Hello All!
I have been having such a busy and wonderful time that I have neglected my blog, my apologies. From the language to the culture, experiencing Turkey and understanding is coming along wonderfully. In Germany our class spoke a lot about "Kultural verstandnis oder misverstandnis," meaning, "Cultural understanding or misunderstanding." The longer I am able to experience Turkey inside the home of Turkish people, interacting with Turkish people, and altogether, experiencing the culture from an inside view, the more I realize the amount of "Kultural misverstandnis" that not only I had about Turkey, but, I believe others have as well. Speaking in general terms: certain Turkish words. Many times, when looking up the meaning of a Turkish word, my friends or I will find a very generic, non-descriptive word as an English translation. And, in many cases, this "English Translation" is not only insufficient, but also wrong. This can lead to a great deal of miscommunication and understanding. What is one to do if there are no adaquate translations? "Erlebnis" is a perfect German word meaning "Lived experience." I have often left Google translate or my Turkish dictionary and instead am taught words based on experience and examples. In Turkish, there are very specific words for specific occasions, for particular emphasis or to un-emphasis.
How about another cultural observation that is often misunderstood: the relationship between men and women. A few evenings ago, I was able to have a "girls" night-accompanied by the ever-so-helpful Google Translate. We talked, of course, about men and the difference between Turkish relationships and those of American relationships. Walking around Turkey, one can see an exceedingly larger amount of couples walking hand in hand, with their arms around one another. It seemed like very rarely were there single couples. In the same, there were usually groups of people, men with other men, or women with other women, three or more walking to and from destinations. The Turkish men are very sweet to the women in a way that can be considered, old fashioned courtship courtesy-opening all the doors, allowing the women to go first, pulling out chairs, and being very attentive to the woman's needs. They are also exceptionally affectionate, in public and in private, more than most in America. Public PDA, public displays of affection, are not at all uncommon. The women said that this is because God meant for man and woman to be together. A couple is two people that are one, and the men hold very firmly and proudly to this fact. When they are holding hands, they are holding hands with their other half. They will treat their other half the way that they want to be treated (aka, the golden rule). I then asked, how is that feeling retaliated because in many cases, I had not seen women be as affectionate towards their men. I was told that the woman take pride in serving their significant other and it is their way of showing their love and appreciation. Cooking, cleaning, washing, these are all things that the women found perfectly acceptable ways of retaliating the love that they are shown everyday.
A little before the "girls night," I was able to talk with a student of Turkish classical music at the Istanbul Conservatory. She was very excited to hear that a foreigner had an interest in Turkish classical music, and was slightly surprised to hear that there may be a correlation between Turkish music and Western classical music. The topic for that evening was how one sings Turkish classical music or in Turkish, "Türk Müziği" and what Turk Muzigi entails. There are 88 different forms of Turk Muzigi. Thank goodness, during Mozart's time, there were only 15 in use. Each form has specific characteristic traits, melismas, forms, etc. In short, different sounds to them. Every form requires the singer to use throat voice and use their larynx to control the melismatic passage (fast with lots of notes). The melismatic passages are unlike those in Western classical music in that they contain komas, or notes in-between our normal notes of the scale. "Zum Beispiel" or in English, For Example:
The Note "A"= 440 Hz
imagine the next note, "Bb"= 450 Hz
Our Western scale would only have A to Bb, nothing in between. However, Turkish music has 9 notes, 9 komas, between A and Bb
A=440,
1st komma= 441.1111 Hz
2nd komma= 442.2222 Hz
3rd komma= 443.3333 Hz
etc.
These are theoretical numbers, but they give a good idea of how fine the tuning is not only for the trained musician but also for the instruments with which the singer sings. It takes years of practice and training to be able to sing/play all 9 kommas.
Here is a beautiful example by one of the most famous Turkish classical music artists, Zeki Muren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgbRbBVQc64
Hopefully, the next few days will not be as busy, and I can find more time to write. Until then, have a beautiful day!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Diving into Turkish
Merhaba!
