At the request of the readers of the site, I am reviewing the textbooks of the Turkish language. Honestly, I did not use most of them, so I only give an assessment of what first caught my eye, as if I came to the store and leafed through all the textbooks in a row. Perhaps my conclusions are not entirely correct, but after all, choosing a textbook, we get a pig in a poke every time. I hope my review will help someone to choose a good textbook for learning Turkish.
- While evaluating the tutorial, I am looking at features like
- the sequence of feeding the material;
- the usefulness of the exercises in terms of developing ready-made used phrases and analyzing situations;
- the relevance of the vocabulary;
- the quality of educational texts;
- lack of unnecessary terminology and additional designations (interfering, in my opinion, with learning a foreign language)
It is also important for a textbook how and where it starts, and whether it will scare away an insufficiently motivated student in the first lessons.
Many textbooks are hopelessly behind the modern Turkish language. This, in particular, is immediately evident from -dir and -tir, which the authors of the textbooks stick where and where not. For example, no one now says "Bu masa benimdir" (usually they say "Bu masa benim"), but in many modern textbooks and reprints of old, this phenomenon can still be found. For those who do not know what those -dir and -tir are, here is a quote from the textbook "Intensive Turkish Language" by Yu.V. Scheka: “-Dir - predicate affix of the 3rd person singular. numbers. Has eight pronunciation (phonetic) variants: -dır, -dir, -dur, -dür, -tır, -tir, -tur, -tür. Corresponds in Russian to the nominal predicate "is", for example, "Bu nedir?" - "What is this?" How would you like to learn from the first lessons how to determine which of these 8 affixes you need to attach to what, then discover that you were tormented in vain, and now you need to learn how to speak without these affixes?
It should be borne in mind right away that the same tutorials may not be suitable for self-study language and to study it in lessons with a teacher. For example, the lessons on my website are too big for lessons with a teacher. They are designed for several independent approaches at a speed that is convenient for you personally. In addition, textbooks written for lessons with a teacher often lack an explanation of the rules and grammar, but there are good exercises.
In addition, there are textbooks for students of philology. There is a lot of technical terminology that actually makes learning easier. knowledgeable people and makes it absolutely impossible for those who do not know the terminology to learn the language. It is clear that one cannot do without philological terms at all. Studying a foreign language, at least, you will have to remember the school course of the Russian language. But when I see in a book named by the author as a tutorial, a lot of terms, the meaning of which must be looked for on the Internet or additional literature, or symbolism and designations that resemble the periodic table, I cannot call this book a good self-instruction manual.
Before each item I will put "+" or "-", denoting, respectively, my positive or negative assessment of one or another parameter of the textbook. I looked at textbooks without any order, just how they came across my arm.
1. P.I. Kuznetsov. Turkish Language Textbook Beginner Course
Publishing House "Muravei-Guide" Moscow 2000
- A lot of philological terminology (and also in Turkish!).
-The lessons are very voluminous.
+ At the very beginning, the pronunciation is described in detail. There are articulation exercises.
+ In each lesson, new words are separately taken out (45-50). The set of words is quite adequate, except in the first lessons the presence of such words as "inkwell", "ink" (the question immediately arises - in what year was the book written?), "Lead", etc.
- Too many words for one lesson (but if we consider that in one lesson such a volume of material is still unrealistic to master and break it down into several parts, then it is normal).
- Right off the bat - case of belonging and other affixes (you can't scare people like that!).
- Inkwells continue to appear in the exercises! Students are encouraged to persuade them in different ways.
- Around the legacy Ottoman Empire- -dir and -tir.
Total: a textbook for those who have already studied Turkish language and wants to work on pronunciation and knowledge gaps. The exercises are good, but you need to keep in mind that -dir and -tir are no longer used as described in this tutorial.
2. Olga Sarygez. Turkish language. Practical grammar in tables
Publisher: Vostochnaya Kniga, Moscow, 2010
An excellent book for systematizing your knowledge and using it in the classroom as teaching material.
3. Bengis Rona. Turkish in three months. Simplified language course.
Publisher: AST, Moscow, 2006
- Superfluous philological terms (but, apparently, without them anywhere in textbooks written by philologists).
+ The first lesson can be used as a reference material - it contains all the features of vowel harmony and consonant alternation in Turkish (although this move by the author of the textbook may scare off not very motivated beginners).
+ In the first lesson, there are many used words and expressions.
+ The textbook is modern, the phrases in the exercises are vital.
+ Lots of good examples.
Total: in general, I liked the textbook - it contains everything you need for everyday speech.
4. Dudina L.N. Turkish language (practical course)
Publisher: KomKniga, Serie: Languages of the peoples of the world. 2006
- Unchanged for classic textbooks -dir and -tir
- The first few lessons introduce the classification of vowels by groups and series.
