Do you speak Turkish?
It is widely agreed that speaking Turkish is essential for a successful integration in Turkey. Do you agree? Share your experience!
Do you speak Turkish? If so, where did you learn this language? Where can one attend a language course in Turkey?
If not, how do you cope with daily activities? Is it easy to communicate in a different language with Turks ?
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Priscilla
- The Turkish lifestyle - Guide
- Learn/Practice Turkish - 20 Replies
- Getting Turkish registration plates for a German car. - 1 Reply
- Gaining Turkish Citizenship for expats - 7 Replies
- Turkish Language Student Visa - 3 Replies
- Nature of Turkish guy - 108 Replies
- I want to know details about these Turkish cities. - 3 Replies
thanks
I don't speaks Turkish yet, I enrolled in Turkish lessons in TOMER located in taksim.
I have different language applications for Turkish language and I try to practice everyday.
I have google translate and whenever I need something I write it down and show it to the person I want to communicate.
So far I like turkey very much.
Anyone who want to learn Turkish, feel free to contact me
Turkey is a nation state. Only ethnic Turks are considered as belonging in the country. It doesn't matter whether you are born there, speak the language or know the culture if you are not an ethnic Turk you cannot fit in. Ethnic Turks from other Turkic countries like Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and others find more acceptance and easy to fit in than non Turkic people who are born and raised in Turkey. It is because the country is founded on an extreme racism believing that Turkey is only for the Turks and Turkey's friends are only Turks. That is the reason why Kurdish, Arab, Africans, Armenians and other minorities are being excluded, othered, segregated and treated as second class citizens.
Another thing to note is, color plays an important and crucial role in everyday life in Turkey. Whiteness is accepted and welcomed, Blackness is rejected. So your skin color will also determine if whether you will find friends and job. They mostly prefer to welcome people with White skin and blonde hair. So that's another handy information.
Regards
Good luck
I speak and read Turkish at a fairly good level. Mostly I am self-taught. Courses generally don't work for me. I got a book, studied and practised at every opportunity. It takes time and determination though. Don't expect a miracle to happen over night. Treat every post as a winning post.
First, Turkey is a melting pot of many ethnic groups. If an "ethnic Turk" is someone whose genetic origin is in Central Asia, very few citizens of modern Turkey would qualify.
Second, it is nonsense to say "the country is founded on an extreme racism". Most Turks are very welcoming and accepting of foreigners, whatever their origin. What evidence is there that these groups are being excluded? On the other hand, there are now nearly three million Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees in Turkey - and no one else will accept them. Certainly not聽 the USA or most of the EU countries.
Finally, the skin colour comment is also nonsense in my opinion. What is the skin colour of "ethnic Turks"? And how many of them have blond hair?
The Republic of Turkey, and before that, the Ottoman Empire have a long history of accepting religious and ethnic groups willing to participate and contribute to the local society. Most of the divisions in the past have been brought about by outside interference. For example, the United States' recent encouragement of Kurdish separatism in Iraq and Syria for their own purposes.
[link moderated]
We are way off-topic here on this thread. The subject is only about language, in this case Turkish and how聽 expats go about handling it and if learning the local language is crucial for a successful expatriation project.
There are many other aspets to expatriation but this thread is exclusively focused on the use of local language.
Could we please get back to the initial topic ?
Thanks in advance,
Bhavna
聽 聽I feel that it's very important to speak the language. I feel very isolated if I'm unable to communicate with people. Also, people tend to treat me as a stupid yabanci and I like to set them straight on that score. Other people are pleased that I am at least trying to speak their language. I'm hoping to find a Turkish language course that I can attend in the summer holidays, but I don't know if there are any for the summer where I live.
Thank you
anyway. first thing if you like to learn speak Turkish pls try to find nice turkish course one of聽 the nice university. ( like istanbul 脺nv. Or marmara 脺nv.聽 Or聽 T脰MER ) it will help you to learn something from Grammer. And second pls try to make some friend from turkish people and don't be afraid for that because all of them so friendly and polite if you know how to talk and approach them聽 ( be polite and nice don't be rude them otherwise they will be rude also ) try to talk very day with your friend Turkish and let them correct you if something wrong and socialize with Turkish it will be help and you will enjoy your time here and you will be happy more. Third one is pls try to Wacht Turkish news or movie or listen Turkish music when you are home ( don't Wacht only your country tv and聽 movie which one English or other language )
You can speak english or other language when you are with your foreigners friend.
Of course most of Turkish people's are knows how to speak English but they don't need to speak if you don't soak with them but I am %100 sure they will love to talk and socialize when you are not afraid and ignore them
I was working in hotel sector for long time and I can say that, it's very difficult to find job if you don't speak Turkish, it's not because the people don't accept if don't speak. Actually they would love to have people from different cultures and origines but the problem is they don't speak that much second or third language and paper works are also in Turkish and it is bringing the communication problem, so it will be better if you can Learn Turkish at least brought to do your job. It was the same for me when I was leaving in other countries, like in France I couldn't expect that they learn Turkish for me 馃槀 So I learned French to do my own job, I hope I could explain what wanted to say !!!
I came in Turkey is about 3 months now, and I am getting to understand the language little bit. Speaking is still a problem for me. I am presently going to the Turkish language school in isparta.
graduated from Oriental languages translate Turkish Hebrew Farsi & Urdu
But when i start working in a different area the most important language was English after 8 years i forgot almost of the other languages
its sad but am trying to restudy Turkish again
in my opinion the most faster way to learn any different language is to get friend from this country
Actually, you are the kind of person who are not welcome in Turkey. No offence.
Just registered here to reply you.
There are several ways of learning a foreign language but as a Turkish tutor for foreign learners, I'd like to share my own opinions with the expat community here.
1. We should not go to courses or private tutors directly.
What do I mean by directly? Well, we mostly go to courses as if they have a pill to make us take it and learn the language. We also know that it won't realize. So we should not go to courses without any knowledge of Turkish language. For instance, we should not learn that it's an Altaic language and it has a vowel and consonant harmony at course. If we know it before the course then we'll be able to focus and learn other new things in the class.
2. We should not forget what kind of age we live in.
We're surrounded by technology. It's in everything we do. Everybody has a smartphone and the applications such as Memrise and Duolingo provide you to learn a new language. We should not underestimate and take time for them. At the beginning it might seem too basic but the more we go on the more we will learn.
3. Now we can go to language centers or take private classes from a tutor.
Now as we know some basic Turkish, what we're going to learn in classes will not sound us alien. We will be able to combine the pieces and the lessons will be way more effective. We should also go on with the apps we mentioned before. Especially Memrise.
4. We should go to Couchsurfing meetings to practice our skills and to make friends.
We all know this site. There must be at least one weekly meeting in our city. Even if there is none, we can organize one to gather locals and expats. This is very important for our language skills.
I hope you all will enjoy your staying in Turkey.

