Language Fluency/Familiarity
Robert had a great fascination with other languages (Ancient Greek above all the others) and studying word use and the structure of words was a passion of his. Here are the three languages Robert was interested in, and information on the three.
Greek
It's obvious that Robert was fluent and extremely familiar in the Greek language, considering he that translated Ancient Greek literature. Greek was always a language Robert found fascinating, and the beauty of the different words and pronunciation was one of the big reasons why he became a translator. The difference between Robert and other translators was that Robert modernized his translations in a way that was easier to understand while reading. Instead of using old English and complicated wording, he created a story in which anyone could read, understand and enjoy. The level of familiarity with the Greek language it takes to be able to achieve that is unbelievable. Robert and his wife Marilyn also lived in Greece for a summer and visited there many other times. Greek and ancient Greece was Robert's love and passion.
An example of Ancient Greek literature Robert translated from Greek to English is the Iliad
Latin
Robert was also completely fluent in Latin. Latin is a language similar to Greek in the sense that both are rarely spoken, and both make up the roots of many other languages today. Almost all vocabulary in the English language derives from a Latin root, and studying Latin is a great way to learn the structure of countless different languages. Also, to be familiar with the Latin language makes it unbelievably easier to learn many other languages, so to Robert that was an added bonus.
German
German was a language that Robert was also interested in, but not quite as much as Latin or Greek. Unlike the two languages which are extremely similar, Germans roots and the language in general is very different. Robert was not fluent in German and it was more of a curious endeavor with his choice to learn it, but it is non the less a very interesting language.
