alphabet is truly the most practical way of beginning language study. I was saddened to see that Matt (review above) does not see the value of this book. It is not simply an alphabet book, it also teaches the phonetic code of Greek. The sounds the letters make. It uses a similar teaching system to the Spalding method (The Writing Road to Reading) and to Wanda Sanseri's method which is an Orton/Spalding based program called: Spell to Write and Read.

The reason that we have an epidemic of dyslexia in America today is because children are not taught the phonetic code of the English langauge. They are taught whole-language/sight reading methods and can often read only books containing the small number of words that they have been taught. When you teach the phonetic code of a language first children can sound out any word that they have not previously read and will read and comprehend at a much higher level. (For more information on this topic go to my amazon.com review of Spell to Write and Read.) The same will be true of children who are first taught the phonetic code of Greek. They will eventually read and comprehend Greek at a much higher level than their counterparts who were taught a few Greek words by sight.

Since I already teach my children with Spell to Write and Read and they are familiar with this system of learning, it should be relatively easy to add on this program. First we will master all the sounds of the Greek alphabet, then I will check my children's understanding by giving them Greek phonogram quizzes (a la Spell to Write and Read), and then we can work into spelling simple Greek words. Reading Greek will be the next natural step.

Though I feel challenged by the idea of studying Greek, having this well laid out system by Mr. Bluedorn gives me hope and the tools I need to dig in and start learning.

I highly recommend that you also purchase the Greek Alphabet Flash Cards and the Greek Alphabet Banner to go along with this book and CD. We have already placed our Greek Alphabet Banner in our kitchen and it is quite beautiful and draws our children into a curiosity about these "strange letters." Curiosity is the first step to learning!

I am also looking forward to purchasing Mr. Bluedorn's Greek Copy book that will be available later this summer.

Britta McColl
Morning Star Learning
www.morningstarlearning.com