Literary Discussions

I was age 22 when I commenced BUT I had studied ancient Greek for two years in college. I worked a simple factory job, lived at home with my mother, and spent 5 to 16 hours per day (weekends were more) memorizing passages and reciting them (this is very helpful), carrying a lexicon dictionary with me at all times... building vocabulary.... and spending all my time with Greeks who spoke no English. After 1 year, suddenly, one night, something snapped in my mind and suddenly I was understanding everything that was being said. It was an incredible, magical experience.

Bear in mind that many factors such as AGE (a baby learns every language but the window of learning ability constantly closes and by 30 is quite closed) ... also, one's foundation in grammar itself...  and also one's native ability to learn languages.... I feel certain that mine was limited whereas I have known people who easily learned a number of languages.

Definitely make every effort during those 2 years to become fluent in modern Greek. Greek has the longest continuous spoken and written history of any language except Chinese. Xenephon if he came back to life would understand much of an Athenian newspaper and an Athenian high school graduate would understand much of Xenephon.... HOWEVER... Homeric Greek is as different from Plato/Aristotle Greek as Shakespeare is from Chaucer or Beowulf. Modern formal Greek (e.g. courts, constitutions... called Katharevousa) is very different from everyday demotic Greek in the street which in turn is different from Maliaree (hairy greek ) which is the patois... think of how Jamaicans speak English (and it is a pigeon english).... Socrates quoted Homer when he wanted to sound profound, just as we quote Shakespeare or King James Bible.  But, the greek of playwrites like Aesculus, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes was different from Plato/Aristotle... and perhaps the most challenging were things like the verses of Sappho.