What language is most beneficial?

[Hermit76]

We're planning our homeschool curriculum for our kids. What language(s), in your opinion, would be beneficial for them in church life? I'm thinking more of reading in original languages than conversational.
Russian? Romanian? Greek?

I will say that there are a lot of fantastic video material in Russian that I wished we could understand without subtitles. Also, I'm finding that a lot of the Greek writings (Mt. Athos, etc) are already translated to English.

 

[archer75]

I don't know Romanian or Greek, so I mean nothing against them, but Russian is a fantastic language. And indeed, it seems to me there's a lot of untranslated material in Russian from the last couple centuries.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Slavonic...whichever you want.

 

[Hermit76]

Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Slavonic...whichever you want.

I took Latin in college. I dropped Latin II with a 32 average. I slept through weeks of that class

 

[Hermit76]

Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Slavonic...whichever you want.

Is Slavonic just applied in church?

 

[Ronit]

Spanish? Greek is good too

 

[archer75]

Is Slavonic just applied in church?

Basically. Learn Russian and then learn the differences and you'll be able to read Slavonic just fine.

 

[timewerx]

I think if you can pick two languages, Russian and Greek.

If you have to pick one, Greek is best - if you're planning on doing serious personal Bible studies, Greek is definitely it.

Russian as second simply because a lot of people speaks it. Many Europeans can speak the language.

 

[Monksailor]

English. of course. Bible version: NIV

 

[prodromos]

We're planning our homeschool curriculum for our kids. What language(s), in your opinion, would be beneficial for them in church life? I'm thinking more of reading in original languages than conversational.
Russian? Romanian? Greek?

I will say that there are a lot of fantastic video material in Russian that I wished we could understand without subtitles. Also, I'm finding that a lot of the Greek writings (Mt. Athos, etc) are already translated to English.

Chaucer's English

 

[rusmeister]

Language guy here -
Strategically, Fr Matt is right. It doesn’t matter. English ought to be foundational, of course.

BUT... we were all robbed in not being taught Latin and Greek in school - they are vitally important to understanding our own languages today, and a person who does not know them is at a tremendous disadvantage to one who does, both in the Church and in the world. Slavonic is also helpful in understanding Orthodox culture as well, but I think knowing the basics of Latin and Greek to be more important, and NOT because they can make us more “churchy”, but because being able to compare English text of Scripture with other translations is super-helpful, and can protect us from Anglocentric Sola Scripturism that worships the letter of what is written in an English translation that even comes to many via the Masoretic texts (KJV history).

So ancient Greek first, then Latin. And then, Slavonic. But the latter should definitely come later.

 

[dzheremi]

Greek and Latin seem like the obvious choices. As Rus writes above, they're helpful when dealing with English translations, too.

And what Archer75 wrote regarding the relationship of Russian and Church Slavonic is largely true of Latin and the other Romance languages (to varying degrees, of course), as it is of Hebrew and the other Semitic languages, if you wanted to go down that route. I know I'm very blessed to have grown up speaking Spanish, since Latin texts are a lot more transparent to me than they would otherwise be. Not that this helps all that much in the Coptic Orthodox Church in particular, but in a more general way it does. Depending on your level of dedication and your children's own interest, it might be interesting to connect to the Biblical text through these modern languages in a way that would actually be helpful in your Church -- i.e., since Hebrew is probably not all that useful in itself in a Church setting outside of perhaps some missionary parishes in Jerusalem, why not Arabic, or even Neo-Aramaic? There are a few thousand EO Assyrians in Russia and Georgia, after all, so that is technically a language in use by EO people. (Maybe more than would be speaking Hebrew, depending on how successful the EO outreach is to Israeli Jews.)

 

[Not David]

Greek and Latin seem like the obvious choices. As Rus writes above, they're helpful when dealing with English translations, too.

And what Archer75 wrote regarding the relationship of Russian and Church Slavonic is largely true of Latin and the other Romance languages (to varying degrees, of course), as it is of Hebrew and the other Semitic languages, if you wanted to go down that route. I know I'm very blessed to have grown up speaking Spanish, since Latin texts are a lot more transparent to me than they would otherwise be. Not that this helps all that much in the Coptic Orthodox Church in particular, but in a more general way it does. Depending on your level of dedication and your children's own interest, it might be interesting to connect to the Biblical text through these modern languages in a way that would actually be helpful in your Church -- i.e., since Hebrew is probably not all that useful in itself in a Church setting outside of perhaps some missionary parishes in Jerusalem, why not Arabic, or even Neo-Aramaic? There are a few thousand EO Assyrians in Russia and Georgia, after all, so that is technically a language in use by EO people. (Maybe more than would be speaking Hebrew, depending on how successful the EO outreach is to Israeli Jews.)

How come do you know Spanish?

 

[prodromos]

How come do you know Spanish?

I was under the impression that he lived in California.

 

[dzheremi]

How come do you know Spanish?

I am indeed from California. It's pretty common here.

Also, my grandmother came to the USA from Mexico when she was a kid. That's pretty common too, I guess.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Is Slavonic just applied in church?

yeah, but it can help you learn some of the other Slavic languages, sorta like how Latin can make it easier to learn Romance languages.

 

[Hermit76]

I appreciate how your suggestions apply to a long term study.

 

[Hank77]

Greek and Latin seem like the obvious choices. As Rus writes above, they're helpful when dealing with English translations, too.

Latin and Greek are the basis for much medical terminology. I took Latin in high school for this very reason.

 

[rusmeister]

Latin and Greek are the basis for much medical terminology. I took Latin in high school for this very reason.

Latin and Greek are the basis for much of our language, PERIOD. The great fallacy of our time is that it is only "useful" in medicine.

 

[archer75]

I appreciate how your suggestions apply to a long term study.

Can I ask what your short- and long- terms goals are? As you see them right now.

Language study with a goal in mind and with proper guidance can be much more efficient than many people imagine.

But you can also spin your wheels for years and get nowhere. Doing this as well as possible would be a huge, and I mean huge, plus for your entire family.