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Post by freestate on Oct 29, 2004 9:30:35 GMT 2
I am just being curious to see how many of you attempted to learn Turkish while living in Turkey; was it an easy task or overwhelmingly difficult? how did speaking Turkish change your experience of living in Turkey so far?
Or, would you say it is quite managable to live in Turkey - especially in big cities - by just communicating in English? As my partner is a foreigner and we are planing to move to Istanbul, so I thought your answers might help him a lot.
thanks
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Post by Starman on Oct 29, 2004 20:30:08 GMT 2
After all these years here, I can get by no problem. although I wouldnt say I am fluent as I never took lesons or went to school for it, I do surprise people now and then, even my wife. One time she asked me why I dressed so well once and I just replied " neden soriyorsin? piyasida degilim!"
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Post by anatolian_goddess on Oct 29, 2004 21:19:00 GMT 2
turkish is my third 'second language' and it was harder to learn than my second simply because i was surrounded by turks who spoke english all the time (i got here in 1990 and taught for the next 7 years in top-notch schools). the only place i was able (required) to use my limited turkish was in taxis! consequently, i learned 'sokak turkce'...and it was really almost three years before i broke that 'silent barrier'
and started to really communicate...it happened on a long bus ride during a school break..sat next to a turk for 16 hours..he didn't speak english and i had to speak turkish.
(usually men and women don't sit next to each other on buses unless they are relatives, but since i was a foreigner, i think they made an exception. he was a perfect gentleman by the way, so it was okay).
at each stage in my turkish adventure, i've had to learn new vocabulary...the vocabulary of shopping, banking, car repairs, lease negotiating, and finally construction....
i bought a house 8 hours away from istanbul and had it restored and remodeled all with my less than perfect turkish. at this point, i speak more turkish than english on a daily basis.
come here, and over time, you will learn...i never took a course in turkish but it wouldn't hurt for you to at least get the basics.
and good luck. stay away from the english speakers in tourist areas...they usually want to sell you something!
the cybele
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Post by Nelson on Oct 31, 2004 17:11:36 GMT 2
Ok the language could be a problem if you live in the country side, but in a so big city like Istanbul! And the language doesn't become a limite for you, everywhere, you will learn more and more, but if you like your life, it'll be easier. ;D. Just trust on yourself, and don't be shy!
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Post by kebalta on Nov 2, 2004 21:16:44 GMT 2
I think your wife could get by without Turkish but she should learn.
Even in Istanbul not knowing Turkish can be very annoying. I remember when I lived over here for 5 or 6 months with a boyfriend. He and most of his friends spoke English but they only spoke it when they were talking to me. So when we were all hanging out 80% of it would be in Turkish.
Now that I know enough Turkish to get by I am much happier. I can do pretty much everything for myself and I dont need to rely on anyone else. Knowing the language gives you freedom
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Post by anatolian_goddess on Nov 3, 2004 2:44:11 GMT 2
look at this subject from another perspective....
suppose you were in your native country....how do you deal with foreigners that come there to live and DON'T bother to learn the language.
you pay the greatest compliment to the citizens of the place where you're living (or residing for an extended period) by at least trying to learn the language. And these people here are so appreciative, at least that is my experience.
thecybele
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Post by osiere on Nov 3, 2004 3:00:43 GMT 2
Well said..
totally agree with you.
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JohnF
Yeni olan
Posts: 22
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Post by JohnF on Nov 3, 2004 23:45:37 GMT 2
Yeah, thats a definite.
The way I look at it, its simply a matter of showing respect.
JohnF
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Post by freestate on Nov 6, 2004 4:59:36 GMT 2
thank you for all your comments..as i am turkish myself, i sometimes try to teach my partner few words here and there but he has no interest as we are not living in Turkey yet. we both agree that his life in Turkey will be more fun and full of experience once he starts to comunicate them in Turkish. well, we still have sometime before we move to Istanbul and i am wondering how hard was it to learn Turkish for the english speaking crowd here? i know this varies from one person to another but generally what were the hardest things in the language you found to pick up?
any recommendation for classes/courses in Istanbul?
have a good weekend...
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Post by anatolian_goddess on Nov 6, 2004 5:23:16 GMT 2
let me answer your questions by telling you about my grandmother...she was basically uneducated...girls didn't get to go to school in those days (watch the movie Yentl and you'll see what life was like for girls...according to my grandma). sometime at the beginning of the last century she managed to get to the USA...by the time she died, she could speak about 5 languages and she had taught herself to read and write...in english. it wasn't great english, but she got by well enough to run her own boarding house to earn money. how did she learn all those languages? well, america at that time was made up of groups of immigrants that lived in neighborhoods...at least in philadelphia...in order to do your daily business, you needed to converse with the merchants...so grandma learned their languages.
in the 70s, i lived in athens, greece...i purposely moved to an area where there were NO yanks because i wanted to learn the language quickly...i was speaking greek within a short period of time because i HAD TO...then i taught myself to read and write greek...
when i finally came to turkey to live in 1990, i had virtually no turkish...and it took longer for me to start speaking turkish because all around me were english speakers...that wasn't the case in greece. so 'immersion' or 'emmersion' is the best way to learn a language.
if necessary, go take a basic conversational turkish course soon after coming here...but that's IT... believe me, you're partner will learn if he feels the need to converse with the
natives..otherwise, you're going to be the translator for the rest of your life...that gets old really fast!! been there, done that.
good luck.
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hack
Yeni olan
Posts: 16
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Post by hack on Dec 14, 2004 16:27:08 GMT 2
I'm trying to learn it now. It's hard for two reasons:
1. I suck at languages
2. Instead of going slowly, many in Istanbul would rather just switch to English or get a Turk who speaks to moderate a conversation.
But it's obviously worth the effort -- so many options available to you!
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