Sep 11
Being sceptical about reverse interlinears
This post on the Logos blog is clearly a marketing puff. But it wishes to advertise reverse interlinear translations as a way of learning Greek and Hebrew, though I fear it may promote them as a substitute. How far will this approach take you?
Apart from the convenience of a rare example where the word order coincides, this simply encourages a false assumption of semantic overlap between individual Greek and English words, so that the most you can learn is a kind of Greeklish. The blog does acknowledge that “the benefits are best realized with first class, formal instruction in grammar and hermeneutics” but even this seems to me woefully underwhelming in its appreciation of how language actually works.
Perhaps the worst kind of idea people take from this word-level approach to learning languages is the bizarre idea expressed in the first comment:
The Bible wasn’t written in English for a reason. God chose greek and hebrew for a reason. (his lower case)
Er … No. God chose people, not languages, and language comes with them. Learning a language is a life-long cultural engagement with a people in their self-expression and communication, where endless possible nuances are generated by near infinite combinations of words, in fresh utterances. There’s a very good possibility that no-one has ever written that statement before now, even if they’ve expressed almost identical sentiments. That constant variation is what language is like, and why a word based, even a phrase based, approach shaped by the terms and patterns of a different language, will always be a very transitory early stage of language learning, to be left behind as quickly as possible. I fear that this reverse-interlinear approach will end up stuck in that early stage.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Interlinears are the Devil’s tools. They allow presumption and reinforce dilettantism. We all know at least two people who have no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew, but with interlinear in hand, have the unmitigated hubris to assume the right of argumentation with actual scholars.
September 11th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
[...] up requires a computer.” Well, enter Logos Bible software, now with reverse interlinears (HT: Metacatholic–I recommend you read his entire post). Now don’t get me wrong. I own Logos with all the [...]
September 12th, 2007 at 5:03 am
I find the exclusivist label “dilettante” to be perjorative and insulting. It is typical of the ivory-tower cabal that would like all the world to look to them for “the answer.” Such slurs are motivated by the same spirit that condemns Wikipedia. In fact, condemns anything that doesn’t precisely conform to someone’s narrow conceptions of acceptability.
Having said that, I have to agree that an interlinear in the hand’s of a fool is indeed the Devil’s tool.
September 12th, 2007 at 11:35 am
‘allow presumption and reinforce dilettantism?’ hey, it’s a rich world out there. gotta start somewhere.