Before diving deep into the tips, you need to note that it is a mistake for you to think that you can not learn Turkish. I have met many foreigners speaking Turkish fluently, even sometimes better than natives!

Speaking Turkish (or any foreign language) is possible for any age group, and many language experts testify to this. 

But for you to learn Turkish, you will need some guidance, which is why I am here.

Below are some of the seven responses to the question how to learn Turkish fast. Putting your focus on these areas will ensure that you get to learn Turkish in a few months. But before that let’s answer some simple questions about Turkish:

? How Long Does It Take to Learn Turkish?

Of course, it depends on how motivated you are, what’s your native language, how frequently you study, and more. However, there are studies to give you an idea about how many hours it’d take to learn the Turkish language.

FSI (Foreign Service Institute) of the US government has done research on how many hours it takes for an English speaker to become fluent in a foreign language.

The research categorizes languages into five different groups depending on how close they are to the English language. The Turkish language is in the fourth group, which is considered profoundly different from the English language.

? Is Turkish Difficult to Learn for English Speakers?

For example, if an English speaker needs 1 hour of daily studying to become fluent in Dutch (very similar to English), she needs 2 hours of study for the Turkish language.

If you were to learn Korean or Arabic (considered in the fifth group), you’d need 4 hours of studying for the same amount of progress.

Don’t let this intimidate you because many things make learning easy for an English speaker. Below are some of them:

• Turkish grammar is very regular and easy to learn. It almost doesn’t have any exceptions or irregular verbs.
• The Turkish language doesn’t have genders or articles.
• Turkish spelling is phonetic. You have to read each sound of the letters. (It’s not like French.)

I want to mention that many ways and techniques are promising to teach foreign languages extremely fast without much effort. Learning a foreign language is unfortunately not possible in your sleep or 3 weeks… You need to make some effort to reach your goal.

“The longest way round is the shortest way home.”

Instead of losing time with ineffective apps and techniques, It’d be best if you can join a Turkish class without losing time and money. It’s just important to study grammar systematically and follow a curriculum that professional linguists prepare.

If you live in a big city, it should be possible to find a Turkish class near you. However, if you don’t or if you want to take online lessons, you can consider taking our courses online.

I can assure you of the quality of our classes because we received pretty positive feedback from all of our students.

1. Learn Turkish With Our Zoom Classes

As we transition into the ‘new normal’ during the crazy times of a pandemic, we started to offer Turkish classes for our students.

We started to form classes for four students to ensure plenty of interaction and speaking time for each person. We couldn’t believe how fun and practical these classes turn out to be!

Here’s a couple of feedback from our students:

Honestly, we didn’t anticipate these classes to be this effective! Almost all of our students continue the lessons with positive feedback and they form new friendships.

This is perfect because you learn faster if you are doing it with the people you like spending time with.

We highly believe that language and interaction are essential in language learning. The lessons are academic, and we focus on improving reading, writing,  listening, and speaking skills.

You can find more information and times of classes on the Turkish classes page.

2. Self-study Turkish

One important thing you must know is that no one or no technique will teach you Turkish magically. YOU will learn the language. So, self-studying is maybe the most important habit to form.

Make sure to study every day and take notes. To do this, you can utilize the short Turkish grammar videos on the website or even watch movies with subtitles.

You can apply the following tricks to help you in your self-study:

First, ensure that you learn the Turkish alphabet, master the pronunciation and build on your vocabulary.

Later practice the basic grammar and sentence structures and ensure you practice the language every day.

Also, make sure to talk to yourself using the Turkish language and constantly listen to podcasts. Listening to a podcast is helpful because it will help strengthen the language skills that you are developing through a formal course.

2.1. Self-Studying Package:

We have designed this well-organized course for those who want to study at their own pace. The course introduces up-to-date Turkish that is spoken today.

Because of this, you will start understanding the spoken language faster than any method.

The whole course has 53 units consisting of 50+ grammar videos, 70+ audio recordings, and thousands of interactive exercises. At the end of the course, you’ll be able to engage in conversations and be understood by native speakers.


2.2. Grammar Videos and Printable Notes (click here to watch the sample grammar video)

We are not babies and we don’t learn the same way they do. These 50+ videos will give you the structure and you’ll be filling it in with vocabulary.

2.3. Recordings With Transcript, and Key Explanations (listen to the sample audio recording)

You’ll hear conversational Turkish right from the streets of Istanbul. You’ll see a connection between the language and Turkish culture.