- The term "palatalization of consonants" finished me off. Without practical course philology, apparently, cannot do here ...
+ The vocabulary is quite adequate, the exercises are effective, but the lyrics are boring. One example of a chamber textbook.
Total: apparently, a book for university students - there are too many philological terms and a formal approach to teaching, which will scare off the student already in the first lesson.
5. Ahmet Aydin, Maria Bingul. Conversational Turkish textbook. Funny interjections.
Publisher: AST, East-West, 2007
An entertaining and educational book made up of Turkish interjections and descriptions of situations in which they are used. It is recommended to study after any Turkish language course in order to enrich your vocabulary and liven up speech.
I do not advise you to memorize and reproduce expressions from the book, never having heard them from native speakers. Not only words and relevance are important here, but also intonation. Without them, the expression will sound very flat and funny. But as a reference material, the book is very good: if you hear some expression from a native speaker, you can easily find it in the book, as well as adopt his intonation and manner of pronouncing a particular phrase. Keep in mind that these expressions are a kind of slang and should only be used in suitable company.
6. Shahin Cevik. Everyday Turkish
Publisher: East-West, 2007
This is not a tutorial but Toolkit in the form of texts and accompanying audio files. The manual was compiled according to the methodology of Ilya Frank.
Great for practicing correct pronunciation, listening comprehension and text comprehension.
7. Kabardin O.F. Turkish language self-study guide
Publisher: Higher School, 2002
+ No breakdown into lessons. I think this is good. Each student walks with his own speed and does not feel that he is lagging behind or running ahead.
+ Chapters are divided by topic, which makes it possible to use the textbook as a phrasebook.
+ No unnecessary terminology, simple exercises with the answers right after them.
- In one of the first topics, a list of words is given without context and examples of use.
- It seems that the author decided to completely avoid terminology, because he does not even talk about the presence of vowels in Turkish harmony, presenting all the rules in the form of tables of affixes for each case.
- Again our favorite -dir and -tir
- Exercises and examples did not please: "Where is your brother? - My brother is in the village" Or "The bird is now slowly flying here." Sorry, they don't speak like that in Russian or Turkish.
Conclusion: use under the supervision of a teacher, otherwise you can become the owner of the Turkish language of the Ottoman period.
8. Hitit. Tömer Dil Öğretim Merkezi
A series of books of one of the most authoritative educational institutions Turkey teaching Turkish to foreigners. I would not call this literature a textbook, but rather a collection of exercises in pictures, which is intended for lessons with a teacher. The books of the Hitit series are constantly being reissued and keep pace with the times. This is their main and, perhaps, the only advantage. if you love educational literature with lots of coloring book style pictures, then this tutorial is for you. But I am sure that in the hands of a skilled teacher, undoubtedly, Hitit textbooks can become a good teaching material.
9. Asuman C. Pollard and David Pollard. Teach Yourself Turkish
Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1997
The first textbook that came into my hands when I was studying Turkish. Since then it has become my favorite and I use it as a basis for my lessons. Its only negative is that it is in English 🙂
10. Tuncay Ozturk et al. Adım Adım Türkçe
Publisher: DiLSET
- In Turkish (Turkish publishing house)
- A textbook in the style of Hitit, consisting of several parts such as the textbook itself, a workbook, a notebook for homework and other nonsense to squeeze money out of students.
- There is an application in Russian. In all Russian words, instead of the letter "r", there is some kind of rectangle. There are many mistakes in words. Pleased with the question "What are ears for?"
- Upon closer examination, we also found problems in the Turkish texts.
Conclusion: into the furnace.
11. Yu.V. Cheka Intensive Turkish course
Publisher: M. MGU. 1996
After each sentence in the first lessons there is a “transcription” written in Russian letters and a translation.
+ Many useful words are entered immediately.
- The textbook is intended primarily for MSU students studying Turkology and the Turkish language, therefore, although the author writes that it can also be used for independent study, students will first have to master a lot of philological terms and designations.
- Unchanged for classic tutorial -dir and -tir
+ The textbook pays attention to intonations in Turkish sentences and phrases, which I have not seen (or noticed) in other textbooks.
- In the textbook, there are speech errors that are acceptable for an author who does not live in a linguistic environment or does not communicate much with native speakers.
- Boring teaching material made up of page-long texts of unrelated sentences.
Conclusion: if you already have an initial level of the Turkish language, or you “knew but forgot”, you can use this textbook to quickly recall or consolidate the material you have passed.
On this I, perhaps, will stop. I did not appreciate the presence of audio material attached to the textbooks, but, probably, it was necessary. Maybe some other time.
