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Turkish, just as almost any other language has formal and informal ways of saying things. For example there is more than one meaning to "you" in Turkish. For example, if you talk to a close friend or relatives you will use informal you "sen", but if you are talking to older people or to someone you want to show respect then you will use formal you which is "siz" in Turkish. This is one of the characteristics of Turkish language.

Turkish language has many respect words that are frequently used. For example, instead of saying "siz" formal for "you" when talking to a teacher, students use "Hocam" which means "my master" or "my teacher." Then "Bey" and "Hanim" are used after the name and they can be used when speaking to people that are unknown to us or just show respect. Bey is used for addressing a male, and Hanim for addressing a female. For example: "Ayse Hanim, gelebilir misin?" which when translated to English means "Ms. Ayse, could you come?"

Informal way of saying goodbye is "Hosça kal" while formal is "Hosça kalin." Formal way of saying "thank you" is "Tesekkür ederim" while informal is "Tesekkürler." When you want to ask someone for his/her name, informal way of asking is "Adin ne?" while formal is "Sizin adiniz ne?" 

When Turkish people meet with their close friends, they usually kiss each other on cheeks, regardless of whether it is man to man, woman to woman or man to woman. It is also a custom to kiss a hand of an older person to show respect. 

English language distinguishes between gender specific pronouns such as "she", "he", "it," however, Turkish language does not. Turkish language has only one pronoun for "she/he/it" and that is "o". This makes Turkish language much easier, however, for me as a beginner this causes a lot of trouble because I never know when somebody is referring to "she, he or it." I know that I will understand it from the context of a sentence once I build vocabulary, but for now, I find it very confusing.

In the first two weeks, I learned ~76 vocabulary words related to landscape (mountains, valleys, hills) and direction (distance, east, west, south, and north). The Anki program has been great, allowing me to not only track my progress, but stay organized. It comes with a built in algorithm that doesn't drill you everyday on the same words, but rather, mixes them up according to how you've rated the word when "flashed" before you: easy, medium, hard. In other words, the frequency with which the word comes up is dependent on the rating you give it. For each week, I plan to label the decks by week. It keeps things in good order and allows me to easily track my progress.

I've also finished a book called Balkan Ghosts. It's kind of broad-brush journalist's travel memoir account of noteworthy locations, events, and cultural references of Eastern Europe. In any case, I thought that this book would be an appropriate place to begin my exploration of Eastern European culture. While not specific to Bosnia, the Balkans, I've learned from skimming a book called Balkan Popular Culture and the Ottoman Ecumene: Music, Image, and Regional Political Discourse, are closely tied to one another in many ways. Due to empire and conquest, the argument could be made that countries of Eastern Europe actually are more similar than they are different, as much as they try to accentuate those differences in the last century. After I read this book, I have actually developed a greater interest in visiting the greater Balkans, not necessarily just Bosnia. Anyhow, The Bridge on The Drina is next on the reading list.

For our meetings, Milica prepared a flashcard game that encouraged me to review my ability to use the past and future tense, which proved to be a bit rusty. Mixed in the flashcards for instance, would be the word "crkva" and "alert." If the former was drawn, she would talk about the word without saying it, in Bosnian of course. If the latter was drawn, I would talk about the word without saying it, in Bosnian. This semester is quite busy for the both of us. I'm furiously working through an honors thesis, while Milica is working eight and a half dozen jobs, so our meeting schedules are a bit flexible. At this point, we're aiming for 4 days per week.

I took the test to asses my level of competence in the language and my results show that I am a beginner. I am a beginner in interpersonal communication, interpretive listening, interpretive reading, presentational speaking and writing. I am looking forward to grow my own way from the beginning to hopefully advanced level. 

I met with my language partner and we discussed my learning plans and goals. She is very enthusiastic about teaching me her language, and I am very happy to be able to practice Turkish with her.

The goal that I set out to reach this semester is to pronounce Turkish correctly and read in Turkish (without having to understand everything), alphabet, greetings/farewells, colors and numbers. In addition, I want to be able to talk about food, buying and ordering food in a restaurant, and I also want to be able to talk about my family and to introduce my family to somebody else. I want to learn how to talk about school and lead a basic conversation with my Turkish friends. I also want to learn some grammar such as present simple/continuous, and depending on my progress I could also try to learn past tense. 