2.4. Thousands of Fun Interactive Exercises (download the sample notes)

When you see a new word or structure, you generally forget the next day. You just need to consider this fact and repeat what you learn regularly with these exercises.

Click here to see the curriculum of the course

3. Study Turkish With a Native Tutor

Learning a new language may take time; therefore, you may require some effort and resources to make it work.

Having a personal tutor is one such example of a resource. A native tutor will customize lessons for you and guide you through the learning process, making it more effective.

You can always consult your tutor if something did not come out clearly. They will constantly give you a report of your learning progress with your lectures and how far you are from achieving your objectives.

Studying alone is a must, but you also need to expose yourself to the spoken language.

Learning alone with a textbook without any professional help might result in you talking a language that doesn’t exist in real life.

However, be careful when choosing your tutor! Many online portals are letting you find a tutor, yet most tutors do not have a professional background there.

4. Make Turkish Part of Your Life and Find a Language Partner.

Language immersion is one of the easiest ways to learn a new language.

It involves exposing yourself to daily life situations in which you have to speak Turkish. If you don’t have that opportunity, you can expose yourself to Turkish through subtitles and translations.

Watching Turkish tv series with English subtitles will help you learn and understand Turkish more quickly. And there are tons of TV productions in Turkish out there! If you wish to learn Turkish better before visiting the country, this technique will be beneficial to you.

Additionally, you can also learn Turkish by learning Turkish culture. For instance, you can practice cooking delicious Turkish food. In turn, you will expose yourself more to the Turkish vocabulary, primarily that used to prepare the dishes.

It is also possible for you to improve your Turkish by changing your phone and computer language. It is always helpful! But you will not have a chance to learn anything that is not on your phone. So, let me tell you that only changing the language of your phone or watching Turkish series will not teach you Turkish.

I assure you that these things will help you backup your learnings, but they are not enough.

Language forming is a matter of forming a new habit. It requires studying regularly.

5. Listening Practice

Building on your listening skills is crucial when learning a new language. It helps you understand what people are saying, gain fluency and develop your listening skills.

Watching Turkish tv programs is one of the ways that can help you build on your listening skills. You can watch the programs on TV or YouTube.

Secondly, you can also listen to simplified stories/fairy tales for kids. It will help you improve your Turkish listening skills and help improve your reading skills.

Lastly, you can also consider taking Turkish online speaking classes. There you can develop your Turkish listening skills by asking questions and listening to the responses given by others. Speaking classes will help you build on your Turkish listening skills while improving your speaking skills at the same time.

Having to listen to a long text or other people talking is a must for the listening practice. So, you can watch the news in Turkish related to things that you already know would help you tremendously.

Finding a topic that you like and watching/listening to things related to that topic in Turkish will be fun and helpful! So, try to find audio recordings about cars, flowers, or your favorite Turkish drama (whatever your interests). Listen to it, over and over again, and try to understand it!

6. Read Short Stories in Turkish

If you are someone who loves reading, easy-to-read stories in Turkish are what you are looking for! Studying resources are hard to find and, most of the time, boring to read. For that reason, we have prepared a short story book consisting of 9 appealing short stories written in simple Turkish.

The authors include Ömer Seyfettin, Halit Ziya Usakligil, and Sadri Ertem. Reading each of the stories is assisted by a vocabulary section right at the bottom of each page. Reading these stories will help you practice Turkish grammar and learn many new words, but also, you will enjoy reading through real Turkish literature.

We recommend it for intermediate and advanced learners! Click here to view the reviews of the book.

7. Get Happy When You Make Mistakes

Many people avoid talking in order not to make any mistakes.

Not being afraid of your mistakes is essential if you want to speak Turkish and all the foreign languages. The more you speak and make mistakes, the faster you learn. Because when you make a mistake, you will not forget that moment, and the next time, you will not make a similar mistake. So get happy when you make a mistake!

Find a language partner who can correct your mistakes! It’ll just speed up your learning. If you are trying to learn a new language, you can’t get demoralized if someone corrects you. You need just the opposite if you want to progress fast.

Always utilize all the chances to practice your speaking skills without fear of failure, whether ordering your favorite juice, asking for directions, or even shopping at a mall.

Always take corrections positively and make sure to review again and again until you can speak better.

The post How to Learn Turkish: 7 Tips and Methods to Speak Turkish Fast appeared first on FluentinTurkish.com.