Let me remind you that my assessments are purely subjective and may not coincide with the opinions of the readers of this review. I do not advise or prescribe readers to use this or that textbook / material, but only evaluate the textbooks, highlighting their pros and cons, leaving the readers to decide for themselves which textbook they like.
If you want to hear my opinion on a particular textbook that is not covered in this article, you can send me the pages of the scanned chapter or a link to download the electronic version.
If you previously studied only languages from an Indo-European family and decided to take up Turkish on your own, then - oh yes - you will definitely have to change the approach to the educational process. Do you know what Turkish resembles? Mathematics. You will practically learn formulas and decompose examples into terms :) If you already have an idea of Turkish, then you are probably familiar with similar layouts: Ev + im + de + y + im = evimdeyim = I (am) at home. Ev is a house, im is an affix of belonging (mine), de is a local case (c), y is an intermediate consonant, im is a personal affix of predicate (I am). I say - like mathematics. For example, the beautiful girl Alexandra in free online lessons de-fa http://www.de-fa.ru/turkish.htm submits almost all Turkish grammar in the form of universal formulas, which is very convenient for learning. By the way, if you are learning Turkish, I would suggest that you take these online lessons as a basis. There is theory and practice, each lesson begins with a review of what has been passed, there are listening and reading assignments, and, finally, there is a forum with answers to homework assignments. Why do we need formulas, why can't we just learn more words? Words in Turkish, well ooooo, change their shape depending on the grammatical context. They build up affixes, sometimes ten-story. That is, in many cases, you cannot just learn the corresponding words and sculpt them together, as in Spanish or English. For example, here you have learned the conjunction “as soon as” and say: as soon as I learn, as soon as I pass ... It won’t work with Turkish. “As soon as” is expressed by a construction that, when literally translated into Russian, does not make sense: Oyunu bitirir bitirmez yatacağım - As soon as I finish the game, I will go to bed (literally, “The game ends does not end I will go to bed” - yes, in the third person and two opposites side by side, sheer fun). Therefore, you just need to know this rule. Know, cherish, cherish and hone, because it is so unusual that without proper practice it will not immediately come to mind in a conversation. I do not want to intimidate anyone with such examples, on the contrary, I just want to show how special the Turkish language is. For this feature, you can love him infinitely and believe me, he will reciprocate you! There are very few exceptions in Turkish, so if you learn something, it will stay with you forever. Moreover, the brain will always be in shape, because reading and speaking Turkish is like solving puzzles)) When you get used to it, you will understand that you have opened up new ways of thinking, a completely new vision of the world. As soon as you delve into the language and comprehend it, the tracing paper from Russian will disappear: you will express your thoughts in a completely different way, and it’s like a breath of fresh air. Personally, after English it was very boring for me to learn German - the same perfects and liabilities as much as possible. If you have the same situation, Turkish will shake you up. For example, a passive in Turkish is just an affix, no auxiliary verbs. And the construction "to force someone to do something" is generally expressed by one additional consonant! Here's a look: beklemek - to wait; bekletmek - make someone wait. Wonders? Due to the aforementioned features of this most powerful language, there are several recommendations. Turkish needs a special approach and greenhouse conditions. Because you will not build another European language on top of your English or German or anything else, you will generally plant seeds from scratch in a separate greenhouse, far oooh from the rest. And they need warmth, comfort and care!
So the tips (they are very specific, these are the methods that helped me the most)
1) Take de-fa courses as a basis, and at a very basic level, you can also use Kabardin's self-instruction manual.
Complete Sarygöz grammar for beginners right away and enjoy the Turkish Tea Time podcasts. Don't be sprayed on too a large number of materials: in Turkish, quality is especially important, the quantity will follow itself;
2) Think back to school. Do you remember how in school they used this icon ⌃ to highlight suffixes?
Use it for Turkish affixes, at least until you get used to them. And sometimes, especially at the beginning, you see a word like olmasaydı and panic immediately breaks through, because the maximum that you recognize in it is the first two letters ol - the stem of the verb “to be”. What helps: collect brains in a pile and start marking with a pencil familiar affixes, unfamiliar to search in manuals. Ol + ma + sa + y + dı - there is already hope that this can be figured out. Ol - stem from be, ma - negative particle, sa - conditional particle (if), y - intermediate consonant, dı - past tense affix of the 3rd person. Olmasaydı - if it were not for (something);
3) Remember school again. Do home reading.
