Weeks 11-12:

These weeks I learned how to say different countries in Turkish, as well as the languages associated with those countries and their respective nationalities. To say nationalities, you can usually add on the ending -li or -lı (matching with vowel harmony, of course) to the country to say a person's nationality. This ending indicates that you are "from" this country. Similarly, languages are usually the shorter version of the nationality with -ca, -ce, -ça or -çe added onto the end. I also learned how to say myself, yourself, etc. and all of us/you/them in Turkish using the words "kendi-"and "hep-" respectively and tacking on the appropriate suffixes. This was pretty difficult for me to keep straight, even though everything about these words just required the same grammar rules I've been using. At the end of these weeks, Merve and I went over the accusative case (this case allows us to tell the difference between saying I am reading a book and I am reading the book; it indicates specificity for objects in a sentence).

Weeks 13-15:

At the beginning of these weeks I talked to Merve about the culture and history of the Grand Bazaar to help plan my final presentation. It was interesting to hear what Merve had to say about the Grand Bazaar because a lot of the information I was able to research was more focused on its history or tailored to tourists. 

Telling time in Turkish is a lot more complicated than in English. Parts of it remind me of how to tell time in French, but more difficult. Like French, minutes that are between 31 and 59 are subtracted from the closest hour, so an approximate translation of 4:43 in Turkish would be "17 minutes until 5." Depending on if the minutes are before or after the hour emphasized, different vowel harmonies of the hour value have to be used. There are also different words for conveying "it is ___ o'clock" versus "... at ___ o'clock" that must be included (and saying "at" for time does not always match the locative case rules). I also learned words for the days of the week, months, and seasons. Interestingly, spring (ilkbahar) and fall (sonbahar) are almost the same word. "Bahar" means spring and can be used to indicate the spring season, but the prefix "ilk-" means "before" and "son-" means "after," which suggests the similarities between spring and fall weather. In the last couple of weeks, I learned about different Turkish holidays (Ramadan, a holiday for children, the Republic Day of Turkey, etc.), as well as other holidays that we also celebrate in the U.S. (Mother's/Father's Day, anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine's Day, etc.). I also learned how to use the words "before/after" and "since/for (a time/time period)." To use the word "after," you have to use past tense for verbs, so Merve also gave me a glimpse of how to use the simple past tense in Turkish.

Turkish Delights: A Disney Short/Mickey Mouse Cartoon

Disney created Mickey Mouse shorts featuring the culture and language of different countries from around the world. In the short they created for Turkey, Mickey Mouse was a merchant at the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) who sold Turkish delights. Because his Turkish delights were so delicious, Mickey stole the customers from other merchants (Donald Duck, who sold evil eye decorations, and Goofy, who sold instruments). I really liked how the short featured many aspects of Turkish culture and incorporated the Turkish language. 

Turkish Cultural Features/New Words:

- One of the famous Kapalıçarşı gates (Nuruosmaniye Kapısı)
- "Afiyet olsun" ~ "Bon appetit" in Turkish
- A sign saying "Açık" = "Open"
- Turkish tea runners
- Goofy playing the bağlama, a Turkish string instrument similar to a lute
- Bosphorus Bridge, a bridge in Istanbul that connects Europe and Asia
- Turkish carpets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypnKKwlE670

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Camii)

One of the most prominent architectural structures in Istanbul is the Blue Mosque. To enter, women must cover their skin and wear headscarves, and people have to take off their shoes. Services are also separated by gender. Inside the mosque is an impressive display of colorful mosaics with floral designs, stained glass windows and high vaulted ceilings. Unlike many Western European places of worship, the Blue Mosque is void of any idols. Throughout the mosque is Arabic calligraphy of sections of the Quran. Five times a day, a call to prayer is amplified from the minarets of the mosque. The call to prayer is always the same and is translated below:

God is Great
There is no god but God
Muhammed is the Prophet of God
Come to prayer
Come to salvation
God is Great
There is no god but God

Pictures from https://thetravelbunny.com/istanbul-blue-mosque/

Turkey has a national holiday for children! National Sovereignty and Children's Day happens every year on April 23rd and was founded in 1920 to celebrate children, the future leaders of the world. During this celebration, children perform dances, recite poetry, and replace politicians in government to discuss and voice their concerns. Children from other countries are also sent to Turkey and hosted by Turkish families. These children from all over the world share their cultures and traditions with each other.

