Turkish Phrases Blog

When my parents visited us in Turkey last April I couldn’t believe my ears.  My dear 67 year old mother was speaking Turkish phrases amazingly well.  She was speaking some even more accurately than me!  I couldn’t believe it.

There is a simple reason for her language learning success: before their visit I recommended the resource posted on the right side of this page.  My Mom ordered a copy of the Pimsleur Conversational Turkish program and listened to the CD in her car.

The really cool thing about Pimsleur is that it will teach you basic Turkish phrases without telling you what they mean in English.  I know that whole concept makes some people want to pull out their hair and run screaming away.  They would much rather write sentence diagrams, memorize verb conjugation charts and all the time know exactly what the translation is in their native language.  My lovely wife is one of those people so I’m not saying the left-brain approach is all bad.  I am telling you the approach Pimsleur takes is just the most effective way to actually learn how to understand and speak basic Turkish.  It is the way children learn.  It is the natural way to learn.

OK, this is starting to sound like an ad, so I’ll stop now.  Let me just say, you will learn basic Turkish phrases if you buy Pimsleur.  And if you buy it through this site you will help me keep writing!

Technorati Tags: Audio, Learning Tools, learning turkish

I’ve been hearing good things about a site which does all kinds of translation, including translating Turkish phrases into English:

http://www.babylon.com

It’s a combination of download and Internet resource which enables you to click on words and phrases and get instant definitions.

Apparently you can use it for free.  I would have tried it but my computer operating system doesn’t quite match the requirements for the download.  If you’ve tried it, feel free to comment on how you like it here.

Technorati Tags: Learning Tools, online dictionaries

Looking for more audio resources for learning Turkish Phrases?  There are four podcasts available for free download on iTunes from Sinan Akdeniz. (You can download iTunes software for free.)  Just do a search for “Turkish Language with Sinan.”

The podcasts include:

1. Restaurants
2. Direction, Time and Dates
3. Airports and Hotels
4. First Words

These podcasts are geared for the beginner.  The last podcast was posted a couple years ago, so we will see if more appear!

Technorati Tags: Audio, learning turkish, turkish phrases, useful turkish phrases

Damaris Kremida writes in the Turkish Daily News about her experiences learning Turkish.  She includes these tips (for those who are seriously learning Turkish):

1)   Make friends with Turks who can’t speak English. Talk to Turkish kids as often as you can. You won’t be so nervous practicing with them.

2)   Try new grammar “live”. Have fun with it.

3)   Dust off your dictionary and translate sentences from English to Turkish. Becker said the search for words to make meaning is an old and useful tool.

4)   Become a Turkish TV show fan. Pick a show and get hooked.

5)   Think in Turkish. String sentences in the car or as you walk down the street.

Technorati Tags: learning turkish, turkish language

I’m finding more nice bits of audio to share with you from the Türkçe Öğreniyorum podcast.  Here is the audio and my transcription/translation of another Turkish greeting interaction:

Learning Turkish part 2

Ahmet: Merhaba.  Benim adım Ahmet.
(Hello.  My name is Ahmet.)

Ayşe: Merhaba.  Ben de Ayşe.  Memnun oldum.
(Hello.  And I’m Ayşe.  Pleased to meet you.)

Ahmet: Ben de memnun oldum.
(I’m pleased to meet you too.)

Technorati Tags: Audio, turkish greetings, Turkish hello, turkish phrases

I’ve written a lot about Turkish phrases, but now you can listen for yourself.  Below is an audio clip of spoken Turkish greetings.  The clip is from a podcast put out by Turkey Radio Television (TRT)  called Türkçe Öğreniyorum (I’m Learning Turkish).

Have a listen to the recording and follow along below.

Learning Turkish: Greetings

Ayşen: Merhaba Mili.  Nasılsın?
(Hello Mili.  How are you?)

Milli: Merhaba Ayşen.  Teşekkür ederim.  İyiyim.  Sen nasılsın?
(Hello Ayşen.  Thank you.  I’m fine.  How are you?)

Ayşen: Ben de iyiyim. Çok teşekkür ederim.
(I’m also fine.  Thank you very much.)

Technorati Tags: Audio, turkish greetings, Turkish hello, turkish phrases

I don’t claim to have checked out all the online dictionaries, but for what it’s worth, here’s the one I like best so far:Seslisozluk.com.

For one, it’s fast.  For two, it drops down a whole list of suggestions as you type, which is great for Turkish, as sometimes one might not know what the root of the word is.

It looks like there is a mobile option as well.

This dictionary is just easy to use overall and very helpful.

Found a better one?  Comments are welcome.

Technorati Tags: Learning Tools, online dictionaries, turkish language, turkish phrases

A new Turkish online dictionary set to be launched on Sept. 26 looks like it could be a huge help to people who are learning Turkish phrases.  The cool thing about it is that it will have a sound file available for each word.  That’s why it is called, “Sesli Türkçe Sözlük,” which means “Turkish Dictionary with Sound”.

The dictionary is run by the Turkish Language Society (TDK).  The major catch is that if the new dictionary is like the old one, the whole site is in Turkish, which is challenging for beginners like me.  But hey, I’m looking forward to getting the exact pronunciation of lots of words!

Here’s the whole article.

Update: Here’s the link to the Sesli Türkçe Sözlük.  I’m not able to get the sound to work with the browsers I use.  Maybe it needs Explorer to work?!  And it is all in Turkish, which will be a challenge for beginners.  Go here to read about an easier to use dictionary.

Technorati Tags: online dictionaries, turkish language, turkish phrases