For example, take fairy tales adapted according to the method of Ilya Frank, there is always a translation into Russian. Parse each sentence, think about why it is written that way. Write down the sentences you like (or useful) in a notebook along with the translation, learn the Turkish version by heart. After a while, arrange self-control: write down sentences in Russian on a sheet of paper, leaving space for the Turkish version. Then sit down with this piece of paper and try to write the Turkish sentences you have learned from memory. This way you will quickly get used to the Turkish way of expressing thoughts, because, I repeat, much is formulated in it in a completely different way and tracing paper from Russian will not only sound strange, but you simply will not be able to compose a sentence like that :) I myself am such a "home reading" arranged according to the book by Ağlama gözlerim, I certainly did not read all of it, but a few chapters were enough to get used to the structure of the language; 4) If home reading takes too much time or laziness, or you just don’t want to, nevertheless try to select sentences for memorization. I know it smells like the Soviet method, but you will only need to do this at first in order to feel the language, at least until you can read Turkish;
5) Do not bypass phonetics, especially the intonation structure of sentences.
From the very first days, watch Turkish TV series or films, even if you don't understand anything, just to “fill your ear” with the sound of the language. As soon as you can distinguish between individual words in speech, try repeating aloud from the actors. For Russians, when reproducing Turkish intonations, it is completely normal to feel overly dramatic and overplayed. When I tell the family of my young man Afiyet olsun, it still seems to me that I am going too far with a long “a”, but in the end I’m advised to stretch even longer)))
6) The phonetics in Turkish is simple enough to write new words out of the series by ear.
I watched The Magnificent Century in Turkish with Russian subtitles (here: https://vk.com/topic-67557611_29727045), by a certain stage it was possible to distinguish new words by ear and immediately see the translation in the subtitles - I wrote it all down and memorized it. True, my young man sometimes laughs, because, as it turned out, I picked up archaisms and lofty formulations from the “Magnificent Century”))) There are many Turkish TV series in contact with Russian subtitles - train on them :)
7) If you are in Turkey and know English - look for free The Gate magazines at airports
- there are texts of current topics in Turkish with translation into English. The magazine has a section on the airports website, every month you can download a new issue in pdf http://www.tavhavalimanlari.com.tr/en-EN/Publications/Pages/Gate.aspx 8) Read in Turkish with English translation ok , but I would not recommend taking teaching materials where Turkish grammar is explained for English-speaking students, although this is everyone's personal business. In my opinion, it is better to learn Turkish through your native language. Or by the example of live Turkish speech and authentic texts. Otherwise you can get confused;
9) About vocabulary.
Many words seem random at first. a set of used... Here the method of associations helps- you can have fun from the heart. Let me give you my example - how I memorized the word "kitchen" - mutfak. Mut-fak. Mutti (German mommy) speaks fak. Apparently because he doesn't want to cook dinner. I remember that the most difficult thing on the topic “House” was for me to remember the word “key” - anahtar. I couldn’t think of an association, and it’s still not there. I just memorized this word; (note from Zhenya - but what about, nach Hause? home, to the house, and for this you need a key :) By the way, speaking of words, in Language Heroes we parse as many as 26 different ways memorize words, and each participant eventually understands exactly which method works for him ideally.
10) On italki, you can drop your written texts for verification, you can also find native speakers there for “chat”.
Finally, this applies to all languages, but in the case of Turkish in particular - as much of the original input as possible! Because, again, you won't be able to sculpt right away complex sentences like dumplings. But if you “fill the ear”, then the necessary constructions themselves will come to mind at the right moment. I hope this post will somehow help newcomers :) In fact, I was just sharing my experience, my bruises, and the trial and error method of selected language learning tools. They are specific! I don’t learn Spanish like that. With Spanish, I have not yet had to "memorize" a single word. But with Turkish she crammed with sheets))) But, most importantly, it was always not a burden, but on the contrary, very exciting. A language from an unaccustomed language family - it's worth trying, I'm telling you for sure :) P.S. Have you noticed that I said “fill your ear” a couple of times? This Turkish expression is very well applicable to learning new languages - kulağı dolmak. You already understood the context :)
A selection of useful sites for learning Turkish. Take care of yourself so as not to lose!
- turkishclass.com. Free English-language site for learning Turkish. Turkish lessons include sections: pronunciation, vocabulary, chat, stories, poetry, site rules and contacts. The site is convenient for vocabulary training. In addition, there is a lot of information about Turkey, photographs, detailed reports of students and travelers, essays and essays. The user must go through authorization, and then select a lesson from one of the teachers on the right topic... There is both theoretical material and homework to the lesson. The site will be interesting not only for students, but also for teachers. After authorization, the teacher can upload his version of the lesson.
