A Turkish c is pronounced somewhat like the j in the English word jar. A Turkish g is always pronounced like the g in the English word garden. A Turkish j is pronounced somewhat like the s in the English word pleasure. A Turkish r is sometimes pronounced like the r in the English word red, although its pronunciation varies depending on its position within a word. A Turkish y is always pronounced like the y in the English word yellow.
A Turkish a is pronounced somewhat like the u in the English word sun. A Turkish e is pronounced somewhat like the e in the English word egg. A Turkish i is pronounced somewhat like the i in the English word internet. Note that in Turkish, you also place a dot over the capital letter: İ. A Turkish o is pronounced somewhat like the o in the English word orange. A Turkish u is pronounced somewhat like the oo in the English word book.
ǧ is a soft g. It always follows a vowel. If it follows an a, ı, o, or u, it lengthens the sound of that vowel. If it follows e, i, ö, or ü, then it sounds like the y in the English word yellow. ç sounds like the ch in the English word chat. ş sounds like the sh in the English word shoe. ı sounds like the i in the English word cousin. ö sounds like the ure in the English word cure. ü sounds like the u in the English word cute.
Vowels are rounded or unrounded depending on whether you round your lips to pronounce the vowel sound. e, i, a, and ı are unrounded vowels. o, ö, ü, and u are rounded vowels. Vowels are either front or back vowels depending on where you put your tongue in your mouth to make the vowel sound. e, i, ö, and ü are front vowels. a, ı, o, and u are back vowels. Vowels are open or closed depending on how much space you leave between your tongue and the roof of your mouth when making the vowel sound. e, a, ö, and o are open vowels. ı, i, ü, and u are closed vowels.
For example, kar means “snow,” while kâr means “profit. "
First person singular: Ben öğretmenim. (I am a teacher. ) Second person singular: Sen öğretmensin. (You are a teacher. ) First person plural: Biz öğretmeniz. (We are teachers. ) Second person plural: Siz öğretmensiniz. (You all are teachers. ) Note that like many European languages, such as Spanish and French, this form is also used as a polite, formal form of address – typically with elders or people in a position of authority. Third person plural: Onlar öğretmenler. (They are teachers. )
For example, you would typically simply say “öğretmenim” to mean “I am a teacher. "
Unlike German, long words in Turkish aren’t combinations of distinct words. Rather, they consist of a root word with various suffixes that describe that root word, ultimately making the root word more precise. For example, if you take the word ev (meaning “house”) and add suffixes, you end up with evimdekilerden, which means “some of the ones in my house. "
For example, the suffix -siz means without. To say “without meat,” add this suffix to the Turkish word et. The result is etsiz. To say “without salt,” harmonize the suffix -siz with the Turkish word tuz: tuzsuz. As another example, consider the suffix -ler, which makes words plural. There are two forms, -ler and -lar. Which one you use depends on the last vowel of the root word. Gözler means eyes while telefonlar means telephones. Don’t be intimidated by vowel harmony. Even if you use the wrong vowel, people will still understand you. When in doubt, simply go with the vowel sound that seems easiest to say.
When you add a suffix to a word so that the consonant is then surrounded by vowels, change a p to a b, a ç to a c, a t to a d, or a k to a g or ğ. For example, in the Turkish word kitap (meaning “book”), the p would change to a b if you added the suffix -im: Benim kitabım (“my book”). If the root word is only a single syllable, you generally won’t change the final consonant. Consonants never change in proper nouns and words that are loan words from other languages.
For example, if you wanted to say “the boy threw the ball to the dog” in Turkish, you would say “oğlan topu köpeğe attı. " The literal translation would be the boy (oğlan) the ball (topu) to the dog (köpeğe) threw (attı).
In addition to dictionaries, there are also grammar and writing guides available, as well as a regular journal put out by the organization about developments in the Turkish language.
You can find music videos for Turkish songs on video sites, such as YouTube. Turkish music is also available on popular music streaming services. Visit the Free Music Archive at http://freemusicarchive. org/genre/Turkish/ to download free Turkish songs.
There are a number of ebooks of Turkish fairy tales and folk tales available for free at http://www. digitalbookindex. org/_search/search010litturkisha. asp. There are also a few free stories in Turkish available at http://turkishbasics. com/resources/stories/. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you might consider buying the series in Turkish. Since the books gradually increase in difficulty, they can help you learn to read while also enjoying familiar material.
You can find links to a number of Turkish newspapers, news, and sports sites at http://www. gazeteler. de/.
There are a number of Turkish forums on Reddit, including https://www. reddit. com/r/turkishlearning/, a subreddit devoted entirely to posts related to learning the Turkish language. There is a Turkish WhatsApp group for practicing Turkish at https://chat. whatsapp. com/D9VRqljWYTOKQjviSBjw6P. Users chat only in Turkish, so you should have a good grasp of the basics before you try this group. When chatting with people online, safeguard your privacy. Be cautious revealing any personal information about yourself until you’re sure you can trust the person.
If you are entering a mosque, get a lightweight shawl or scarf that you can use to cover your hair (for female-identifying individuals) and wear long sleeves and long pants (for all genders).
