Speaking Ancient Greek in modern-day Greece?

Today we are interviewing Basil-Anne, our Greek and Latin tutor. We talked about starting a language from scratch at Reed, the GLAM department, and studying abroad as a speaker of ancient languages!

Leilani: Would you like to talk a bit about your background, why you chose to study Greek and Latin?

Basil-Anne: Sure! I have studied Latin for a very, very long time. I started officially in fourth grade, but I think my first real Latin class was in seventh grade. So I’ve been taking it for a really long time. And I came into Reed undecided but I was very strongly either going to be a GLAM [Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies] major or be in the Sociology department. I went to the GLAM open house during O-week and fell in love and was like, “This is where I want to be.” So I dropped Intro Sociology and switched into another GLAM class and have not looked back.

L: You mentioned taking Latin prior to Reed. Did you have the same experience with Greek, or did you start with Intro Greek?

B: I started with Intro Greek, and Greek was a lot harder than Latin because I was starting from scratch. But it’s a very cool language. My favorite thing about just Greek and Latin in general, and I don’t know if this is true for all language learners, is the kind of peak you hit where you’re thinking of every single thing and all of a sudden, you’re just not thinking of every single grammar thing anymore. That’s a really fun moment for me. It corresponds with the course load, like you switch from language classes to literature classes, and that’s just such a fun transition for me, of being able to be like, “OK, I know what I’m doing, and now I actually get to talk about literature.” Which is why language is so fun. So with Greek, I really got to see that process condensed from freshman year to now, senior year. It was great.

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Meet Sabrina! (Latin)

Salve! I’m a senior English major and Greek and Latin minor, and I have taken Latin classes from Alice, Ellen, and Sonia. I’m especially interested in the intersections between Latin and English literature, and am currently writing my thesis on the influence of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass on Early Modern English comedy and romance. I am eager to help with all kinds of Latin study, such as vocab memorization, preparing for exams, practicing forms, or talking through translations. Whatever it may be, I am here to support you, and I will do my best to cater to your specific needs.

LangLabbie note: Visit the Language Lab for Sabrina’s drop-in hours!