Proverbs are famous sayings that express basic truths that are widely known by people. A proverb should be catchy and impressive so that people can keep saying it from new-cone generation to another.

The Turkish language is pretty rich in this sense. In this article, we will look at some Turkish proverbs and interpret their meanings. Also, English and Spanish proverbs will be mentioned and compared.

The main focus here is to grow your knowledge and help you to use them in real life because they are commonly used in daily life as well as on newspapers.

Let’s begin.

Ayağını yorganına göre uzat.

En. stretch your arm no further than your sleeve will reach (Tr. kolunu yenine göre uzat.)

This proverb basically means that do not spend more money than you have. I think this expression is going to keep its popularity for a long time as credit cards are more prevalent in our lives.

Lit. stretch your foot no further than your coverlet.

Sp. extienda la pierna hasta donde llegue la sábana

Spanish and Turkish ones are literally same.

Balık baştan kokar.

En. Corruption starts at the top OR a fish rots from the head down.

It simply refers that if a worker/student etc. is unsuccessful and disorganized, it is because of their masters. In other words, if a corruption is carefully investigated, problems can be traced back to the leaders’ mistakes. (The same for the presidents of a country)

This proverb exists in various languages such as Chinese, Polish, Greek etc. I have found many sources where different countries lay claim to it.

Even though today the popular use is ‘a fish rots from the head down‘, the early use of the phrase in English is ‘a fish stinks from the head down‘. Unfortunately, I could not find any similar phrase in Spanish.

Akıl akıldan üstündür.

These three Turkish proverbs have similar meanings with nuances.

En. two heads are better than one.

It’s always better to be open to advices and critics. People can have inspiring opinions of which you can take advantage.

Example: Insanlara yukarıdan bakmamanı tavsiye ederim, insanların fikirlerini dinle, akıl akıldan üstündür.

(eng. I suggest you not to look down on people with contempt, listen to the ideas of people, ‘akıl akıldan üstündür’.)

Bir elin nesi var, iki elin sesi var.

English: one hand washes the other and together they wash the face)

Also: Yalnız taştan duvar olmaz

Here, the focus is on more cooperation.

Sp. Más valen cuatro ojos que dos

The spanish one literally means: two eyes foresee better than one eye.

Bekara karı boşamak kolaydır.

Tr. Bekara karı boşamak kolaydır. lit. It is easy to get divorced for a bachelor.

The meaning of the proverb can be understood from its literal meaning. I have found this expression in English: ‘easier said than done’. It’s not completely same but similar.

En. One never knows what exactly you re suffering unless she / he suffers from the same thing.

If one is not affected of the consequences of an incident, s/he doesn’t care enough.

Additionally, there is another proverb that has a similar meaning: ‘Davulun sesi uzaktan hoş gelir’. (lit. distance makes drum sounds better). <<bekara karı boşamak kolaydır>> is used when an important decision needs to be taken and if one of the people is being reckless about this decision.

TDK (Turkish Language Association) describes this expression as:

“işin içinde olmayanlar o işi kolay veya kârlı sanırlar” anlamında kullanılan bir söz

Davulun sesi uzaktan hoş gelir

En. distance lends enchantment to the view

“Davulun sesi uzaktan hoş gelir” is used when an admiration is expressed. Because the admirer doesn’t know the details. But the thing/person that is admired comes with a lot of trouble.

Damlaya damlaya göl olur.

En. Little strokes fell great oaks

Doğru söyleyeni dokuz köyden kovarlar.

En. ≈ all truth is not always to be told )

Lit. the man who tells the truth is driven out of nine villages

This is a very popular saying in Turkey. Let’s accept that sometimes you just have to lie. Society, friends, family etc. might make you lie even if you want to speak out the truths.

This proverb simply refers to this situation. A truthful someone who all the time speaks out, can not get along with other people. If you speak the truth in a situation where you didn’t need to, you easily can make enemies.

On the other hand, some people says this expression after the proverb: ‘…ama onuncusuna muhtar olur.’ which means that ‘but in the tenth village, s/he becomes the chief’

Dost kara günde belli olur.

En. a friend in need is a friend indeed

Sp. en el peligro se conoce el amigo OR en la mucha necesidad, se conoce al amigo de verdad.

Erken kalkan yol alır.

En. early bird gets the worm

Sp. a quien madruga dios le ayuda

I strongly agree with the advice.

Eşeğe altın semer vursan da eşek yine eşektir.

