Tonight I am taking on Turkish language basics. Ben in Turkish* along with Swedish so I promised it would be one of the languages that I learned this month. Did you know that Turkish is spoken by 75 million people as their first language, making it a top 15 most widely spoken language?! Who knew it was so popular?
Turkish History
As I did more digging into the history of the Turkish language, I found that it’s a bit of a jumbled language. Turkish began to emerge during the Ottoman Empire and was widely used from 1299 to 1922. It was the official language of the Ottoman Empire and consisted of a mix of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic. In 1932 the language was reformed to be all Turkish words. Interestingly enough, today more conservative people tend to use the original Turkish language and the younger people tend to use the more modern form of the language. Due to the change of the language in the early 1900s, there are many variants of the language. The official standard of the Turkish language is Istanbul Turkish.
The Turkish Language Basics
Now that we have got all of the language origin covered, it’s time to move into the basics you might need when traveling or speaking with a Turkish speaking person.
Hi, I’m Krysta. (Informal) – Selam ben Krysta.
Hello, my name is Krysta Kalajian. (Formal) – Merhaba ben Krysta Kalajian.
Nice to meet you – Taniştiğimiza memnun oldum
Thank you – teşekkür ederim
Thanks – Teşekkürler
No Problem -sorun değil
It’s Nothing – Birşey değil
Hi (informal) – Selam!
Hi (formal) – Merhaba
Good-bye (informal) – Güle güle
Hope to see you soon – Görüşmek üzere
Yes – Evet
No– Hayir
Excuse me, Do you speak English? – Afedersiniz, İngilizce konuşabiliyor musunuz?
Funny Sayings
I couldn’t have a language lesson without a couple of funny sayings! To be honest this has become one of my favorite parts of learning these new languages. Every country and culture is so different that it is fun to learn part of the dynamic through the language.
- 1. Kafam Güzel
- Literal Translation: My head is beautiful
- Actual Meaning: I’m Drunk / High
- 2. Fistik
- Literal Translation: Pistachio
- Actual Meaning: word used to describe a young attractive women
- 3. Boşver
- Literal Translation: Give Empty
- Actual Meaning: Never mind
Hope you enjoyed getting to learn a little bit more about the Turkish Language. Checkout the YouTube video that taught me everything I needed to know! Be sure to drop your favorite words and phrase below!
xoxo
Krysta
*Ben has so much pride in his Turkish heritage. However, I am more Armenian than he is Turkish…this is what I live with my friends 🙄