So my first step is to learn Turkish alphabet, and be able to pronounce every letter correctly. I already practiced Turkish alphabet with my language partner. I can say that Turkish alphabet is not very hard to learn, but there are several letters that are not included in either English or my mother tongue alphabet. So, I still have trouble pronouncing those letters, but with repetition I am sure I will improve. My language partner introduced me to greetings/farewells. There is this one greeting "Merhaba" which we also use in my country so it was easy to remember. My roommate from high school, who is Turkish, would always tell me "gule gule" which means bye bye in English, so my language partner was impressed when I already knew the meaning of this phrase.

I am planning to work more on alphabet as well as greetings/farewell and be very good at it, so that when I meet a Turkish person, I can show off my Turkish skills.

After alphabet and greetings, I will move on to talking about food, family, school and hobbies as well as learning some grammar. I am very excited about learning Turkish language. 

I found two resources that are very helpful for learning Urdu.  Neither of them were found directly in the Global Studio.  My language partner helped me find them.  Coupled with online resources they will serve as valuable textbooks for the entire semester.  Both resources are Urdu lesson books, entirely written in Urdu, and designed to teach children, which is great news for me because they both have pictures and bright colors as result (I admit that I am partial to pictures and bright colors).  One is especially helpful with phrases it includes, and the other is very helpful as it is a good visual reminder of how the letters in Urdu change when connected in a word.  He recommended them as material because I believe he found them to be helpful for his own learning.

It is interesting how cultures differ among each other and how one thing can have completely opposite meaning in two different cultures. I was raised in Bosnia which is very similar to Turkey in terms of culture and tradition, since Bosnia was for a long time under the Turkish Ottoman Empire and therefore we share many common characteristics. However, when I came to the United States, I was really surprised by how much the culture of U.S. differs from Bosnian as well as Turkish culture.

When it comes to individualist/collectivist approach, the U.S. is known to be an individualist culture. In cultures in which individualism predominates, people belong to loose social frameworks, and their primary concern is for themselves and their families. Basically, people are responsible for taking care of their own interests and they believe that individuals should make decisions on their own. Turkey is characterized by collectivism in which individual members depend strongly on extended families. Unlike in individualist culture, collectivism values and accepts group decisions. Turkey emphasize group welfare and harmony. In individualistic cultures, managers emphasize and encourage individual achievement, but in collectivist culture, managers seek to fit harmoniously within the group and they encourage these behaviors among their employees.

I have learned a lot about nonverbal communication in my organizational behavior course at UR. Nonverbal communication is an extremely important part of communication. It includes all elements of communication such as gestures and facial expressions. Nonverbal behavior is culturally bound, and gestures, facial expressions and body locations have different meanings in different cultures. For example, the U.S. hand signal for "okay" is an insult in some other countries. Also what I found interesting was that one research found only three nonverbal behaviors associated with lying: nodding, foot and leg movements and certain hand movements. Although there are many interpretations of nonverbal language, smiles have universal meanings that display positive emotions. In Turkish culture you will notice that when you want to say no you would click your tongue and accompany it by a quick upwards tilt of the head and raise your eyebrow. This same gesture of clicking your tongue is used in other cultures such as U.S. to show displeasure. Turkish people also shake their head to show confusion. 

Another aspect of how cultures differ is based on mono-chronic and poly-chronic time. Basically, the US is mono-chronic as people see time as quantifiable and do not want to waste time but use it wisely. However, Turkey is characterized by poly-chronic in which people see time as limitless and not quantifiable. For example, when people in Turkey go for a coffee break, they would chill for at least an hour or two. This is not a case with Western culture, where coffee break is considered a five minute break.

Cultures also differ in terms of direct and indirect communication. For example, people in indirect cultures tend to suggest rather than say things directly. Turkey is characterized by indirect communication as people have more instinctive understanding of others. People in direct cultures (the U.S.) tend to lead more independent lives and there is less instinctive understanding of others. People usually say things directly without suggesting. They believe that direct communcation is the best way in getting or giving information as no misunderstanding would occur. 

Turkish language belongs to Ural-Altaic family of languages. The Ural-Altaic languages are distinguished from the Indo-European by: the absence of gender, adjectives precede nouns and verbs come at the end of a sentence. Until 1928, Turkish was written in the Perso-Arabic script also known as the Ottoman Turkish alphabet.

Text in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was written right to left. The appearance of the letter actually changed with the position of the letter. For example, the position could be:

- isolated (one letter word)

- medial (letter joined on both sides)

- final (the letter is joined on the right to the preceeding letter)

- initial (the letter is joined on the left to the following letter)

In the early years of the establishment of Republic Turkey and under the role of Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, numbers and letters that were written in Arabic were replaced with Latin alphabet. Transition from one alphabet to another one lasted only a few months. On January 1, 1929, it actually became unlawful to use the Arabic alphabet to write Turkish.