Cappadocia (Kapadokya) is a region of Turkey located in the center of the country that is famous for its otherworldly landscape. Hot air ballooning is a popular tourist attraction and runs year round. A national park in Cappadocia, called Göreme National Park, is known for its fairy chimney formations that tower from the ground, formed from eroded volcanic rock. Cappadocia is also famous for its cave hotels and ancient underground cities.

Transcribing the nursery rhyme Ali Baba'nın Çiftliği (and correcting transcription):

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde küzelleri kuzuları var

Meh meh

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde inekleri var

Mö 

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde holozları horozları var

Ü ürü ü

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde eşekleri var

A i  Aiii

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde kedileri var

Miao  Mıyav

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde köpekleri var

Ho Hav

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Ali baba'nın bir çiftliği var

Çiftliğinde tavukları var

Bukak Gıdak

Biye banıl Diye bağırır

Çiftliğinde Ali baba'nın.

Borek is a savory Turkish pastry that can be stuffed with different fillings, such as cheese, spinach, and meat (but there are also sweet variations). Börek can also come in different shapes, some of which have distinct fillings:

 - Su böreği (water borek)—consists of large sheets of yufka dough layered on top of each other. The borek is then cut up into small squares

 - Kalem böreği (pen borek)—used to be called sigara böreği (cigar borek). Kind of looks like an egg roll

 - Gül böreği (rose borek)—Coiled into a spiral shape

One weekend during the semester I went to a farmers' market back home and ordered borek from a Turkish food stand! The attached pictures show that they are the gül böreği shape. One was spinach borek and the other was filled with meat. Very good!

^ Spinach (Ispanaklı börek)

Ground beef (Kıymalı börek) 

My first experience seeing Turkish in a non-educational setting was when I watched the movie Mustang on Netflix in high school. The movie is about these Turkish sisters whose lives are impacted by conservative social expectations for girls entering womanhood. I decided to rewatch the movie after having learned some Turkish both to apply what I've learned this semester and to reminisce about my first encounter with the language. Throughout the film, a lot of family vocabulary was used that I could recognize. I was also able to identify when questions were being asked and could pick out the verbs and the different cases that were being used in various sentences. Aside from the Turkish language, the movie also revealed many aspects of Turkish culture, covering Turkish weddings, how Turkish people interact with others (strangers, family members, etc.), and Turkish food.

During one of our meetings, Merve made Turkish coffee for me. She showed me the process of how to make Turkish coffee and explained to me the differences between Turkish coffee and the coffee we drink in the U.S. For example, Turkish coffee is thicker and is usually served in smaller servings. Turkish coffee is also not filtered like most coffee we drink, so you have to drink the liquid coffee and leave the coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup. Once we were done drinking our coffee, we mixed and flipped our cups over and left them to sit. Merve then read my coffee grounds, which I thought was really cool and interesting. The inside of the cup was stuff that related to my own fortune/future, and the drips on the plate symbolized my family. She told me that whenever she and her friends/family would drink coffee grounds, they would always read their fortunes for each other.