- turkishclass101.com. Free English-language site. The material is divided into levels - from zero to medium. The menu contains the following sections "Audio lessons", "Video lessons" for training pronunciation, a dictionary for vocabulary. There is a support service and user manual. It is possible to take notes in a special form during the lesson. PDF lessons can be downloaded. There are iPhone, iPad, Android Apps free. Content is divided into free and paid. To work with the site, authorization is required. Quick registration of the user is available.
- umich.edu. English-language site. The University of Michigan has prepared a selection of e-lessons, textbooks, tests, training exercises, here you will also find literary works and reference materials. You can download audio and video files that are used in different universities around the world to study the Turkish language. There are a lot of materials, there is content for learning the old Turkish language.
- sites.google.com. An English-language site that contains theoretical information on the grammar of the Turkish language. There is an interesting application that conjugates Turkish verbs.
- lingust.ru. Free Russian-language site, suitable for beginners and beginners. Theoretical material posted by lesson, making it easier to find the topic you want. There are no training exercises, but there is audio support and lessons from Radio "Voice of Turkey" (TRT-World).
- cls.arizona.edu. An online English language textbook that the University of Arizona has developed for learning Turkish from zero to high level... After authorization, the user works with DVD lessons, after each video there is training exercise on grammatical topics, pronunciation or listening comprehension.
- book2.de. English and German website. Simple and user-friendly interface. You can use the main services of the site for free and without authorization. The main sections are vocabulary, an example of pronunciation, flash cards to consolidate vocabulary, you can download audio for free for work. Has iPhone App and Android App . The tutorial is available for purchase. Suitable as an additional material.
- internetpolyglot.com. Free site, Russian-language version of the menu is available. Is interesting and convenient additional tool in language learning. The site offers to memorize words and expressions by performing lexical games. There is a demo version. Authorization will help you track your success, and will allow you to upload your materials to the site.
- languagecourse.net. Free site for learning Turkish with an intuitive interface, suitable for vocabulary training. Ukrainian and Russian versions of the site are available. suitable for vocabulary training. Levels from zero to advanced. You can choose the topic you want for your workout - work, travel, transportation, hotel, business, romance / dating, etc. upon registration, success is tracked and the results of the study are saved. Training material is available for download and work on a PC. The service also offers to buy a language trip to the country or pay for a course at a language school anywhere in the world.
- franklang.ru. Free Russian-language website, easy to use. It contains a lot of useful information - textbooks of the Turkish language in PDF, a library of texts in Turkish, Turkish on Skype with the teachers of the I.Frank school, texts for reading according to the method of I.Frank and useful links to Turkish channels, radio stations, serials.
- www.tdk.gov.tr. Free Turkish site where you will find different types dictionaries, publications by Turkish bloggers and an online library of works of various genres.
- www.w2mem.com. A free site with a Russian menu, but you need to log in before starting work. A very simple interface. The site was created for practicing vocabulary - you compile your own vocabulary, and then consolidate your knowledge by performing tests.
- languages-study. A free site that contains links to services that allow you to learn the Turkish language from all aspects - grammar, aphorisms, poems, crosswords, different types of dictionaries.
- seslisozluk.net. Free Turkish online dictionary. Working languages are Russian, Turkish, German, English. The services provided by the site's terms of use are translation and decoding of words and expressions, text editor, correspondence, pronunciation. The site offers training exercises in the form of online games to consolidate vocabulary.
- onlinekitapoku.com. Free Turkish site where you will find books, reviews, reviews, information about the author. Quick search is available. The site contains electronic and audio books of different genres.
- hakikatkitabevi.com. Free Turkish language site where you can find and download free audio books in Turkish.
- ebookinndir.blogspot.com. A free resource where you can download books in Turkish in PDF format in different genres.
- www.zaman.com.tr. The site of the daily Turkish online newspaper, the main headings of the publication are politics, sports, economics, culture, blogs of public and political figures, video reports.
- resmigazete.gov.tr. The site of the Turkish legal online newspaper, which publishes laws and bills, legislative acts and other legal documents.
- evrensel.net. The official website of the Turkish newspaper. Many headings, reviews and applications.
- filmifullizle.com. Free Turkish site where you can watch or download films with Turkish translation or dubbing. Each video has short description plot. In addition, a reviews section is available.
Ever dreamed of trying to learn the language of some eastern country? Then turn your attention to Turkish. it interesting language with a rich history. This article will show you the best way to learn Turkish and where to start.
This article is for people over 18 years of age.
Have you already turned 18?
Why start learning Turkish?
Each person who is interested in learning Turkish can pursue different goals. Someone is interested in learning the culture of this country, others want to travel or even live there, and still others need to know Turkish to create new business partnerships and for their own business in general.