PS: My mail box is blocked but you could ask me anything under this post. Have a nice day if you read this.

聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽I read the post. I am Mehmet. I am a engineering student in a technical university in Istanbul. I can speak Turkish and English.
聽 聽 Some people want to learn Turkish. That can be possible with more practice with a person know Turkish. I want to improve my English. If anyone wants , we can meet in Istanbul and we can imrove our speaking. you Turkish , me English. That can be benefit for us.
Please contact me. Thanks.
I am not based in Istanbul just yet but hope to say that I am from Istanbul soon.
I have used two online programmes which have helped me tremendously.
Mango Languages
Busuu
Mango Languages was about $20, I loved this application. It would allow you to record the word you've just learnt and match it to the teachers way of saying the word. So that you know you're pronouncing the word correctly.
Busuu is about $15 a month. This application is a little bit more in depth. If helps you with grammar and takes you right up to an intermediate advanced level.
Also, I try to speak the language as often as I can. I listen to Turkish music and when I am in Istanbul I like to watch TV in Turkish.
Hope my advice has helped somewhat.
All the best
Tarryn
About the topic of speaking the Turkish language, yes it's important to learn it as it's important in any country to speak the native language, if you want to live there.
Especially in Turkey it's more important since most Turkish people only speak one language...their own...
I'm still trying to learn it but it's difficult because I'm from West-Europe and used to speak Dutch, English, German and French. Turkish is totally different (except from a few, originally, French words).
To practice with Turkish friends is the best way to learn it, with help from some Turkish learning apps (Duolingo, etc.) on your phone so you can use it wherever you are.
Good luck! 馃尫
I think we're getting off topic again. However, for a start there aren't that many people of African origin (I assume that's what you mean) in Turkey, so it's not easy to find one to be your friend even if you want. It's a lot easier in America or Europe - but a lot of those people don't have dark-skinned friends either. It seems you are making some pretty broad generalisations for someone who possibly hasn't been in the country very long.
You have done well to make 150 Turkish friends. Are there any Kurds amongst them? They probably speak Kurdish as well as Turkish - and quite few people here speak Circassian or Arabic as well. This certainly isn't Denmark or the Netherlands. In addition to learning Turkish, people like us from Western cultures need to make quite a radical shift in perspective if we are ever going to feel comfortable here.
for learning Turkish language with daily conversation
Reason : Broken link
Make your relocation easier with the 罢眉谤办颈测别 expat guide

Accommodation in Istanbul
The largest city in 罢眉谤办颈测别, Istanbul is one of the most popular travel destinations for foreigners. There is ...

Working in 罢眉谤办颈测别
罢眉谤办颈测别's unique geographical position not only makes it a crucial hub for international trade but also ...

Moving with your pet to 罢眉谤办颈测别
Pets, and cats in particular, are fondly loved by most Turkish people, who prove incredibly caring to street ...

Childcare in 罢眉谤办颈测别
罢眉谤办颈测别 is a great place for kids, thanks to its incredibly child-friendly culture. Everywhere you turn, ...

Accommodation in 罢眉谤办颈测别
For an expat moving to 罢眉谤办颈测别, finding the right accommodation is a critical step in arranging a smooth ...

Dating in 罢眉谤办颈测别
Dating in 罢眉谤办颈测别 is an interesting mix of traditional customs and contemporary trends, reflecting the ...

Accommodation in Izmir
Moving to Izmir? Great idea! 罢眉谤办颈测别's third-largest city, Izmir combines the cultural and entertainment ...

Working in Ankara
Ankara is 罢眉谤办颈测别's political capital and second-largest city after Istanbul. Modern infrastructure and ...
Forum topics on living in 罢眉谤办颈测别
大咖福利影院 for your expat journey