En. a fool with a tool is still a fool

Sp. Aunque la mona se vista de ceda, mona se queda. (lit. Although the monkey is dressed up with silk, it is still a monkey)

The Spanish one somehow implies some racism. The Turkish and English ones go through cleverness. I think the reason for that is the word “mona” <monkey>.

İyi insan lafın üstüne gelir.

I am having problems understanding how and why these both expressions are widely used. The meaning is quite obvious. If a person that you like appears: İyi insan lafın üstüne gelir. / If not, İti an çomağı hazırla. (informal) < speak of the devil! > <talk of the devil and he is sure to appear>

Apart from the mistism of coincidence, I find this expression less autentic and less original. The interesting word here, however, is “it” which means “dog” in old Turkish. It is said that Dog is the most loyal friend of humans. Apperantly, not have been for Turks.

It is not widely domesticated either, in Anotolia. Cats is more domesticated. In ancient times, the best friend of Turks was horse, not dogs.

If you say someone – köpek – it is bad. It can turn into an alarming situation.

Alma mazlumun ahını, çıkar aheste aheste.

(literally. eng. don’t make an oppressed person sigh, you will pay for it by and by)

En. Don’t make a martyr sigh, you will pay for it by and by) (tr. şehide [kurban] iç geçirtme, çok geçmeden yavaş yavaş ödersin.)

the English equivalent is quite similar. However, “mazlum” means “oppressed person” whereas “martyr” means “şehit” in Turkish. (mazlum, comes from ZLM, bknz: zulüm) In addition, here, we encounter an old Turkish phrasel verb ‘ah almak’ which is translated to ‘be cursed for one’s cruelty’ by my dictionary. However, the word “curse” is very strong for this concept. It’d be better to translate it as ‘sigh’.

Körler sağırlar, birbirlerini ağırlar.

If you see a couple or a group of people having the same awkward/bad characteristic, or people chasing an evil goal, you say “körler sağırlar birbirini ağırlar”.

The proverb literally means the blind feast with the deaf.

Lafla peynir gemisi yürümez.

En. Action speak louder than words.

I really like this proverb. “Lafla peynir gemisi yürümüz” literally means you cannot move a ship with words. True, indeed.

In summary, Instead of talking, take action.

En. fine words butter no parsnips OR actions speak louder than words

Sp. obras son amores, que no buenas razones

Tatlı dil yılanı deliğinden çıkarır.

En. Soft answer turneth away wrath OR you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

It implies that talking politely to someone results in positive “sonuç” even if he / she seems very problematic. It is very important to use the language effectively when you try to convince people.

Üzümü ye bağını sorma.

En. ask no questions and hear no lies

This proverb implies that you shouldn’t wonder more than necessary. Take advantage of what is given to you and do not question everything.

Eat the grape and do not ask where does it is come from.

Ya olduğun gibi görün ya da göründüğün gibi ol.

This proverb is from a poem of Rumi.

En. either seem as you are or be as you seem.

Do not deceive people.

Zararın neresinden dönülse kardır.

En. better lose the saddle than the horse

The proverb implies that it doesn’t matter at which point you find out your mistake. Be happy that you find out your mistake and do not focus on what you have lost because you could always lose more.

Accept your small loss (saddle) rather than losing the horse.

Zorla güzellik olmaz.

En. you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

The meaning of this proverb is that you can not force one to do something. You can give opportunities but you can not force one to seize that opportunity.

If you want to learn 30 more Turkish expressions, visit this page: 30 awesome Turkish expressions to know before you go

The post 20 Popular Turkish Proverbs That Will Make You Think appeared first on FluentinTurkish.com.

2. Chora Museum

3. Aya Sofya, Blue mosque

Blue mosque is located in front of Hagia Sophia in the Fatih region. The huge mosque was constructed in seven years (between 1609-1616), in front of Hagia Sophia, as an epitome of Ottoman architecture. The mosque walls are covered with blue handmade tiles, that’s why the colloquial name is ‘blue mosque’.

4. Grand Bazaar

5. Eat yogurt in Kanlıca

Yogurt occupies a big portion in the daily diets of the Turkish. The word, yogurt, has been borrowed by many languages keeping its original form; however, how it is eaten has changed a little bit. Turks prefer to eat the yogurt plain. As a desert, kanlıca yogurt is eaten with grape syrup (tr. pekmez), honey (tr. bal) or cherry/berry jams. You have to taste this delicious yogurt at the motherland of yogurt!