It is known that Turkey is a kind of "bridge" between the European world, Eastern countries and Asia. This strategic position implies that it is very beneficial to have partnerships with this country, therefore many Russian businessmen are very interested in learning the Turkish language. And this applies not only to Russia, all European countries turn their attention to Turkey and do it from an economic point of view.
In addition to business relationship and connections, Turkey also attracts with its history and unusually interesting culture. That is why many tourists are very interested in visiting this country and plunge into its world at least once.
Whatever goal you pursue, in order to better adapt in this country, you will have to start learning Turkish.
How to learn Turkish on your own from scratch?
Many people may immediately start asking about the speed, how long it will take to learn a language, or how long it takes to master it at a decent level. There is no clear answer to such and similar questions; it can be different for each person. If you have polyglot skills or experience in language learning, then maybe time will pass for you, although when it comes to Turkish, you cannot be sure.
Turkish is a very interesting language that has its own special logic. She is somewhat similar to mathematical formulas, by which words and sentences are built. Here, not everything is as simple as in English and simple cramming of words will not help, although you cannot do without it in Turkish.
Realizing now that it is a difficult language, you must determine in advance for yourself whether you have enough motivation to master Turkish, because it is difficult to learn it, especially if you want to do it quickly with the express program. If you do not have the motivation and time to learn Turkish from scratch on your own and master it from a beginner's textbook at home, it may be better to enlist the help of a tutor or teacher who will give you good advice and explain everything you need in detail. It is not difficult to find a teacher in Moscow, today many people practice this language.
If you yourself are very motivated, you are not afraid of difficulties and you have a clear goal, then you can master even such a difficult language as Turkish.
How to start learning Turkish?
By far the most important question in learning any language is where to start? And this always leads to a dead end, it would seem that there is a desire, there is a goal, but we do not know where and how to start, and therefore we often stop and cannot budge.
In the study of the Turkish language, like others, the beginning is immersion in the language itself, in its atmosphere and culture. It is always ideal to visit the country as a tourist, but this is not always possible, especially if you want to go there already prepared. Therefore, in order to create this "immersion" it is necessary in every possible way to provide oneself with the opportunity to hear Turkish speech.
An excellent option would be television. Now everyone has access to the Internet, which has Turkish online channels. There are also audio books in Turkish, many TV series and films. Of course, music recordings are also available. Use these materials for daily listening. This practice will help you better perceive the new language, understand its pronunciation and, as a result, easily master phonetics.
The main feature of the Turkish language and even its highlight are affixes. This is an interesting point: a single word with one affix can significantly change the meaning of the entire sentence. Moreover, the affixes in Turkish are built up on the word, adding meaning to it, which is enough for a whole sentence. There can be up to ten such affixes on one word at a time, and each individual will mean belonging, case, predicate, etc.
Moreover, a separate translation of words can lead to a stupor and it will be difficult to understand what is at stake. Therefore, it is also very important to adjust your thinking in a new way, because in the process it will change a lot, and you will look at things from a completely different angle.
It is very easy to get confused in all this and you cannot do without enough time. So, create for yourself the most comfortable conditions for studying and do not be intimidated by difficulties.
The main stages of learning Turkish
Moving on to the very process of learning Turkish at home, you should understand that you will have to devote some time to your study, and preferably at least 30-40 minutes every day. This is not a very significant waste of time, which will allow you to master the language at an initial level in the near future.
We warn you that any undertaking is difficult, especially when it comes to the Turkish language, because you will need to rebuild your logic of forming sentences and word forms. If you love puzzles, then you will definitely like this language.
So, where to start, we figured out: you need to immerse yourself in the atmosphere and culture of the language in order to feel at ease.
The next step is the study of words and their formation. This is one of the most challenging yet exciting things to learn. Examine the formation of affixes and how they are combined with words.
Here you will have to cram a lot and memorize a huge number of words. On initial stage This is always the case, so get yourself a notebook in which you write down words and then memorize them. Try to learn as many words as you can. Usually it is 15-20 words per day, but some may have less, while others, on the contrary, are given more. It is difficult to say which quantity is correct, here is the main quality, so try to do everything conscientiously.
Learn not only words, but whole sentences, and even write them out in your dictionary. This is good practice for getting up to speed quickly. By knowing template sentences and how they are read, you can begin to easily understand people.
You need to pronounce words, phrases and sentences as much as possible. This is the main way to get phonetically correct sound. Phonetics in Turkish is not very complicated, even quite simple, so it will not be difficult for a Russian person. Try to say phrases from memory as often as possible or read them several times. When teaching subtitled TV shows, try to write down and repeat phrases you like or do not understand. This is very helpful in learning.
Remember that regularity is the key to learning a language quickly. If you conscientiously and regularly devote time to Turkish (at least 40 minutes a day, or about an hour), then already in 16 such intensive lessons you will be able to see the first results.
