How to Learn Turkish

Source: wikiHow

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Three Methods:Mastering the Turkish AlphabetUnderstanding Basic Grammar and Sentence StructureImmersing Yourself in the LanguageCommunity Q&A

Merhaba! There are more than 70 million people who speak Turkish, primarily living in Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and Cyprus.

There are other Turkish speakers throughout Europe and Central Asia. If you want to learn Turkish, learning the alphabet is a good place to start. Since Turkish words are spoken as they are written, once you learn the alphabet it will be easy to sound words out, even if you don’t entirely understand what they mean. Add some basic understanding of Turkish grammar and sentence structure, and you’ll be well on your way to speaking this beautiful language. İyi şanslar! (Good luck!)^[1]

1. 1 Pronounce most Turkish consonants like you would in English. The Turkish language uses a modified Latin alphabet that includes all but 3 letters found in the English alphabet. The Turkish alphabet does not include q, w, or x. Most of the other letters are pronounced the same as in English, with a few exceptions.^[2]
   • A Turkish c is pronounced somewhat like the j in the English word jar.
   • A Turkish g is always pronounced like the g in the English word garden.
   • A Turkish j is pronounced somewhat like the s in the English word pleasure.
   • A Turkish r is sometimes pronounced like the r in the English word red, although its pronunciation varies depending on its position within a word.
   • A Turkish y is always pronounced like the y in the English word yellow.
2. 2 Make the proper sound for Turkish vowels.
   Although the letters may look similar, Turkish vowels have a different sound than their English counterparts. They also have only one sound, as opposed to the short and long sounds of English vowels.^[3]
   • A Turkish a is pronounced somewhat like the u in the English word sun.
   • A Turkish e is pronounced somewhat like the e in the English word egg.
   • A Turkish i is pronounced somewhat like the i in the English word internet. Note that in Turkish, you also place a dot over the capital letter: İ.
   • A Turkish o is pronounced somewhat like the o in the English word orange.
   • A Turkish u is pronounced somewhat like the oo in the English word book.
3. 3 Learn how to pronounce letters that are unique to Turkish. There are 6 letters in the Turkish alphabet that are not included in the English alphabet, for a total of 29 letters. There are 3 additional consonants not found in English: ç, ǧ, and ş. There are also 3 vowels not found in English: ı, ö, and ü.^[4]
   • ǧ is a soft g. It always follows a vowel. If it follows an a, ı, o, or u, it lengthens the sound of that vowel. If it follows e, i, ö, or ü, then it sounds like the y in the English word yellow.
   • ç sounds like the ch in the English word chat.
   • ş sounds like the sh in the English word shoe.
   • ı sounds like the i in the English word cousin.
   • ö sounds like the ure in the English word cure.
   • ü sounds like the u in the English word cute.
4. 4 Classify vowels as front or back, open or closed, and rounded or unrounded. Vowel harmony, a fundamental…

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