Today's blog will be about the Turkish language from my perspective. The entire Turkish language is based upon a system of vowel harmony. Set rules exist for the conjugation of verbs; however, the vowels in those verbs may change depending on the need to keep the vowel harmony consistent. Turkish becomes similiar to French in this regard as many ellisions are created to keep the overall flow of the sentence. It is my opinion that the vowel harmony rule makes Turkish a much easier language than most in which to sing. In singing, it is essential to find the connection between vowels since it is vowels that allow the sound to be produced. The closer the vowels are related, the less change, and the easier it is to sing. The Turkish language compliments this.
From my first day in Turkey, I began writting vocabulary lists of words and verbs that I would hear throughout the day and wanted to know. Sometimes the list contains similiar words that I want to make sure I remember. The lists have been very common things around the house, especially the kitchen and food related, and the verbs until today have been in the present tense. This has been incredibly helpful as I hear these words everyday and can now listen to the tv or conversations and slightly understand what is going on when the native speakers speak quickly. When they speak baby Turkish to me, I can even respond and usually understand a great deal more. Vocabulary lists, therefore, are a great help! Here's a small example:
Sozler (words):
daha
simdi
bu gun
yarin
dun
hafta sonu
eglence
harika
Fiiller (verbs):
Gitmek (to go)
ben gidiyorum
sen gidiyorsun (musun)
o gidiyor (mu)
biz gidiyoruz (muyuz)
siz gidiyorsunuz (musunuz)
onlar gidiyorlar (mi)
Yapmak (to do)
ben yapiyorum
sen yapiyorsun (musun)
o yapiyor (mu)
biz yapiyoruz (muyuz)
siz yapiyorsunuz (musunuz)
onlar yapiyorlar (mi)
This is a condensed version of a list. The words in parenthesis after the verbs are what make that particular verb go from a statement to a question. Today we began working on past tense (gecmis zaman) and future tense (gelecek zaman) and combining those verbs with the present tense (simdi zaman) to start asking questions. From here on, we will be working to create sentences with the list of vocab words and verbs. It is all incredibly exciting!
Perhaps the most helpful part of learning Turkish has been in the kitchen. As I have helped with and/or watched dinner preparations, I am taught not only how to cook wonderful Turkish food, but also given instructions on how to prepare dinner in Turkish. And, since many of the dishes take time to cook, it is during those times that we chat and I am able to start utilizing the non kitchen related Turkish words I am learning. Therefore, another useful tool for learning a language, watch a cooking show in that language and cook!
One dish I learned to make is called beber dolma. It is a combination of rice and fresh herbs (sometimes meat) inside of a green pepper that is topped with a slice of tomato. Fabulous!
Next week I will begin voice lessons with the Turkish soprano since this week is the end of finals for the Conservatory as well as commencement for all of the Universities and Conservatories. End of the school year excitement has also been combined with excitement from the recent elections.
It was a very unique experience to be in another country while elections were being held. In Turkey, vans blairing music from that particular political party drive up and down the streets all day long. There are numerous stands along the street as well to help promote political parties, and they too blair music.
Rallies were held near the seaside daily, and at night, political activists spray painted walls along the highway in support of their political party. I was told that this is common and not illegal-a very different form of freedom of speech than compared to America.
More information can be found here:
http://www.todayszaman.com/menuDetail.action?sectionId=342
For many citizens, these elections seemed to mark a turning point in Turkish history. As it was explained to me, a political party is allowed to begin changing the laws during their fifth year in office. This year's elections put the radical muslim party in office for its fifth year.
This is the final map of the Turkish votes. The yellow is the votes for the Muslim radical party, a little over 50%.
Thank you for reading my blog today. More exciting information to come! Have a beautiful day!
Today's blog will be about the Turkish language from my perspective. The entire Turkish language is based upon a system of vowel harmony. Set rules exist for the conjugation of verbs; however, the vowels in those verbs may change depending on the need to keep the vowel harmony consistent. Turkish becomes similiar to French in this regard as many ellisions are created to keep the overall flow of the sentence. It is my opinion that the vowel harmony rule makes Turkish a much easier language than most in which to sing. In singing, it is essential to find the connection between vowels since it is vowels that allow the sound to be produced. The closer the vowels are related, the less change, and the easier it is to sing. The Turkish language compliments this.