Pay attention to the grammar of the language, but do not dwell on it if you do not want to study speech deeply, but just want to understand and communicate with people. Pay attention to the main points that are associated with affixes, learn them, memorize cases, and also understand the logic of the language. Then you will master everything that is necessary and you can start to communicate freely.
How to learn Turkish: summary
So, summing up the results of learning the Turkish language, we recommend that you remember the following points:
- Create a favorable "Turkish" atmosphere for yourself, immerse yourself in it.
- Use online courses and a tutor if you are having difficulty learning.
- Pay special attention to the affixes.
- Learn words, phrases and speak them while learning vocabulary and improving phonetics.
- Spend as much time practicing as possible, at least 30-40 minutes every day.
It is up to you to decide whether or not to learn Turkish. It is difficult, but very interesting and opens up new possibilities in many directions.
In many ways, it is extremely logical, consistent and understandable, despite the fact that it differs significantly from the system of European languages we are used to and therefore at first glance seems frighteningly confusing. Today we will take a look at those aspects of Turkish that are easiest for those who start from the "zero" level, and show you how to make your life easier in learning Turkish.
- A beginner's guide to learning Turkish
For several days I looked through textbooks and manuals in terms of comprehensibility for someone who is learning a language from scratch, and I realized that, undoubtedly, the best option will be Colloquial Turkish: The Complete Course for Beginners by Ad Backus and Jeroen Aarssen.
This textbook provides the most necessary grammar and basic vocabulary in all areas and topics in a logical sequence, which allows you to read full original passages in Turkish after the first chapters. In addition, the focus is precisely on, as opposed to the formal "academic" version of the language.
This manual does not repeat the answers and translations of what has already been explained or analyzed once, which prompts to refer to the information already studied and assimilated.
- It is very easy to read in Turkish
The first thing to note is that Turkish is a phonetic writing language and modern Turkish uses the Latin alphabet. Prior to the Ataturk Revolution and the 1928 reform, during which the Latin alphabet was adapted to the Turkish pronunciation of sounds, the Turkish language used the Arabic alphabet.
So, in Turkish, each letter corresponds to one sound, there are no consonant combinations (such as sh, ch, ght), so each letter is pronounced separately. Pronunciation generally matches what you see in written text, except for the following:
- c pronounced like english j (j am), so the word sadece(only, only) pronounced as sah-deh-jeh.
- ç pronounced like english ch (ch arge), not to be confused with French ç which is pronounced s.
- ğ - unpronounceable letter (lengthens the previous vowel sound)
- ş pronounced like english sh .
- ı - looks like i without a dot. It is confusing that the Turkish capital letter ı - this is I (like capital I in English), but capital Turkish I- this is İ , so that the city where all the tourists end up is not I stanbul (Istanbul), and İ stanbul. ı pronounced as a neutral vowel sound.
Umlauts ö/ü pronounced as in German.
Knowing these rules and exceptions, you should already be able to read something in Turkish, although be prepared for the fact that the locals may pronounce the words a little differently. For example, I found that the letter "e" in words was pronounced by many as "a".
- You already know many Turkish words
I was delighted to find many familiar words in Turkish that I recognized instantly. As with all languages, you usually start with a base of thousands of words before even starting to learn the language. Turkish has borrowed many trademarks and technology terms from English, like most other languages.
But I found much more curious that a huge number of borrowed words from other languages appeared in Turkish, the most surprising (and useful for me) is borrowings from French. One source I discovered claims that there are approximately 5,000 words in Turkish that come from French. For comparison, 6,500 words are from Arabic, 1,400 are from Persian, about 600 come from Italian, 400 from Greek, and about 150 from Latin. In many cases, borrowing has a Turkish counterpart, which is considered more preferable in everyday communication, but in some cases the borrowed word is the only designation of a word or concept, and sometimes both words are used (like şehir and kent for "city" where şehir is a non-Turkish word).
Borrowing words that I have personally encountered include kuaför, şans, büfe, lise (lycée), bulvar, asensör, aksesuar, kartuş, ekselans, sal ... and I'm sure there are many more. Of course, they are sometimes difficult to recognize, because they are written in accordance with the rules of Turkish transcription, but when pronounced they are very similar to French words(although there are no French nasal sounds in them). Even if you do not speak French, you will certainly recognize many of these words, as many of them have become familiar with English as well.
It's funny that I even recognized the Spanish word banyo in Turkish!
