Personal interest of the language and future accomplishments
There is a reason behind every decision, and my decisions are not exception of this rule. I had several considerations and reasons before I decided to study Turkish on my first semester at the University of Richmond. Turkish is the official language of the Republic of Turkey and has around 70 to 80 million speakers worldwide. I think it is quite a significant number, is It not? I live in a country that borders Turkey, and has had numerous historical connections, issues and political matters with it. Turkish culture has interacted with mine throughout the history and even now, there are several similarities between them. I think, politics makes everything more interesting, and in that aspect of the things, I thought that having some ,at least basic knowledge of the language will give me a chance to understand and interpret the matters between 2 countries in a better and deeper way. Besides that, Turkish culture has always invoked my interest. Turkey is a transcontinental country, and country's culture is interestingly divided into European and Asian sides, representing liberal, more open culture on the West and conservative and more religious culture on the East. This fact also seemed very fascinating to me and contributed to my interest of learning the culture and language of the country. I also visited Turkey for a short period this summer, and although I enjoyed my overall trip, communication with the local people was quite a challenge, since they didn't speak English in the Eastern part of the country. Turkish people also have compelling religious habits which shape the entire culture in significant ways.
I have quite a few goals for this semester. First, I want to be able to have basic communication skills, be able to introduce myself, ask questions, directions, do shopping, book hotels, order in the restaurants and generally "survive" in the country. Secondly, I would love to be able to read news in Turkish and compare translations of Turkish news to authentic news, and see whether they are politically biased or not. Third, I would want to travel and explore the country more, since it has ancient history, destroyed cities and interesting architectural combinations of old and new. Last but not least, I am hoping to develop some "love" toward the language, which will inspire me to learn it farther, even once the semester ends.
Pictures retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/hagia-sophia-mosque_n_4386401.html
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