From my first day in Turkey, I began writting vocabulary lists of words and verbs that I would hear throughout the day and wanted to know. Sometimes the list contains similiar words that I want to make sure I remember. The lists have been very common things around the house, especially the kitchen and food related, and the verbs until today have been in the present tense. This has been incredibly helpful as I hear these words everyday and can now listen to the tv or conversations and slightly understand what is going on when the native speakers speak quickly. When they speak baby Turkish to me, I can even respond and usually understand a great deal more. Vocabulary lists, therefore, are a great help! Here's a small example:
Sozler (words):
daha
simdi
bu gun
yarin
dun
hafta sonu
eglence
harika
Fiiller (verbs):
Gitmek (to go)
ben gidiyorum
sen gidiyorsun (musun)
o gidiyor (mu)
biz gidiyoruz (muyuz)
siz gidiyorsunuz (musunuz)
onlar gidiyorlar (mi)
Yapmak (to do)
ben yapiyorum
sen yapiyorsun (musun)
o yapiyor (mu)
biz yapiyoruz (muyuz)
siz yapiyorsunuz (musunuz)
onlar yapiyorlar (mi)
This is a condensed version of a list. The words in parenthesis after the verbs are what make that particular verb go from a statement to a question. Today we began working on past tense (gecmis zaman) and future tense (gelecek zaman) and combining those verbs with the present tense (simdi zaman) to start asking questions. From here on, we will be working to create sentences with the list of vocab words and verbs. It is all incredibly exciting!
Perhaps the most helpful part of learning Turkish has been in the kitchen. As I have helped with and/or watched dinner preparations, I am taught not only how to cook wonderful Turkish food, but also given instructions on how to prepare dinner in Turkish. And, since many of the dishes take time to cook, it is during those times that we chat and I am able to start utilizing the non kitchen related Turkish words I am learning. Therefore, another useful tool for learning a language, watch a cooking show in that language and cook!
One dish I learned to make is called beber dolma. It is a combination of rice and fresh herbs (sometimes meat) inside of a green pepper that is topped with a slice of tomato. Fabulous!
Next week I will begin voice lessons with the Turkish soprano since this week is the end of finals for the Conservatory as well as commencement for all of the Universities and Conservatories. End of the school year excitement has also been combined with excitement from the recent elections.
It was a very unique experience to be in another country while elections were being held. In Turkey, vans blairing music from that particular political party drive up and down the streets all day long. There are numerous stands along the street as well to help promote political parties, and they too blair music.
Rallies were held near the seaside daily, and at night, political activists spray painted walls along the highway in support of their political party. I was told that this is common and not illegal-a very different form of freedom of speech than compared to America.
More information can be found here:
http://www.todayszaman.com/menuDetail.action?sectionId=342
For many citizens, these elections seemed to mark a turning point in Turkish history. As it was explained to me, a political party is allowed to begin changing the laws during their fifth year in office. This year's elections put the radical muslim party in office for its fifth year.
This is the final map of the Turkish votes. The yellow is the votes for the Muslim radical party, a little over 50%.
Thank you for reading my blog today. More exciting information to come! Have a beautiful day!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
9 June 2011
Merhaba!
Today's Turkish word is "Gunaydin" which means "Good morning!" Turkish lessons are going very well currently. There was a problem with the Dilmer Institute, and I am currently learning Turkish on my own with the help of my host families. Every day, I make up 25-30 vocab lists of words I hear throughout the previous day that I want to know. I then pick 4-5 verbs and learn how to conjugate them and ask questions. My host family helps me use those words throughout the day. A special thank you to my homeschooling background where I learned how to teach myself!
Being here for the past few days has brought about a very significant point of view: the Turkish people in Kreuzburg, little Istanbul, bear very litle resemblence to the Turkish people here in Istanbul. There is a certain vivaciousness that one feels being in Istanbul. This particular energy is lacking in Kreuzberg, both my German partner and I agree. Not saying that Little Istanbul was lacking in energy-it is a metropolitan city. However, the energy is different from that of Istanbul.
Today, my German partner and I will be going to the modern museum of art. There is an exhibit there currently entitled "Paradise Lost." The exhibit features animals; however, we are interested to learn if it has anything to do with the poem. We will also be heading to the Grand Bazaar.