6. Drink beer in Kadıköy Moda

7. Prince Islands

8. Eat chesnut in Istiklal Street and Galata Tower

The post 8 wonderful things to do in Istanbul costing less than 8 dollars appeared first on FluentinTurkish.com.

Kaldırım: (pavement) If you think that this word is derived from the Turkish verb ‘kaldırmak‘, you are wrong. The opposite would be then, indirim? hehe. ‘Kaldırım’ is derived from Greek word kallidrómos (καλλιδρόμος) meaning ‘good/beautiful road‘. Kalo (beautiful) + drom (road); we encounter the same word ‘drom‘ in ‘hippodrome‘.

Boğa yılanı: (gopher snake) Gopher snake. These snakes kill their prays by squeezing them to death (boğmak). However, ‘boğa yılanı’ is definitely not derived from the Turkish verb ‘boğmak‘. They usually live in South Africa and Madagascar and can eat a Jaguar or a pig at a time. These snakes are called ‘boa‘ in the local language of the region. So, the correct writing would be only ‘Boa‘, as in ‘Piton‘ or ‘Anaconda‘. Yet ‘boğa yılanı‘ totally like a good fit with by a lucky coincidence.

Aferin: (well done) This word has been in Turkish for too long that, like many, it sounds like it is Turkish. The first appearance goes before 1500. It is borrowed from the Persian word āfirīn (آفرين) and by time, it evolves to fit in major vowel harmony. Its original meaning is ‘compliment’ in Persian which is now used as ‘bravo’ in Turkish.

Kilit: (lock) Turkish has borrowed this word from Persian kelīd (كليد), meaning ‘anahtar‘. Persian, on the other hand, has borrowed this word from ancient Greek kleid (κλεïς). The Greek word is derived from an Indoeuropean root *klau (also reminds us ‘to close’ or ‘la clave’ in Spanish). Anahtar, on the other hand, comes from Greek with the meaning of aniχtēri (ανοιχτηρι) meaning ‘açkı, açacak‘ (en. opener).

Menderes: Meandering water. (see the similarity?) The same word also exists in modern Greek today as méandros μαίανδρος. Turkish sources say that the word enters the ancient Greek as the name of a river in Istanbul (today’s Menderes river). Etymonline gives the following explanation for the word ‘meanderin‘:

from Greek Maiandros, name of a river in Caria* noted for its winding course (the Greeks used the name figuratively for winding patterns). In reference to river courses, in English, from 1590s.
(*Caria is an ancient region in Western Anatolia.)

Menderes in Turkish: Bir akarsu yatağının az eğimli koyak tabanlarında ve ova düzlüklerinde çizdiği S harfine benzeyen kıvrım.

Anadolu: The land between the Euphrates and East Aegean sea was called Anatolía (ανατολία) in Medieval Greek. The latest folk of Anatolia now call the same land ‘Anadolu’. The earliest appearance of the word is in Düsturname-i Enveri (1456). The Greek word is derived from the ancient Greek anatolē (ανατολη), literally meaning ‘rising’ since the sun rises from the east Aegean coast.

Efendi: (Master, sir) If someone calls your name, to say ‘I am here’, you’d say ‘efendim’ or If you don’t understand what is told, to make it repeat, you’d say ‘efendim’. This common and useful phrase actually comes from Medieaval Greek avthéntis (αυθέντης), meaning ‘royal’. (similar to Bey, let’s check its etymology next)

Bey: Mister, efendi. The word comes from Sogdian language which has been the medium of communication in the silk road until the 9th century. The roots of the word can be traced in the Avestan language and Sanskritic. (Indoeuropean languages)

Avanak:

Simpleton. This word is borrowed from Armenian (org: havanag յավանակ). The first appearance in the language is in 1876 (Ahmet Vefik Paşa, Lugat-ı Osmani), Lugat-ı Osmani defines the word as ‘fool person’. The original meaning in Armenian is donkey-foal. This Armenian word can be traced back until the Medieval Persian from 5 and 6th. centuries. In Medieval Persian it exists as yavān/yuvān (young), reminding us ‘civan’. (Civan: young, young man)

Temel: Base. The word comes from the Greek word themélio (θεμέλιο). Base of a sculpture is called ‘themélio’ in Greek. The first appearance in Turkish is in the 15th century of Ottoman Turkish which is quite early and today keeps the same meaning. It is surprising that the famous protagonist of Turkish jokes, Temel, takes its name from Greek.

