Songs as a method for internalizing Greek
Posted: May 12th, 2011, 11:20 pm
One of the things I've been involved in over the last several years has been to translate Praise and Worship songs, Children's song, and many secular songs into Koine Greek. Why would I do this? Why is this valuable to those wishing to internalize Greek?
1) Songs are stored in the memory different than memorizing texts and other passages.
2) I have a strong belief, that popular songs have a latent, preset pattern of recognizable and expected phrases and sayings. People who like and immediately recognize a tune have the words/thoughts which are associated with that tune go through their minds. When they hear a tune, they hear the words (in their native tongue - if that version has been popularized.)
they cannot stop those words from populating their minds. This immediate connection between tune and words, is a connection which language teaching can use to maximize 2nd language learning.
3) I've had a number of students, both in young (17) and old (69) who have really appreciated learning modern songs (songs they have a close familiarity with) in Koine Greek. They are convinced that learning songs (learning Greek by learning Greek songs) has helped them. One of the favorite songs is "He's got the whole world in his hand(s)." This song teaches ἔχει, ὅλον τὸ κόσμον, ἐν χειρί. There are a number of verses. When teaching class, I constantly revert to this song phrase. The students implicitly know what it means.
I would like to continue this thread. But it the meantime, give the link to my song site, which desperately needs updating. Take a look at http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs. Give a few a try.
P.S. One of my favorite is a non-Christian song, which is not published there: The Banana Song.
1 ἡὼς, ἡὼς,
2 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
3 ἡὼς, ἐρῶ ἡὼς, ἐρῶ ἠώς
4 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
5 νύκτα πᾶσαν ἠργαζόμην μόνον οἶνον πίων·
6 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
7 ἕως φάνῃ ἠὼς σταφυλὰς κομιῶ
8 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
9 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μου
10 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
11 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μοι
12 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
13 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
14 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
15 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
16 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
17 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
18 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
19 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἐρῶ ἠὼς
20 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
21 καλὸς ὁ βότρυς σταφυλῶν ὠραίων
22 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
23 δεινὸς ὁ ἀράχνης ὁ μέλας τε καὶ κρυπτός.
24 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
25 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
26 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
27 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
28 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
29 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἠὼς
30 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
31 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
32 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
33 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μου
34 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
35 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μοι
36 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
37 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἠὼς
38 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
39 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
40 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
Greek text, ©2010 Louis Sorenson, LetsReadGreek.com
(Academic and Personal use freely allowed with credits).
English Lyrics
(Harry Belafonte, The Banana Song, 1956)
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Stack banana till de morning come
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Beautiful bunch of ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day....ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Song Lyrics: "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)"
First Recorded by: "Edric Connor and the Caribbeans" (1952)
Best Known Recording: "Harry Belafonte" (1956)
Written by: (Traditional Jamaican Mento folk song)
Rewritten by: (Irving Burgie and William Attaway) (1956)
English Audio: http://www.elyrics.net/read/h/harry-bel ... cs-18.html
1) Songs are stored in the memory different than memorizing texts and other passages.
2) I have a strong belief, that popular songs have a latent, preset pattern of recognizable and expected phrases and sayings. People who like and immediately recognize a tune have the words/thoughts which are associated with that tune go through their minds. When they hear a tune, they hear the words (in their native tongue - if that version has been popularized.)
they cannot stop those words from populating their minds. This immediate connection between tune and words, is a connection which language teaching can use to maximize 2nd language learning.
3) I've had a number of students, both in young (17) and old (69) who have really appreciated learning modern songs (songs they have a close familiarity with) in Koine Greek. They are convinced that learning songs (learning Greek by learning Greek songs) has helped them. One of the favorite songs is "He's got the whole world in his hand(s)." This song teaches ἔχει, ὅλον τὸ κόσμον, ἐν χειρί. There are a number of verses. When teaching class, I constantly revert to this song phrase. The students implicitly know what it means.
I would like to continue this thread. But it the meantime, give the link to my song site, which desperately needs updating. Take a look at http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs. Give a few a try.
P.S. One of my favorite is a non-Christian song, which is not published there: The Banana Song.
1 ἡὼς, ἡὼς,
2 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
3 ἡὼς, ἐρῶ ἡὼς, ἐρῶ ἠώς
4 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
5 νύκτα πᾶσαν ἠργαζόμην μόνον οἶνον πίων·
6 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
7 ἕως φάνῃ ἠὼς σταφυλὰς κομιῶ
8 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
9 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μου
10 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
11 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μοι
12 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
13 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
14 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
15 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
16 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
17 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
18 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
19 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἐρῶ ἠὼς
20 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
21 καλὸς ὁ βότρυς σταφυλῶν ὠραίων
22 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
23 δεινὸς ὁ ἀράχνης ὁ μέλας τε καὶ κρυπτός.
24 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
25 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
26 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
27 αἴρων ἄνω αὖ ἓξ, ἑπτὰ, ὀκτώ.
28 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
29 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἠὼς
30 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
31 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
32 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
33 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μου
34 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
35 ἄγε ὦ ταμία λογίζου σταφυλάς μοι
36 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
37 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς ἠὼς
38 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
39 ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς, ἐρῶ ἠὼς
40 ἥκει ἡὼς, οἴκαδε δ' ἰέναι θέλω.
Greek text, ©2010 Louis Sorenson, LetsReadGreek.com
(Academic and Personal use freely allowed with credits).
English Lyrics
(Harry Belafonte, The Banana Song, 1956)
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Stack banana till de morning come
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Beautiful bunch of ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day....ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Song Lyrics: "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)"
First Recorded by: "Edric Connor and the Caribbeans" (1952)
Best Known Recording: "Harry Belafonte" (1956)
Written by: (Traditional Jamaican Mento folk song)
Rewritten by: (Irving Burgie and William Attaway) (1956)
English Audio: http://www.elyrics.net/read/h/harry-bel ... cs-18.html