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!
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