SDLC 105 Learning Journal #3

[Daniel Matthew Kunath]

Greek is a very structured language, as many if not all inflected languages are. While English tends to drift between rules borrowed largely from Latin, Greek, and Germanic languages, Greek follows a long but largely consistent set of rules for phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics. The endings of words fall into a few small categories, and very consistent rules for accenting apply. Each letter and diphthong has a single sound. However, although the words is very regular and orderly, Smaragda asserts that I can never know and appreciate the language without immersion. It is not enough to visit Greece, but to live like a Greek and to speak the language in the context of the country will help me learn it as a way of life. By doing so, I will be able to think like a Greek, and use the language to understand a whole world that has been entirely insulated from my own. With this in mind, we have tailored my learning plan to be fitting for a person out and about in the streets of Athens or in the olive groves by the sea, instead of for a tourist.