I've found that Turkish culture and language are both heavily influenced by their society's expectations of upholding traditions of respect for elders and those you do not know, there is a sort of "old" feeling to the language. I would compare it to Old English. For instance, if you do not personally know someone, you have to use the formal version of the verbs when speaking to them. The traditions, like wedding rituals, coffee fortune-telling, and religion are all so interesting and unique. I think the part that interests me the most is the significance of religion in Turkey, so that is most likely what I will do my Cultural Presentation on. I am really intrigued how the language has changed, as well.
During the Ottoman Empire, which existed not too long ago, Turkish used the Arabic alphabet. However, after the collapse of the Empire and the creation of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk enlisted a new alphabet (using the Roman alphabet as guidance) and mandated everyone to use it. Ataturk also was instrumental in the part that Islam would play in the Republic. He believed that religion's heavy hand had a lot to do with why the Ottoman Empire did not succeed and he wanted to create a secular state that was not threatened by a doctrine of faith. He even went so far as to ban headscarves in public buildings (i.e. governmental, public universities, etc.). If an American president ever attempted to enact such a law, there would be an uproar of public outrage over such a distorted religious perspective. In that way though, Turkey differs from the United States. Turkey's rich history and conflict over religion led to a special circumstance where the people were enthused to see a secular state. Now however, Turkey is reverting to its non-secular ways with the current president placing a bigger emphasis on Islam in Turkey. I am very interested to see how this influences Turkey's future. I think that at this point, there has been too much westernization in Turkey to return to an Arabic alphabet, but it was done once before.
In order to improve my language competence, I think that I need to do more speaking outside of class time. In the past, I have been introduced to languages on a basis of meeting everyday of the week. That has been helpful to me because I do not lose much from day to day. But I think that in a way, that was lucky of me. I think that my vocabulary apps have done me well because I am able to bring words to mind rather quickly when asked a question, however, when I want to form sentences and paragraphs on my own, I hesitate.
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