Kermes: Kermiss, charity sale. We encounter the same word in many occidental languages. (Kermesse in Spanish and French) The first apperance in Turkish is in 1935. It is borrowed from French ‘kermesse’ which means ‘charity sales after sunday seremonial’. It is a compound word of Greek ‘kýrios’ κύριος (Gr. lord, god) and Latin ‘missa’ (masa, sunday seremonial) first appeared in German.

Credits for First, Second, Third photos.
Etymonline – Source for English words.
Etimolojiturkce.com – Source for Turkish words.

The post 11 Turkish words you won’t believe they are borrowings! appeared first on FluentinTurkish.com.

In his “Story of the Warrior and the Captive” Borges tells us about Droctulft, a
barbarian Lombard who abandons his own culture and dies defending Ravenna, the city that he had formerly tried to raid. Something of this incomprehensible yet meaningful passage is certainly present in the relationships between the Byzantine and early Turkish cultures.

Many reasons represented an obstacle to the closeness between the Greeks and the Turks: they had very different languages, Islam was not an acceptable religion for Byzantines. The lifestyle of a Turkish raider was remarkably different from that of the Byzantine cities dweller. At first sight, it would seem that Turks and Greeks were mortal enemies. And yet a significant number of Turks were integrated into the Empire, even in their higher ranks.

The introduction of an individual Turk into the Byzantine society required several
steps. The first of all was baptism, whereby the man abandoned his old life and was reborn a new person. It would seem like it was a hard step to take, but we should bear in mind that Islam was a relatively recently adopted religion to the Turk people and they cohabited in Anatolia with a population which was predominantly Christian. After baptism, they would receive titles and gifts, wealth that might have seduced them more than the nomadic lifestyle. Education on the Occidental culture would also play a key role, but the fullest stage of incorporation would come with marriage bonds.

Famous are the stories of Tatikios and John Axouch, who were introduced into
the very bosom of the imperial family and achieved high relevance in politics and warfare. There is also the singular case of the refugee called Koutloumousios by the Greeks, who became a Christian and founded a monastery on Mount Athos.

Finally, it is true that it would seem silly for some the idea of leaving the rising
Turkish force on behalf of the dying Byzantium. But it is not less true that from the tenth to the twelfth century the Empire did not seem on the verge of collapse, quite the contrary. However, as well as Borges’ story has its other side, this one has its too, for plenty of the Byzantium citizens decided to proceed likewise and abandon the Empire in order to join the Turkish power.

(Source: Brand, C. M. (1989) “The Turkish Element in Byzantium. Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries”,
Dumbarton Oaks Papers 43)

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Göktürk and Orkhon scripts

If you read any Turkish newspaper nowadays, you’ll find that the vocabulary is quite similar to occidental languages. Certainly, the alphabet they use is not very different than the ones used in Occident.

But it was not always like this!

The old Turkic language was written in its own alphabet, which looks very similar to the Germanic runes (although there is really no relations between them). The Göktürk or Orkhon script is thought to derive from the Aramaic alphabet or perhaps from Chinese scriptures. About two hundred inscriptions are preserved and they all stem from the area of Mongolia, dated from the 7th to the 10th century.

Which scripts have Turks adapted to their language?

Ottoman Turkish Alphabet

When Turkic peoples began to move south to Anatolia region in the following centuries, they came into contact with the Byzantine, Arabic and Persian cultures. The Ottoman Empire official script was the Ottoman Turkish alphabet, an adaptation of the Arabic alphabet which worked quite good for the words loaned from Arabic and Persian, but not so well for the vernacular.

Modern Turkish Alphabet

Finally, this script was relinquished officially in 1929, when the westernization of the nation was in full swing. In its place, it was adopted the Latin alphabet that was used in most of the European countries and in whole America. Of course, it needed some attaches and modifications to suit the Turkish language, but only seven new characters appear. To us, this is an obvious advantage since we don’t need to deal with some complicated writing system to communicate within Turkey. However, this represented a severe shock for the Turks of the first half of the 20th century. The work of schools was the key factor in this point and nowadays the adapted Latin alphabet’s use is fully extended in the country. Actually, there is an incredibly small number of people who is able to read a newspaper from… less than a century ago! Imagine such an obstacle, for example, to study a document of 90 years old.

The post Written Turkish Language appeared first on FluentinTurkish.com.