Turkey is a beautiful country. From breathtaking beaches to natural wonders and amazing archeological sites, there’s a little bit of everything. However, tourists might have a hard time finding their way through Istanbul’s bustling streets because only 17% of the locals know how to speak English. But learning Turkish will get you more than just a stress-free vacation. The American government has designated Turkish as a critical language. It’s actively recruiting Turkish speakers for various roles in the government and offering scholarships and fellowships to students pursuing the language. Plus, learning Turkish helps you understand other languages spoken in the region, such as Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek. Of course, learning a foreign language has plenty of other benefits, like helping you improve your memory and boost your creativity.
Why Learn Turkish With Language Learning Software
Turkish can be hard to master, but it isn’t as difficult as Russian or Japanese. The main reason is that Turkish grammar is logical and regular. Unlike English, you don’t need to memorize any rule exceptions, making Turkish increasingly easier as you progress. Still, language learning software will help you get a grasp of the basic rules.
Since Turkish is a phonetic language, words are pronounced exactly as they’re written. Of course, for you to know how a word should sound, you need to learn the Turkish alphabet first. Language learning apps with speech-recognition software help tremendously, as they tell you where you need to improve your pronunciation.
Additionally, language learning software is perfect for expanding your vocabulary. Even though Turkish has around 6,000 loanwords from French, English, and Latin, you’ll still need to learn a lot. With flashcards and perfectly timed review exercises, language learning apps make sure you quickly retain thousands of pieces of vocabulary. Finally, most language learning apps organize exercises in easy-to-follow curriculums, which is essential to study Turkish efficiently.
Recommended Language Learning Apps for Turkish
Babbel
Babbel students learn Turkish through real-life dialogues and spaced repetition, as the platform slowly builds up to an immersive experience. Users switch between writing and speaking lessons in various formats, such as video, podcasts, and interactive exercises. Babbel also makes it easy for you to keep on top of your study plan with its built-in calendar and email reminders. There’s a Turkish course structure in place, and you’ll get an official certificate every time you complete a level. But you can also focus on specific situations in the extra courses tab. There, you’ll find exercises for traveling, business, mental workouts, and more. The company doesn’t provide a free trial, but you can try everything risk-free with Babbel’s 20-day money-back guarantee.
Rosetta Stone
With decades of experience, Rosetta Stone offers one of the most comprehensive language learning apps on the market. The Turkish course comes with vocabulary, writing, and speaking lessons, making sure that you learn everything you need to know about the language. Exercises are intuitive and can be completed either on desktop or mobile. Additionally, the platform provides an immersive experience to speed up your learning process. Rosetta Stone’s online version offers extra features to improve your Turkish even further. You can connect with other users through the built-in chat, play interactive games, read short stories, and download all classes in MP3 format to listen offline. But before you get out your credit card, take advantage of the company’s 3-day free trial first to test the software for yourself.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur is the perfect option for anyone who wants to learn how to speak Turkish fast. The language learning software is completely audio-based and focuses mainly on speaking exercises. Due to its handsfree approach, Pimsleur works well for students who want to multitask. You can easily plug in your earphones and enjoy lessons while going for a walk or doing house chores. All exercises offer cultural insights, such as great places to visit, social norms, history lessons, and more. Plus, Premium users get some neat extras like interactive games, dialogues, and flashcards. The best part is that the company allows you to try the first lesson for free.
The Challenges of Learning Turkish
The first thing Turkish students will notice is that the language doesn’t follow the same sentence structure as English. While most Latin languages use an SVO (subject-verb-object) word order, Turkish uses an SOV (subject-object-verb) structure. Additionally, the alphabet is a bit different. Even though it’s based on the Latin alphabet, Turkish students will need to learn a few more characters, such as ç, ğ, ö, and ş.
Turkish is also an agglutinative language. In other words, new words are created by adding suffixes. For example, the English translation for göz is ‘eye’. By adding the suffix lük, you get gözlük, which means eyeglasses. The biggest challenge comes when the agglutination starts creating sentences. For instance, you can say ‘I wonder if I should sit down for a while’ just by using the word ‘istahtaisinkohan’. On the bright side, after you get the hang of word construction, you’ll easily understand new vocabulary without even needing a dictionary.
Indeed, when it comes to vocabulary, there are many words that you’ll have to learn from scratch, as they don’t share the roots or sounds of more common languages. Fortunately, teaching new vocabulary is where language learning software shines the most.
Best Ways To Learn Turkish Online
While doing regular language learning exercises is necessary to learn Turkish, you should also try to have as much contact with the language as possible. Speaking with native speakers, either through social media or a language learning app, is a great start.
You can go even further by watching Turkish television or listening to Turkish music. One of Turkey’s biggest cultural exports is soap operas. An excellent example is the popular TV series Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love), which has aired in more than 46 countries. YouTube also has a large Turkish community, with some channels – like Enes Batur – having more than 10 million subscribers. The best part is that most Turkish content has English subtitles thanks to YouTube’s automatic captions. And if you like to read, there are some excellent Turkish books to improve your vocabulary and reading skills. From The Museum of Innocence by the Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk to Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into.