A language has several facets to it. In order to have a full grasp of what it is, it is essential to know all these details and all the components you need to understand and employ the language.
In my learning of Turkish, I initially wanted to put a lot of the focus on vocabulary and grammar. After reading these readings, however, I rethink this approach quite a bit. A lot of my focus actually includes elements like phonology, semantics, and medium of linguistic transmission without me realizing it. I, of course, think it is important to include all these elements in my study of Turkish or else I would be approaching the language in a short-sited manner.
I want to learn the phonetics of Turkish through listening to native Turkish speaking whether it be through music or television, and to try and replicate their pronunciations. I plan to learn the semantics and grammar through the textbooks and reading/listening to Turkish sentences to see how they are constructed. The medium of linguistic transmission is already familiar to me as I know it is both oral and written, though I am curious as to what Turkish sign language is like. I am studying both the oral and written modes. I will learn vocabulary in the traditional textbook and flashcard sense, as well as catching onto words in the Turkish music and television programming I’ll be hearing.
Knowing now that each one of these components is as important as the other in getting the full picture of Turkish, I will make sure I try to pay attention to all of them instead of zeroing in on just a certain aspect.
Comments
Interesting post, Azin! Just because we're focusing on phonology in class does not mean that you need to rewrite your entire learning plan. It's just an important conceptual framework to understand to help you grasp the mechanisms underlying the production of speech. Turkish sign language is a fascinating topic, but you don't want to get too far afield in your primary linguistic studies. If you're convinced by the arguments of Dell Hymes in the Communicative Competence reading, having a holistic sense of a language and its various components is perhaps even more important than perfectly grasping the theoretical structure. It's always tough to strike a good balance. Keep up the good work!