After having learned how to use verbs in Turkish, I learned how to use two verbs in a sentence (Ex: "She likes to walk in the park"), especially for the verbs used to say "like" or "hate," which are irregular. I also learned new vocabulary about family and family members. At first it was difficult for me to keep track of all of the different words for different family members, as in Turkish there are different names for family on your mother's side versus your father's side. Corresponding words between sides of the family are not similar either (for example, your aunt on your mother's side is called "teyze" but on your dad's side she is called "hala," which are very different words from each other). I also learned the suffixes for saying possessions and practiced talking to Merve about my family using possessions. These suffixes also apply to cases where nouns are used as adjectives (ex: electrical engineer, Turkish coffee, etc.). To reinforce this new material, I've been trying to write in a journal about my day in Turkish!

During these weeks I learned about different verbs and how to use these verbs with each pronoun. I also learned how to negate these verbs (which is done using the infix "-mi-"). Sometimes when I am reading Turkish it is difficult for me to recognize that verbs are negated because in English this is denoted by a separate word, not by a couple of letters inserted into the middle of a word, but if I keep this in mind hopefully it will no longer be an issue. I also learned about the locative case (using at/in/on), dative case (to/towards), and the ablative case (from), which requires understanding various rules that rely on vowel harmony and voiceless consonants. Using the new vocabulary I learned and knowing how to use verbs, I was able to write and talk about daily routines. Understanding Turkish verbs broadened my ability to write more unique sentences.

As one of the largest and oldest bazaars in the world, the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is an icon of Turkey and is a major tourist destination for travels from around the world. Bargaining and etiquette when shopping at the Grand Bazaar are important cultural factors to consider when shopping there. In my presentation, I think it would be interesting to talk about the history of the Grand Bazaar and the cultural influences that have contributed to what it is today, as well as bargaining culture and the things that one can expect when going to the Grand Bazaar. New vocabulary on this topic might include bargaining phrases, names of the different types of vendors/objects to buy (jewelry, antiques, textiles/carpets, etc.), and basic introduction phrases ("Hi," "How are you," etc.). A lot of the special vocabulary I've covered (introductions and different types of stores), but I would like to modify my language learning plan to incorporate more specific vocabulary. A new objective for my learning plan is to learn how to bargain in Turkish and learn phrases for buying things.

Sources:

https://www.theguideistanbul.com/grand-bazaar-guide/

https://theistanbulinsider.com/how-to-bargain-like-a-pro-in-istanbuls-grand-bazaar-and-elsewhere/

https://turkishtravelblog.com/grand-bazaar-istanbul/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Jp42z_Ai4 (Tour guide gives tour of bazaar, talks about some important words and the culture of the bazaar)

http://famouswonders.com/istanbuls-grand-bazaar/ (Covers the history of the Grand Bazaar)

One of my goals was to learn how to count in Turkish and how to apply numbers in various situations. This week I first learned how to count from 0 to 1 billion and practiced counting objects in pictures. I actually think that counting in Turkish is easier than in English, as there are no anomalous numbers (for example, in English we have "eleven" and "twelve," but the rest of the teen numbers end in "-teen"). During my session with Merve, I practiced counting money with Turkish liras. I also learned how to say phone numbers and dates and practiced saying phone numbers, birthdates, etc. as well as writing them down to enhance my listening comprehension. One thing that I still need to practice more is telling time.

Later this week I focused on combining all of the skills I have learned for the past week and a half. I practiced writing questions and answering them, as well as reading passages from the Turkish workbook and answering the questions. I learned new vocabulary for objects around the house (furniture in the bedroom, kitchen, etc.), colors, and some numbers to expand my ability to describe places. 

I also started one of the Turkish dramas my friend recommended on Netflix (Winter Sun) using the Chrome Netflix Multi-Subtitle extension so that I can read in Turkish and English. I've watched a Turkish movie with English subtitles before knowing any Turkish, but now that I know some of the language, it's exciting when I recognize a familiar word, phrase, or even suffix.

This weekend I hope to get around to rewriting some of my Turkish notes/compiling all of the vocabulary I've learned into a notebook. In the past, rewriting my notes has helped me a lot in retaining information.