Today, Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters and the letters that English alphabet does not have are:  Ç, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ş, Ü

  Ç as in CHAT

  Ğ is silent- lengthens preceding vowel 

  I - e sound in label

  İ - ee sound in bee

 Ö- e sound in her

 Ş- sh sound in ship

 Ü- ew sound in few

I have learned a lot from the assigned readings. I have always been interested in Psychology and the way brain works, so the "How the brain handles language" article was very interesting for me. We do not usually think too much about how complex our brains are, and how even the simplest task involves the performance of many areas of the brain.  

I have learned that it is most likely that I use the left hemisphere for language as I am a right-handed person. According to the article, the left hemisphere is dominant for language in most right-handed people (estimates are usually over 95%).

Another part of this article that I found interesting was the idea of slip of the tongue. Slip of the tongue is a mistake in speaking, for example saying "Nice to beat you" instead of "Nice to meet you." This is a common error in speaking because the average pace of speech is 150 words a minute, so a slip is likely to occur as we talk. I believe that I will make many slips of the tongue in the process of learning the language, especially pronouncing the words that contain letters that I encountered for the first time. 

Another article talked about the naturalist view (Plato) and the conventionalist view (Aristotelian). The naturalist view believes that there is a connection between the sound of a word and the thing it refers to, while the conventionalist view believes that there is no connection, and thus the relationship is arbitrary. I agree to both views to a certain degree. From my learning experience, I can say that there are some words that I could just guess their meanings because they just seem and sound as the things they refer to. For example, when I heard the word "kedi" I immediately associated it with animal cat, and I was right. However, this is a case in maybe less than 0.5 %. All others words need translation, and explanation. For example, I would never guess or associate the word "balta" with "axe." Thus, even though I do agree with the naturalist view to a certain extent, I still believe that in  majority the conventionalist view is more correct. 

Many languages have only one word that are used for several purposes. There is a good example in the article that says that in English "cousins" can be male or female. Unlike Turkish language that has separate words for a male and female cousin, English does not have different words to distinguish male cousin from female cousin. For example, female cousin in Turkish is "kuzin", while male cousin is "kuzen." As we can see, Turkish clearly distinguishes between male and female cousins. This is also a case with the word "uncle". "Uncle" refers to the brother of one's mother or father, while in Turkish language we have different words for the brother of one's mother (dayi) and the brother of one's father (amca). I think that separation of such words is very useful because it gives a better picture of who you are referring to and you avoid the possibility of misunderstanding. 

Also, from reading this article I learned the importance of relationship between words. Words by themselves do not make much sense. Vocabulary is important but knowing only vocabulary will not help you much to express yourself in right terms. Words are ambiguous and one word can have several meanings (such as word "table.") Therefore, when learning vocabulary it is of a great importance that you not only memorize the word but also understand deeper meaning behind the words and idioms. 

Synonyms are also important in becoming proficient in a target language. However, I believe that at this stage it is still too early to start worrying about synonyms as I have to learn basic vocabulary first. 

In order to accomplish my goals, I will be using different resources that are available to me. Global studio has numerous resources that we can utilize in order to learn the language. There are many CD's and books available. I am a kinestetic learner, so I believe that I can acquire a new language most easily and effectively through games and then quizzing myself.

I downloaded BYKI and I believe that this is a great resource to help improve my Turkish. Apart from BYKI and global studio, I found two more resources that could help me in the learning process.

I found this one really good you tube resource for learning Turkish, it is called Learn Turkish online, and one guy is teaching Turkish. I have watched several of his videos and I believe that his online classes can be very helpful. He goes into details and provides great examples to demonstrate the material efficiently for us, beginners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlGMpBTAzXU

Another website I found very interesting, which is mainly used for building the vocabulary, is called "Digital Dialects" and this website provides materials for learning Turkish vocabulary, then it also provides games which will help me make sure I memorized the vocabulary. Also, there is recorded pronunciation for every word which can be very helpful if I find any difficulties pronouncing it. As a kinestethic learner, I think this website will be helpful because I acquire new information the best through games and repetition, and this website provides exactly what I need.  http://www.digitaldialects.com/Turkish.htm

I will also be watching my favorite Turkish soap opera "Dudaktan kalbe" and listen to Turkish songs. This can help me in pronunciation and can improve my Turkish listening skills.

Even though I am provided with numerous resources, I still believe that the most valuable resource is my language partner who I can ask directly about any concerns and troubles that I may encounter during my learning process. Also, my language partner can help me in pronunciation, and emphasize where I make major mistakes.

