Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Gabriella: Hello, and welcome back to TurkishClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 20, Talking about Animate and Inanimate Objects in Turkish. I’m Gabriella.
Feyza: Merhaba! And I’m Feyza!
Gabriella: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about animate and inanimate objects.
Feyza: This dialogue takes place in Hakan’s car. Hakan is driving. Bora and Merve are on board as well.
Gabriella: They all know each other very well, so they’re using informal language. Ok, let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Bora: (On a drive) (Stomach rumbling) Açım.
Hakan: Аa, burada bir seyyar satıcı var. Ona gidelim mi? Tavuklu pilav sever misin?
Bora: Şey...
Hakan: Sevmez misin?
Merve: Benim alerjim var da...
Hakan: Tavuk etine karşı alerjin mi var?
Merve: Evet, bir ona alerjim var, ne yazık ki.
Bora: Hakan! Önüne bak! Dikkat! Yolda köpek var!
Hakan: Ay evet. Bir an boş bulundum. Onu görmedim. Teşekkürler!
Gabriella: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Bora: (On a drive) (Stomach rumbling) Açım.
Hakan: Аa, burada bir seyyar satıcı var. Ona gidelim mi? Tavuklu pilav sever misin?
Bora: Şey...
Hakan: Sevmez misin?
Merve: Benim alerjim var da...
Hakan: Tavuk etine karşı alerjin mi var?
Merve: Evet, bir ona alerjim var, ne yazık ki.
Bora: Hakan! Önüne bak! Dikkat! Yolda köpek var!
Hakan: Ay evet. Bir an boş bulundum. Onu görmedim. Teşekkürler!
Gabriella: Now, let’s hear it with the English translation.
Bora: (On a drive) (Stomach rumbling) Açım.
Bora: (On a drive) (Stomach rumbling) I'm hungry.
Hakan: Аa, burada bir seyyar satıcı var. Ona gidelim mi? Tavuklu pilav sever misin?
Hakan: Oh, there's a street vendor over there... How about going to him? Do you like chicken rice?
Bora: Şey...
Bora: Errr...
Hakan: Sevmez misin?
Hakan: You don’t like it?
Merve: Benim alerjim var da...
Merve: Well, I am allergic...
Hakan: Tavuk etine karşı alerjin mi var?
Hakan: Allergic to chicken? (surprised)
Merve: Evet, bir ona alerjim var, ne yazık ki.
Merve: Yes, I have allergy to just that, unfortunately.
Bora: Hakan! Önüne bak! Dikkat! Yolda köpek var!
Bora: Hakan! Look ahead! Be careful, there is a dog on the road!
Hakan: Ay evet. Bir an boş bulundum. Onu görmedim. Teşekkürler!
Hakan: Oh, yes! I was taken aback for a moment. I didn’t see it. Thanks!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Gabriella: Delicious miracles happen when food meets the street!
Feyza: And any urban public space in Turkey is just the perfect stage for that gourmet experience.
Gabriella: You'll pass by a street vendor selling food whether you're running your errands, sightseeing, or simply discovering the city on foot as a pedestrian.
Feyza: These vendors basically sell everything in Turkey.
Gabriella: From key chains and computer goods, to ready-to-eat food. Feyza, let’s name some of the food you can get from a street vendor in Turkey to show our listeners the variety!
Feyza: Sure! Balık Ekmek
Gabriella: "Fish sandwich"
Feyza: Kokoreç
Gabriella: "A seasoned skewered lambs’ intestine sandwich"
Feyza: Yengen
Gabriella: A sandwich with string cheese, tomatoes, pickles and sujuk, which is a spicy sausage.
Feyza: Tavuk-pilav
Gabriella: "Chicken Pilaf"
Feyza: Midye dolma
Gabriella: "Stuffed mussels."
Feyza: Kumpir
Gabriella: "Jacket potato."
Feyza: Simit
Gabriella: A kind of Turkish bagel with sesame
Feyza: Kestane - in winter
Gabriella: "Grilled chestnuts"
Feyza: Mısır in summer
Gabriella: Boiled or grilled corn
Feyza: Maraş dondurması
Gabriella: A sticky vanilla ice-cream that contains more salep than usual.
Feyza: And many more!
Gabriella: Yummy! Who needs a restaurant when there’s such a variety on the streets!
Feyza: Be careful though… Some of them are quite famous and they really sell good quality food, but sanitary issues might be a problem for some of them.
Gabriella: Oh, I didn’t know that. So how can we find a good one?
Feyza: Basic rules—choose the one with the most customers, or ask the locals from that neighborhood to guide you to a quality one.
Gabriella: Advice taken!
VOCAB LIST
Gabriella: The first word we shall see is...
Feyza: acıkmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to be hungry
Feyza: acıkmak [slowly - broken down by syllable] acıkmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: seyyar satıcı [natural native speed]
Gabriella: street vendor
Feyza: seyyar satıcı [slowly - broken down by syllable] seyyar satıcı [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: alerji [natural native speed]
Gabriella: allergy
Feyza: alerji [slowly - broken down by syllable] alerji [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: tavuk [natural native speed]
Gabriella: chicken
Feyza: tavuk [slowly - broken down by syllable] tavuk [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: ön [natural native speed]
Gabriella: front
Feyza: ön [slowly - broken down by syllable] ön [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: bakmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to look
Feyza: bakmak [slowly - broken down by syllable] bakmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: dikkat [natural native speed]
Gabriella: attention
Feyza: dikkat [slowly - broken down by syllable] dikkat [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: yol [natural native speed]
Gabriella: road, route
Feyza: yol [slowly - broken down by syllable] yol [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: boş bulunmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to be taken unawares, to be taken aback