Earlier this week I was working on how to say where things were after finishing up the first unit in my Turkish workbook. I learned about using locative cases and their vowel harmonies and how to modify the locative case suffix depending on the preceding consonant. I also learned how to say things that are there and things that aren't (in Turkish, there are no words to say that something "has" or "doesn't have" something like in English... Instead, the Turkish words roughly translate to something that "exists" or is "absent"). Surprisingly, refraining from directly translating Turkish sentences word for word to English is not as difficult as I expected. I think the hardest part about this for me is knowing all of the contexts for which a word can be used (for example, "at," "on," and "in" have slightly different meanings in English, but only one word describes all of these in Turkish) and sometimes I am unsure about word placement within a sentence.

While waiting for my practice session with Merve to start in the Global Learning Studio, I browsed some of the Turkish books on the shelf. There, I found an illustrated Turkish-English dictionary that I thought was a really appealing resource; because I am a visual learner, seeing the illustration and its corresponding Turkish word helped me a lot (I even learned some words that I later used when I was describing things in Turkish with Merve). Besides that dictionary, there weren't very many other Turkish books available, however, I just looked in that one section of the studio. I hope to search for videos/audio resources in the Global Learning Center in the future.

Why Turkish?
Turkey is located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, so it has both European and Asian influences, which I think is really interesting. This semester I want to learn about Turkish culture so that in the future I can travel there and find my way around. If I go to Turkey, I want to be able to communicate with the people there when ordering food, asking for directions, etc. I also enjoy the process of learning a language, so to further this, I want to learn about the resources that I have at my disposal so that I can learn Turkish independently in the future. This semester, my goal is to cover basic topics (introducing and describing myself, asking questions, ordering food, etc.) and expose myself to Turkish culture.

My%20Learning%20Plan.docx

What I've Learned: 
The past couple of weeks, I’ve learned how to say basic greetings, the alphabet, some common vocabulary words, and some words about family members. I’ve also learned how to ask some questions like “Where are you from?”, “What’s your name?”, etc. Grammar-wise, my language partner and I have touched a little bit about vowel harmony and agglutination.

In my learning plan, I want to go over the following:

• Greetings/introduction
• Describing myself and other people/talking about family
• Activities/school
• Telling time, saying the date, learning numbers
• Buying things
• Ordering food, learning about Turkish food
• Asking for directions/places

So each week I will go through this list and cover one of these topics. As I go through these, I want to refer to my tasks that I stated in my learning plan (the doc attached) and try to assess my progress in these tasks each week.

Resources:
Workbooks (provided by Merve), Turkish grammar book (bought from Amazon), YouTube, Netflix (for Turkish dramas), Spotify (for Turkish music), Tureng (Turkish/English dictionary), and website with audio, reading, units on everything I want to cover, etc. (https://utos.yasar.edu.tr/). Merve also created a Box folder filled with other resources.

I really liked Matthew's idea of learning new words in a topic every week to expand my vocabulary, so I want to make sure to dedicate some time to that (and make quilt flashcards to document the words I've learned).

Expanding my studies of how to say things in plural, I learned that there were exceptions to the vowel harmony words, especially for some loan words. I also learned how to ask yes or no questions ("Is this a ___?", "Are these ___?"). In Turkish, nouns do not require the plural suffix when they are associated with numbers. So instead of saying "three dogs," an exact translation from Turkish into English would be "three dog" because "three" implies plurality. During my session with Merve, I also learned how to say the names of various countries in Turkish (to answer the question "Where is this place?"). I am very excited that I am now able to ask questions and say things in plural because these skills are so important when communicating in any language. However, I think I need to practice asking and answering questions aloud instead of just writing them down; writing helps me remember and visualize how sentences are structured, but I don't consider myself to have mastered a skill in a foreign language until I am able to speak it without referencing notes. 