Lejla Muhamedagic

SDLC 105

Reflection Paper 1

In order to fully involve myself in the language learning experience I need to be highly motivated as well as very careful about choosing efficient learning strategies. My quiz result says that I am a kinesthetic learner. I agree with this result because I learn most easily and efficiently when I get hands-on experience. I like to incorporate action into my learning experience in order to acquire and retain new information. I would always choose to participate in physical activities such as games, projects or experiments rather than simply sit still in classroom and listen to a lecture.

I retain new information most easily through games. For example, if I need to memorize vocabulary I would make flash cards to turn learning into a game. On one side I would write a word I want to memorize and on the other side I would write the translation of the word. I can also memorize vocabulary easily if I act out vocabulary words rather than simply try to remember the definition. A part of my learning process is to pronounce learned words several times out loud. I like to play crossword puzzle, charades and other word games that challenge me and help me discover new words and meanings. When I write study notes, I need to demonstrate each main point with examples. It is much easier for me to understand the material presented if I associate it with real world examples. If I simply memorize facts, I will not be able to retain such information for a long period of time. Also, if I have to do something that I have not done before, I would prefer someone to demonstrate what needs to be done rather than read it from a manual or listen the task explanation. I acquire new information best by watching others and then trying it myself. I always take notes and I think that it is a great way for me to participate in what I am learning. I use different strategies to help me stay focused on the material, for example I try to make creative notes, use highlighters, sticky notes, draw diagrams etc. Staying focused can be sometimes challenging for me: that is why I need to be provided with various methods of learning: group works, projects, experiments, games etc.

I think that environmental conditions are a very important part of the successful learning process. I perform best if I find my environment comfortable and work with people and students who I get along very well. During a learning process, I usually have a lot of questions and very often I go deep into details. I prefer to be practical and get logical answers to my questions. When it comes to expanding my learning activities I think I should keep a list of the new words I learn so that I can go back and revise them as well as add new vocabulary. This approach actually motivates me to learn more words and build my own dictionary. According to FIRE model, I associate myself best with evaluative model because I expect material to be related to people’s lives, experiences and stories. Also, I dislike learning that is purely theoretical and involves one extended time period of working alone silently. I like to take a break frequently and prefer not to study in one extended time period. I also prefer working in small groups where group members share their thoughts and opinions.

It is very important for me to be physically active in the learning process. I enjoy and learn well from first-hand experience. For me, motivation is one of the core aspects of a successful learning process as well as the choice of effective learning strategies that keep me entertained and focused on the material. 

My interest in Turkish Language

I have always been interested in languages. When I was a child, I met one lady who was fluent in four languages, and I promised myself that one day I would be like her. I visited Turkey three years ago, just prior to coming to the United States. I spent about 10-15 days in Istanbul and Bursa. I was fascinated by the beauties of this wonderful country. My country, Bosnia and Herzegovina was under the Turkish Ottoman Empire for about 400 years so there is no wonder why Turkey reminds me so much of my country. We share many common characteristics, but one: same language. Although, we have some common words such as "pencer, kamyon and buyrun," most of them actually differ. Most of the words that are same are actually written differently but pronounced the same way. I got interested into Turkish ever since my first day in Turkey. I had a wonderful time and I am definitely planning to spend more holidays in Turkey in the near future. What I noticed during my time in Turkey is that not so many people speak English and it was very surprising to me, so I believe that knowing basic/intermediate Turkish could be very useful. I was also planning to study abroad next semester in Turkey, but since I changed my major and I am an accounting major now, I cannot take any accounting classes anywhere but at the University of Richmond. However, during summer I am planning to visit Turkey again.  

I am very ambitious but I know that learning a new language takes a lot of time and work. Therefore, I know I cannot set out a goal to be fluent in Turkish in only one semester, but I know that I want to be able to lead a basic conversation with Turkish people, order food, ask/tell the time, talk about my family etc. I also want to be able to pronounce Turkish sentences without problems. This might be difficult in the beginning since there are some letters in Turkish alphabet that my mother tongue alphabet does not contain. I want to acquire new vocabulary and learn basic grammar such as present simple/continuous. I have many Turkish friends at the University of Richmond, and I think I will  practice my Turkish with them, as they are all willing to help me. Also, my roommate from high school was Turkish and she is also willing to help me learn the language.

I am a big fan of watching Turkish soap operas, and I have been watching "Dudaktan kalbe" with subtitles in my language. I really want to be able to understand basic conversation between the actors without having to read subtitles. I know that this is extremely hard for beginners, but I believe that strong determination and persistence will keep me motivated to work hard and achieve my goals.