Not strictly the purpose of this blog but on topic for the website. Benjamin, any plans to release more New Testament books imminently in audio form? I am just preparing to record my own of some texts for personal use, if you are about to release some books though then I will avoid doing those
You're not in this alone! Language is a team sport.
It is not easy to develop fluency in Koine Greek as a student or a teacher, but it is fun! One thing you can do, however, to make it easier, is to connect with other students and teachers doing the same. Feel free to make connections and discuss all matters of Koine Greek as a living language here!
If you can tolerate listening to the modern pronunciation, the whole NT is recorded in audio-visual format on YouTube.
Thanks Jason, modern wouldn’t be too bad but I wanted it for on the go which would chew up my data if I did it through YouTube. Doing my own would probably have some vague benefit anyway, just didn’t want to duplicate effort if not needed
You don't need to stream YouTube audio for this. The only advantage I see in that is that the text cycles with the audio - if you want to read along. In that cast, I prefer to have the text scrolling up like in this playlist: https://youtu.be/Pa8i-F04PKQ
That recording is of a native speaker (Apostolos Vavylis) who reads briskly and articulately. He's much better than the reader linked further up the chain, IMO. I hope I'm not committing some kind of blasphemy on this forum by recommending resources that use Ecclesiastical (Reuchlinian/Modern) Greek Pronunciation. But here you go:
I think your best option is the Bible.is app (or website) and select the "Ancient 1904 Ecumenical Patriarchal Text" version of the NT. That's the same version as the one I linked above. You can press play on the audio with the text pulled up (and ignore the text if you just want to listen). You can download it for later offline listening. The text does not scroll with the audio, unfortunately. So you have to scroll manually and you can easily lose your place.
You can also access that version through the iTunes store via Podcast (Faith Comes Through Hearing). But I've had issues trying to keep those versions saved to my device for offline listening. I don't use it anymore.
Bible.is now offers the "OT: Septuaginta LXX NT: Antoniades Patriarchal Edition", which is a new addition. This version has OT and NT. But, as far as I can tell, this NT audio is the same as the ones mentioned above. So selecting this version gives you access to the whole bible in Koine Greek.
You can also order this NT audio on CD (MP3 format) through the Hellenic Bible Society's website: https://www.greekbibles.org/index.php?id_product=41&controller=product&id_lang=1
This is a box set of the OT & NT in Today's Greek Version 2013 edition (the "authorized" Modern Greek translation). But the set also contains 1 CD with the 1904 Antoniadis (Patriarchal Text) version mentioned above.
This may be useful if you want to rip the MP3 files to your personal hard drive. Pulling the MP3s from your iTunes folder may or may not work for you, if you want to export those files to another listening platform. But otherwise, if you have no use for the Modern Greek audio, you probably don't need the CDs at all.
It does not seem like the HBS offers the above-mentioned LXX version on CD yet. But I think Bible.is can be your one-stop-shop for all of the above.
And by no means "blasphemy"! I've listened to the Bible.is Modern Greek NT plenty. I highly recommend it in lieu of a complete NT being ready in Restored Koine pronunciation. Even if we had a full Living Koine NT, it is still good to get the ear in tune with Modern Greek--or as Greeks call it, 'Greek'--as well.
In light of the earlier comment about "tolerating" Modern Greek pronunciation, I assume I should tread lightly on the topic. I don't want to be branded a "heretic"! LOL.
I actually do have a link to a full NT in Koine Pronunciation: http://www.helding.net/greeklatinaudio/greek/
It's a directory of MP3 files. Each track begins with "produced by GreekLatinAudio.com - Austin, Texas". But I can't seem to find the proper website and I don't know to whom I should properly give credit for this endeavor. The same reader has a complete Latin NT in the same online directory, along with a few OT books in Hebrew.
The text he reads appears to be the Critical Text (not the TR or MT or any other Byzantine Text-Type). So some people may find that preferable if they are die-hards for the CT.
The reader doesn't seem to adhere to all of the conventions prescribed by most of the proponents of Restored Koine Pronunciation that I'm familiar with (i.e. Buth). But that's all I'm going to say because I really don't want to be critical. Anyone willing to sink in the time and effort to record the entire NT deserves a great deal of respect, IMO.
Thanks for checking, Matthew. I think down the pipeline are Acts, Romans, and then possibly Genesis (LXX) or the Gospel according to Matthew. It will probably be months before I get to these.
On a side note, the Gospel of Mark film in Koine Greek is coming out in the near near future at this point (God-willing).
Great, thanks for that information. Definitely looking forward to the gospel of Mark film. I will start working through books other than the ones you mentioned. I am probably going to have to do the same with 2 Maccabees and Josephus’ Antiquities so that I don’t forget everything I have worked on in grammar and vocab. Not enough time in the day to keep rereading along with all the other books I have on the go
I just recorded 1 Peter 1, let’s just say I have even more respect for your recordings after that!
Care to share it? (If you can upload it somewhere and then link to it)
Yes, recordings involve a lot more than meets the eye at first. I'd be curious to hear more about your experience and what you found difficult or surprising in the process. I know simply technical issues and audio became something I had to give more attention to the more I got into things.
Unfortunately it is the Tyndale House version so I am guessing copyright would be an issue with that. What I found difficult was reading in a way that brought out the tone of the passage. It is one thing to read it, it is another to then give it some emotional emphasis and place stress where it was intended. I think this was perhaps also the best thing about doing it as well as the hardest, it made me think through things in that light. Trying to do the above whilst getting pronunciation correct was hard to juggle in places. The more I read out loud the easier that becomes, and I wonder whether it might contribute in some way to my fluency overall. The other issue I was having was the software I was using on my iPhone. This made cutting possible if I stumbled, but it definitely wasn’t an easy process. I sent you a message on b-Greek. Would be interested in hearing your thoughts.