With the help of students studying Turkish Classical Music, I have had many leads in my project regarding Mozart and Turkish music. According to the students, there are 88 different forms of Turkish classical music. The time period in which Mozart wrote lowers that number down to 15 potential forms through which Mozart found influence. More to come!
Thank you all for reading, and have a beautiful day!
Today's Turkish word is "Gunaydin" which means "Good morning!" Turkish lessons are going very well currently. There was a problem with the Dilmer Institute, and I am currently learning Turkish on my own with the help of my host families. Every day, I make up 25-30 vocab lists of words I hear throughout the previous day that I want to know. I then pick 4-5 verbs and learn how to conjugate them and ask questions. My host family helps me use those words throughout the day. A special thank you to my homeschooling background where I learned how to teach myself!
Being here for the past few days has brought about a very significant point of view: the Turkish people in Kreuzburg, little Istanbul, bear very litle resemblence to the Turkish people here in Istanbul. There is a certain vivaciousness that one feels being in Istanbul. This particular energy is lacking in Kreuzberg, both my German partner and I agree. Not saying that Little Istanbul was lacking in energy-it is a metropolitan city. However, the energy is different from that of Istanbul.
Today, my German partner and I will be going to the modern museum of art. There is an exhibit there currently entitled "Paradise Lost." The exhibit features animals; however, we are interested to learn if it has anything to do with the poem. We will also be heading to the Grand Bazaar.
With the help of students studying Turkish Classical Music, I have had many leads in my project regarding Mozart and Turkish music. According to the students, there are 88 different forms of Turkish classical music. The time period in which Mozart wrote lowers that number down to 15 potential forms through which Mozart found influence. More to come!
Thank you all for reading, and have a beautiful day!
8 June 2011
Merhaba!
The theme for today's blog is safe and sound in Turkey and already having great success finding leads to my project! There have been many changes and setbacks, but I am intent on remaining positive and continuing forward with my plans.
My German partner is currently with me in Turkey and will remain here until Monday. Our first evening here, she experienced Turkish wraps and loved them. The food here is completely different from that of the Turkish restaurants in Germany. Spices are much more flavorful and intense.
All of the University students are having finals this week and we find ourselves staying at home during the day working on our German project and waiting till finals for that day are finished to then go out and eat something. The Turkish people have a very strong mindset that should you go out and sightsee, you must also eat something good and authetic around that area. Experiencing Turkey must be done with all the senses!
Saturday we went to the seaside to eat a special fish meal, palamut. The fishermen catch the fish, bring their boats to the shore and cook the fish on their boats. The fish are then put in bread and served with onions and cabbage, fresh lemon and salt.
Sunday we spent out and about the European side of Istanbul. We went to the Spice Bazaar. Bazaars for those who do not know are giant markets. The spice bazaar is one of the oldest in Istanbul and while it does not only house spice vendors, it has the largest variety of spice vendors in Istanbul. Bazaars in general are a wonderful experience.
Monday we found ourselves in the Hagia Sofia. What an absolutely stunning piece of history. It is easy to see both the Christian and Muslim symbols fused together. An intriguing aspect to the Hagia Sofia is how these two different styles work so well together. The mosaic style is used by both the Christian and Muslim art, and a great deal of the carvings from both religious also compliment one another. After visiting Hagia Sofia, we ventured across the street to an underground, ancient Cistern. I have never been nor have I heard of such a thing. It was quite amazing. It is hard to believe that they had that capability to build those structures that functioned as efficiently as they did. Dinner that night was delicious Donner Kabab, as we were told, from one of the best locations in Istanbul.
The theme for today's blog is safe and sound in Turkey and already having great success finding leads to my project! There have been many changes and setbacks, but I am intent on remaining positive and continuing forward with my plans.
My German partner is currently with me in Turkey and will remain here until Monday. Our first evening here, she experienced Turkish wraps and loved them. The food here is completely different from that of the Turkish restaurants in Germany. Spices are much more flavorful and intense.
All of the University students are having finals this week and we find ourselves staying at home during the day working on our German project and waiting till finals for that day are finished to then go out and eat something. The Turkish people have a very strong mindset that should you go out and sightsee, you must also eat something good and authetic around that area. Experiencing Turkey must be done with all the senses!