Feyza: boş bulunmak [slowly - broken down by syllable] boş bulunmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: And last...
Feyza: an [natural native speed]
Gabriella: moment
Feyza: an [slowly - broken down by syllable] an [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Gabriella: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Feyza, I think our first word is related to food and being hungry as well.
Feyza: That’s right Gabriella. It’s acıkmak, a verb of Turkic origin.
Gabriella: It means "to get hungry" in Turkish. The root of this verb is...
Feyza: aç
Gabriella: meaning "hungry, peckish"
Feyza: Acıkmak signifies the condition of being hungry over a period of time.
Gabriella: Hmm, then how do you say that you're hungry as of now?
Feyza: Çok açım
Gabriella: "I am hungry." Our listeners should check the lesson notes for more examples related to this word. So what’s our second word?
Feyza: dikkat
Gabriella: It's an exclamation meaning "watch out" or "attention."
Feyza: It'll come in handy in your daily life in Turkey.
Gabriella: Yes, you might want to understand when you hear a person warning you,
Feyza: Dikkat araba geliyor!
Gabriella: "Watch out! A car is coming!"
Feyza: You'll also see this written on traffic signs.
Gabriella: Let’s say you are traveling in the cliffs of the Mediterranean on a foggy day, you can expect to see...
Feyza: Dikkat! Heyelan tehlikesi.
Gabriella: "Attention! Danger of an avalanche." What’s our final word Feyza?
Feyza: Boş bulunmak.
Gabriella: An expression meaning "to be taken aback." But what does it literally mean Feyza?
Feyza: Let’s start by analysing its components. Boş is an adjective meaning "empty," and bulunmak is a verb meaning "to exist" or "to appear."
Gabriella: Or "to be in a place."
Feyza: Correct. So altogether, it means "to appear empty."
Gabriella: But in English, it translates as "to be taken unaware"
Feyza: Exactly. And just like the implication of its English meaning, Turkish people say this when they are spaced out…
Gabriella: And suddenly taken aback by a sound, or movement, or something right?
Feyza: That’s right. And that’s why it's usually followed by an apologetic expression like "pardon" or affedersiniz.
Gabriella: Great! Okay, now onto the grammar.
GRAMMAR POINT
Gabriella: In this lesson, you’ll learn to talk about animate and inanimate things in Turkish.
Feyza: To begin with, we’ll summarize one rule that we’ve been talking about for a while in this series.
Gabriella: When using third person singular and plural, there is no difference when talking about inanimate or animate objects in Turkish.
Feyza: This characteristic of Turkish makes the study of personal pronouns relatively easy, as compared to other languages.
Gabriella: In short, it means animals, plants, objects and people are all described as….
Feyza: o in third person singular, and onlar in third person plural.
Gabriella: Let’s give some examples.
Feyza: O, yakışıklı bir adamdır.
Gabriella: "He's a handsome man."
Feyza: O şirin ve tüylüdür.
Gabriella: "It is cute and fluffy." That's for talking about an animal. And next...
Feyza: O çok eski.
Gabriella: "It’s very old." Here we could be talking about furniture.
Feyza: As you can see, there's also lack of gender when talking about inanimate and animate objects.
Gabriella: Yes, that makes everything easier, but how do you define and distinguish between "he," "she," and "it." Doesn’t the meaning get quite ambiguous?
Feyza: That’s a good question. The context itself usually tells us who the personal pronoun is.
Gabriella: Can you give an example?
Feyza: Onun elbisesi çok güzel.
Gabriella: "Her dress is beautiful." I see, the object gives a clue about the gender in this case.
Feyza: Yes, and there's almost always a way to tell.
Gabriella: I'm still a little confused. I mean, if you're talking about the career of a person, for example. How can you say whether the person you're talking about is a man or a woman?
Feyza: We usually start the dialogue by giving that person’s name and continue it with third person singular o.
Gabriella: So that way, you already know the gender of the person from the beginning.
Feyza: Yes.
Gabriella: But what if somebody misses the beginning of your conversation and joins in at a later point. How will he or she understand the gender of the person you’re talking about?
Feyza: Frankly speaking, it won’t be easy for the other person to understand, unless we reveal the gender by using an adjective or a noun or something.
Gabriella: How is that possible?
Feyza: For example, when you're talking about a woman and you want to specify her gender to the person who missed the beginning of the conversation, you begin your next sentence by saying, O kadın...
Gabriella: Meaning, "The woman" or "That woman." But isn’t that impolite?
Feyza: You have a point. We only use this expression when we're talking about a person who is anonymous to us. Usually we say their name if we want to reveal the identity of the person we're talking about.
Gabriella: So it’s very easy to shift one’s ground in a conversation, and pretend like you're talking about an anonymous person while in reality you're not.
Feyza: (laughs) I’ve never thought of it like that. Let’s say, it's easier to change the subject in a conversation in Turkish.

Outro

Gabriella: Ok listeners, we’ve come to the end of another very interesting lesson. Thank you very much for listening!
Feyza: And as always, don’t forget to study the lesson notes!
Gabriella: Bye everyone!
Feyza: Hoşçakalın!

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