This week I learned how to say things in plural and how to ask basic questions. Putting words in plural and asking questions require vowel harmony. Because vowel harmony is so common and I've been using it more as I dive deeper into my Turkish studies, I think it is coming more naturally to me. I learned how to say "what," "who," and "where," and how to say "this" and "that," which gave me enough tools to start constructing questions. I found it interesting how in English we have two words, "this" and "that," that differentiate between the closeness of a reference, but in Turkish there are three words that indicate different degrees of closeness. Using the plural rules that I learned, I was then able to say "these" and "those." I also did some exercises from the workbook Merve provided to practice writing questions and answering them. 

Over the weekend, I found out that my friend and her family watch Turkish dramas at home (with Arabic subtitles). She said that she preferred Turkish dramas over American TV shows and recommended a couple that are available on Netflix, so I look forward to watching the shows she recommended to me and seeing the Turkish I’ve learned in context.

         Communication is a complex process that requires many areas of the brain to work in concert. It first requires sensing visual and auditory cues and relaying information to the brain where the signals are processed in the parietal lobe. Comprehension occurs through top-down processing in Wernicke’s area, which relies on our prior experiences to analyze emotion and understand semantics of speech through context. Following the reception of this information, we formulate a response and use our motor skills controlled by the frontal lobe to dictate our muscle movements when speaking and writing. However, the reading about brain localization and dominance left me with unanswered questions. What is the significance of determining which hemisphere is dominant in certain tasks? Does having a different blueprint for language dominance in the brain impact the way we process language and how we communicate (or is knowing which hemisphere is dominant in language processing just beneficial for neurosurgeons to keep in mind while operating to avoid damaging our ability to communicate)? Although greatly simplified, this model demonstrates how regions of the brain are interconnected and enable us to perform the many steps essential for communicating. 

         Language would not exist without the aforementioned biological mechanisms in our brain. However, there are non-biological factors that come to mind that also influence our ability to develop language. A need for communication drives the emergence of language, which stems from our social nature and innate desire to group with other humans. Language provided the means for humans to work together to create and discover.

         It is interesting how, depending on the language, there are more “precise” words to describe a reference (for example, many languages distinguish between paternal grandfather and maternal grandfather, but in English we have no such word). Each language also has its own synonyms that describe a particular ‘sense,’ which seems superfluous. However, words often conjure slightly different images relative to their synonyms, which exemplifies how different synonyms and words really are from each other in the meanings they evoke. These differences contribute to the colorful variation of words that are difficult to translate. When studying foreign languages, it is essential to embrace each language’s own idiosyncrasies rather than directly translating a foreign language word-for-word into a native language. Translation often degrades meaning.

         From reading the article about meaning, I learned that words by themselves provide an incomplete picture of their actual meaning, especially if they are polysemic. Thus, in my pursuits to learn Turkish, it is important to couple learning new vocabulary with examples to see how these words are used in context. Exposure to variations in how a word might be used in a sentence will also establish a feel for the word’s collocations, which will be useful when trying to use that word in speaking and writing.

This week we learned a lot about the global learning center and its resources in class. I didn't know that we had all these resources at our disposal, so when I get the chance I want to explore the resources they might have for Turkish learners. Later in the week, I learned how to ask introductory questions (How old are you? Where do you live? etc.) and some vocabulary about family. With Merve, I wrote and spoke some sentences describing famous people and my family. However, when constructing these sentences, some of the words required multiple suffixes. For example, "My mother's name is Kristen" would translate to "Annemin adı Kristen," where "Anne" means "mother," "-m" means "my," and "-in" means "her" (referring to my mother's name, which is a possession), and "adı" is "(her) name." Sometimes I find it difficult to know when and in what order to put these suffixes (-m, -in and others), but hopefully I will get the hang of it by writing more sentences. I also made a Quizlet flashcard set of the words from learning the alphabet and have been using it to reinforce new vocabulary. However, when I was going through these flashcards it took me forever, as I added too many words that I probably will never use (I included words like iron and grill, which are words I rarely use in English). In the future I will try to tailor my vocabulary to words that I will actually use.