Saturday we went to the seaside to eat a special fish meal, palamut. The fishermen catch the fish, bring their boats to the shore and cook the fish on their boats. The fish are then put in bread and served with onions and cabbage, fresh lemon and salt.
Sunday we spent out and about the European side of Istanbul. We went to the Spice Bazaar. Bazaars for those who do not know are giant markets. The spice bazaar is one of the oldest in Istanbul and while it does not only house spice vendors, it has the largest variety of spice vendors in Istanbul. Bazaars in general are a wonderful experience.
Monday we found ourselves in the Hagia Sofia. What an absolutely stunning piece of history. It is easy to see both the Christian and Muslim symbols fused together. An intriguing aspect to the Hagia Sofia is how these two different styles work so well together. The mosaic style is used by both the Christian and Muslim art, and a great deal of the carvings from both religious also compliment one another. After visiting Hagia Sofia, we ventured across the street to an underground, ancient Cistern. I have never been nor have I heard of such a thing. It was quite amazing. It is hard to believe that they had that capability to build those structures that functioned as efficiently as they did. Dinner that night was delicious Donner Kabab, as we were told, from one of the best locations in Istanbul.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
30 Mai 2011
Hello Everyone!
Today our class spent 6 hours in Kreuzberg, also known as Little Istanbul. Kreuzberg was originally founded around the 1820's by Jewish immigrants. The industrial boom in the 1860's caused a demand for more workers requiring Germany to hire immigrants. Many of these immigrants were from Turkey. As the Turkish population grew, Kreuzberg became fondly known as Little Istanbul. Kreuzberg was home to two significant streets in Germany, both housing a significant amount of businesses that drastically contributed to the Germany economy. Ritter Strasse, Ritter street housed a multitude of small businesses and was known as the export quarter. Koch Strasse, Koch street, was the press street housing the most significant German newspapers and printing companies of its time. Both of these streets were, sadly, destroyed during the air raids in 1945.
Before the wall fell, Kreuzberg was a part of West Berlin. In fact, three sides of Kreuzberg were outlined by the wall and a river lay on the fourth side separating Kreuzberg from rest of West Germany. After the fall of the wall in 1989, Kreuzberg remained its own little microcosm and home to the largest Turkish population in Germany.
I do not want to give my complete analysis of Kreuzberg until I go back to Istanbul for a solid comparison. Here are just a few of the things I noticed:
-Significant number of advertisements, and businesses either completely in Turkish or having both German and Turkish.
-The Mosques were either disguised as normal buildings or their entrances in the back or alley ways.
-Vivaciousness that can be found in Istanbul
-Most spoke Turkish
-More Turkish food in the local Bakeries
-Turkish book stores
More information to come!
Today our class spent 6 hours in Kreuzberg, also known as Little Istanbul. Kreuzberg was originally founded around the 1820's by Jewish immigrants. The industrial boom in the 1860's caused a demand for more workers requiring Germany to hire immigrants. Many of these immigrants were from Turkey. As the Turkish population grew, Kreuzberg became fondly known as Little Istanbul. Kreuzberg was home to two significant streets in Germany, both housing a significant amount of businesses that drastically contributed to the Germany economy. Ritter Strasse, Ritter street housed a multitude of small businesses and was known as the export quarter. Koch Strasse, Koch street, was the press street housing the most significant German newspapers and printing companies of its time. Both of these streets were, sadly, destroyed during the air raids in 1945.
Before the wall fell, Kreuzberg was a part of West Berlin. In fact, three sides of Kreuzberg were outlined by the wall and a river lay on the fourth side separating Kreuzberg from rest of West Germany. After the fall of the wall in 1989, Kreuzberg remained its own little microcosm and home to the largest Turkish population in Germany.
I do not want to give my complete analysis of Kreuzberg until I go back to Istanbul for a solid comparison. Here are just a few of the things I noticed:
-Significant number of advertisements, and businesses either completely in Turkish or having both German and Turkish.
-The Mosques were either disguised as normal buildings or their entrances in the back or alley ways.
-Vivaciousness that can be found in Istanbul
-Most spoke Turkish
-More Turkish food in the local Bakeries
-Turkish book stores
More information to come!
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