Before taking this course, I thought that learning Turkish was going to be a daunting challenge but to my surprise I have enjoyed learning the language as well as its rich culture. The more I learn the language the more I am interested in learning anything and everything about Turkey. So far, I have learned the Turkish alphabet which is very simple and similar to English. I have also learned how to say greetings such as hello (mehaba) and goodbye (gule gule). And I found the Turkish number system to be challenging at first but once I caught on it was quite intuitive. Professor Sezgi has also taught us how to ask and answer questions in Turkish like “what is that/this” and “who is this”. While it has been a breeze learning the vocabulary and basic phrases, it has been more difficult speaking the language. The pronunciations are very different from Spanish and English so when I read words out loud they usually are not the right way to say them in Turkish.
With any language, you need to have a solid understanding of its culture. For instance, Turkish culture has great respect for the elderly and it is very important to use formal language when speaking with them. This means that you have to learn a variety of ways of just saying simple greetings in the informal and the formal so that you are respectful. Also, I found it refreshing to learn more about what the country is like from someone who is from Turkey. Learning about the religion, secular government, and aspects of the culture like its history and fight for women’s rights motivates me to want to learn the language to the best of my ability so that I one day can visit the country and feel comfortable exploring the beautiful country.
While I do think that I am on track to reaching my goal of having a solid foundation in Turkish, there is always room for improvement. I plan on learning more vocabulary beyond just greetings and asking questions. I hope to learn how to ask for food in a restaurant or grocery, and also travel directions. I also am interested in learning vocabulary about the government since I hope to possibly one day utilize Turkish in the government sphere. In addition, I have small goals like learning how to count up to 1,000 in Turkish. In terms of improving my communicative competence, my long term goals involve developing my ability to listen to and interpret spoken Turkish, as well as working on improving my pronunciation and the fluency of my spoken Turkish. In order to achieve these goals I will continue to practice having conversations in Turkish, expanding my vocabulary, understanding grammatical rules, and listening to Turkish dialogues.
I am a firm believer in the fact that language represents the culture, so that I am confident that if I continue learning the customs of Turkey, it will be easier for me to improve my understanding of the Turkish language.
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