As for the vocabulary, which is unique and native Turkish, it can be learned surprisingly quickly if you just apply effective methods memorization or download a selection of basic vocabulary, download it to the application for memorizing and practicing words and you will run it regularly to get used to new combinations of sounds as quickly as possible. The roots of words in Turkish, as a rule, are short, which makes them even easier to remember and then, based on them, to decipher more complex derivative words.
- Suffixes help you expand your active vocabulary
Returning to derived words, it is important to note that a key skill in expanding the vocabulary will be understanding how the structure of a word works and how the language "works". In this regard, vocabulary and grammar are quite closely related to each other: you will not be able to look at most of the words in the dictionary as they are written in the text, but if you know the basic grammatical structures, you will immediately determine the root of the word and be able to look up its meaning in the dictionary.
One of the most quick ways expand your vocabulary - memorize standard suffixes. Many of them perform important functions: turning nouns into adjectives (or vice versa) or verbs (infinitives end in -mek / -mak), or the designation of a person who belongs to a particular profession, for example, using suffixes -ci / -ci (öğrenci- student from a verb öğrenmek- study).
Another important suffix is the possessive form suffix. You will encounter it all over the place, so learn to recognize it. For example, Istiklal is the name of the main street / avenue, or cadde, next to which I lived, so the street is called Istiklal caddesi... Suffix -si here reflects the meaning of possessiveness, and the word Istiklal means "independence". (Consider english example: it turns out that they prefer to speak in Turkish Avenue of independence, but not Independence avenue). Likewise, the names of all universities (üniversite) in the city have üniversite si .
Thus, Turkish suffixes express those meanings that in other languages would be conveyed in separate words, for example, prepositions.
Another important observation regarding all suffixes and words in general: the laws of vowel harmony, which you just have to get used to. I met with this also in the Hungarian language, but in other languages this phenomenon practically does not occur, therefore it is necessary to accustom yourself to a completely different train of thought. Like many other aspects of Turkish, vowel harmony is simpler than it sounds, but it takes time to develop the habit of arranging vowels in a specific order. By the way, at the initial stage in the conversation you will still make mistakes, but in most cases people will still understand you.
- Fold words and sentences like a jigsaw puzzle
One point that requires some "restructuring" of thinking with an orientation to the Turkish language is that the usual verbs "to be" or "to have" in the Turkish language simply do not exist. It may sound absurd, but getting a little used to saying “my car exists” instead of “I have a car”, you will understand what's what.
Another "weird" aspect of Turkish is word order. For example, verbs tend to come at the end of a sentence. So, you say: Türkçe öğreniyorum- "I'm studying Turkish." In my opinion, this is even more logical than in English, because what you learn is more important than what you learn. It is very important to remember that languages have a different way of "processing" information, and not to panic if something in the language does not fit into our usual thinking pattern.
One has only to think about some of the constructions and realize how they work, and they will become logical and obvious. For example:
Nerelisin (iz) means "Where are you from?" Let's analyze it in parts: Ne-re-li-sin (iz): -sin= you, -siniz= you (polite / plural), -li= from, place suffix, -ne= what (or just nere= where). Since there is no verb to be, the meaning of the phrase is made up of separate significant components of the word.
The same is the case with the word nereye which means "Where to?" ( nere+ e (To) and the letter "Y" to separate two vowels).
- The grammar will seem extremely logical to you.
How it happened to me. There are so few exceptions in the language, and conjugation and word formation are so consistent that it is very easy to get used to the grammar system: a simple past tense, two present tense (one is similar to English continuous, and the other is a standard present tense), future tense, etc.
One example of present tense education using graduation -er there will be a verb dönmek(turn) which is in the shape of a third person singular sounds familiar to everyone döner.
Yes, there is a difference with English or Russian, but based on my experience of learning other languages, there are far fewer exceptions and absolutely unimaginable and illogical constructions in Turkish.
In addition, Turkish has no gender, defined or indefinite articles and there are no irregular plurals (in some cases, you don't even need to add the plural suffix -ler / -lar if the meaning of the plural is clear from the context, such as when used with a numeral).
The only case that may give you some problems at the beginning is the accusative, which has already worn me out a lot of nerves in German. If the very idea of accusative confuses you, then I strongly recommend that you study Esperanto for at least a few weeks: using the accusative in Esperanto helped me understand it better than any theoretical explanation in Turkish or German, and besides, it is almost the only "difficult »To understand the grammatical structure throughout the language.
Using ĉu in Esperanto also helped me to intuitively understand the suffix / particle question mi / mı / mü in Turkish. This particle is added to questions that require a simple yes / no answer (in English, we would just show this difference using intonation). This is actually very easy to understand, but not easy to get used to, so studying this phenomenon for a start is more simple language can really give you a boost in understanding.
For example, the word çalışıyor means "it works", and çalışıyor mu? - "she works?"
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