>>> BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN
WRITTEN IN THE 8TH CENTURY
B.C.
"THE ODYSSEY" IS ONE OF
THE OLDEST AND MOST IMPORTANT
STORIES OF ALL TIME.
IT'S
READ ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT
TODAY SELDOM IN ITS ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE OF ANCIENT GREEK.
IN
THE PIONEER VALLEY, ONE GROUP
IS TRYING TO GET BACK TO
HOMER'S ORIGINAL WORDS.
ROSS
LIPPMAN TAKES US TO FORBES
LIBRARY AND INTRODUCES US TO
THE GROUP ON A READING ODYSSEY
OF THEIR OWN.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING TO READ HERE AT THE
LIBRARY IN NORTHAMPTON, ODDS
ARE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND ONE
COPY OF ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY
PUBLISHED PIECES OF WRITING OF
ALL TIME.
HOMER'S 8th CENTURY GREEK
EPIC, THE ODYSSEY.
IT'S A VERSION WITH THE
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TELLING OF
HIS JOURNEY, THE ONE THING
THAT ALL OF THESE HAVE IN
COMMON IS THEY'RE IN ENGLISH.
ON THE FLOOR JUST ABOVE US, A
GROUP OF GREEK ENTHUSIASTS ARE
TRYING TO GET AS CLOSE TO
HOMER'S ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE.
BY BRINGING A LOST LANGUAGE
BACK
TO LIFE.
[ FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
>> EVERY TUESDAY, NICHOLAS
THE ODYSSEY ALLOWED IN ANCIENT
GREEK.
GROSS WAS A COLLEGE PROFESSOR
FOR OVER 40 YEARS TEACHING
LATIN AND GREEK, AND HE'S
STILL TEACHING AHEAD OF HIS 80th
BIRTHDAY WITH THESE VOLUNTEER
STUDENTS.
[ GREEK ]
>> THESE STUDENTS DON'T THINK
UNDERGRADUATES, ALL RIGHT.
I MEAN, WHEN -- THERE WAS A
TIME WE HAD A MISSED CLASS,
THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD HAVE
AN EXTRA ASSIGNMENT.
>> THE CLASS PRETTY MUCH WORKS
THE SAME EACH WEEK.
GROSS PICKS UP WHERE THEY LEFT
OFF IN HIS JOURNEY.
[ GREEK ]
>> READING LINE BY LINE IN
GREEK, AND THE GROUP REPEATING
IT BACK.
THIS IS FOLLOWED BY A MEMBER
OF THE GROUP, ONE OF THE
STUDENTS, TRANSLATING THE
LINES INTO ENGLISH.
>> BUT I ALONE GET MY BLACK
SHIP OUTSIDE.
>> IT'S A SLOW PROCESS, ONE
THAT INVOLVES A LOT OF
LANGUAGE DECONSTRUCTION.
>> MODERN GREEK AND ANCIENT
GREEK ARE WHAT I WOULD CALL
SYNTHETIC LANGUAGES.
OKAY.
IN OTHER WORDS, MODERN GREEK
WORD, ONE WORD, MEANS THEY
WERE IN LOVE, WHICH IS SEVEN
WORDS.
WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IN
YOUR HEAD, REARRANGE THE
LANGUAGE.
.
[ GREEK ]
>> THIS IS ONE OF THE SMALLER
TURNOUTS OF THE GROUP, BUT THE
CONVERSATION IS STILL LIVELY.
>> SCAPING IS ENOUGH TO MAKE
YOU CAUTIOUS.
>> SOMETHING THAT GROSS
CREDITS AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST
BENEFITS OF THE GROUP BEING
GENERALLY OLDER.
>> BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE, THEY
BRING A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
THAT UNDERGRADUATES SIMPLY --
THEY'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE
THAT MUCH EXPERIENCE.
THE NAME IS TO GIVE YOU THE
IDEA OF WHAT SHE'S LIKE.
>> NOT JUST EXPERIENCE, BUT
ALSO PATIENCE AND TIME.
TRANSLATING THE TEXT ALONE
BEFORE COMING TO THE GROUP IS
A LENGTHY PROCESS.
[ GREEK ]
>> FOR ME IT TAKES THREE
STEPS, I HAVE TO GO ONCE
THROUGH THE -- JUST MAKE THE
SENTENCE AND TRANSLATE IT FOR
MYSELF, THAT IS PROBABLY 20
LINES.
3/4 OF AN HOUR.
SO ALTOGETHER, FOR ONE PAGE,
IT TAKES ME AT LEAST AN HOUR.
>> THAT'S OVER 12,000 LINES,
AND DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF
THE TEXT IN YOUR COPY,
ANYWHERE FROM 250 TO 350
PAGES.
AND DESPITE THESE EXHAUSTIVE
EFFORTS, IT'S ALL STILL JUST
AN APPROXIMATION.
A BEST GUESS EFFORT.
>> WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT
HOMER SAID.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDED
LIKE EXACTLY.
[ GREEK ]
>> BUT I TRY TO DO MY BEST TO
READ ALLOWED AND HAVE THEM
READ BACK BECAUSE THEN WE GET
SOME IDEA OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE
SOUNDED LIKE.
>> BY POURING THESE HOURS INTO
A LANGUAGE THAT'S NOW
SEPARATED US BY CENTURIES, THE
GROUP IS ON AN ODYSSEY OF ITS
OWN.
>> A BIT MORE.
[ GREEK ]
I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO
IS TO GET BACK THERE, THE BEST
I CAN, BECAUSE THIS IS AN
AWFUL LOT LOST.
AND THAT'S WHAT I TRY TO READ
ALLOWED.
MAYBE COVER A LITTLE
SOMETHING.
