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 3, Show Your Appreciation in Turkish. I’m Gabriella.
Feyza: Merhaba! And I’m Feyza!
Gabriella: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to show your appreciation for something.
Feyza: Yes, we are going to learn how Turkish people say “thank you” and “you are welcome“, and other phrases that are useful when giving gifts.
Gabriella: So, Feyza, where does this conversation take place?
Feyza: It takes place at the house of our main character Hakan. His guest is Merve, and it’s her first visit to Hakan’s place.
Gabriella: The speakers know each other, so their overall tone is informal. But since it is a special occasion and a visit, some of the expressions are formal. Ok, let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Hakan: Merhaba, lütfen içeri buyurun!
Merve: Teşekkürler! Bu, benden ufak bir hediye, lütfen kabul edin.
Hakan: Ah, çok teşekkür ederim!
Merve: Rica ederim.
Gabriella: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Hakan: Merhaba, lütfen içeri buyurun!
Merve: Teşekkürler! Bu, benden ufak bir hediye, lütfen kabul edin.
Hakan: Ah, çok teşekkür ederim!
Merve: Rica ederim.
Gabriella: Now, let’s hear it with the English translation.
Hakan: Merhaba, lütfen içeri buyurun!
Hakan: Welcome. Please come in!
Merve: Teşekkürler! Bu, benden ufak bir hediye, lütfen kabul edin.
Merve: Thanks. This is a small gift from me, please have it!
Hakan: Ah, çok teşekkür ederim!
Hakan: Oh, thank you very much!
Merve: Rica ederim.
Merve: You're welcome.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Gabriella: So Feyza, what are some of the customs when you visit someone for the very first time in Turkey?
Feyza: When visiting someone, especially for the first time, it is considered polite to take a small gift like sweets, dessert or flowers.
Gabriella: You can also bring a souvenir from your country. On which other occasions might our listeners like to take gifts when they’re visiting someone in Turkey?
Feyza: Well, housewarming gifts are important for sure. Some other occasions that come to mind are when you are a house guest at New Year’s, or if you’re paying a visit to your relatives during religious holidays, which are known as bayram.
Gabriella: If you happen to visit your Turkish friend’s house during the religious holidays, don’t forget to hand out pocket money to the children.
Feyza: It’s an important custom for Turkish people, but our listeners can relax, it is not expected from a non-Turkish guest.
Gabriella: Mother’s, Father’s and Valentine’s day are the other popular global events that Turkish people like to celebrate.
Feyza: That’s right. Turkish mothers are known for their compassion and generosity, so if the mother of a friend of yours treats you exceptionally well, don’t forget to get her some flowers on Mother’s Day!
Gabriella: Listeners, now you know all the key tactics for a pleasant home visit experience in Turkey.
VOCAB LIST
Gabriella: The first word we shall see is...
Feyza: lütfen [natural native speed]
Gabriella: please
Feyza: lütfen [slowly - broken down by syllable] lütfen [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: buyurmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: order, command, ordain, help oneself to (contextual meaning)
Feyza: buyurmak [slowly - broken down by syllable] buyurmak [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: kabul etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: admit, accept, approve, acknowledge, affiliate, receive (contextual meaning)
Feyza: kabul etmek [slowly - broken down by syllable] kabul etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: hediye [natural native speed]
Gabriella: present, gift
Feyza: hediye [slowly - broken down by syllable] hediye [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: rica etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: request, beg, appeal, ask for, please (contextual meaning) as in ‘I beg your pardon’
Feyza: rica etmek [slowly - broken down by syllable] rica etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: teşekkür etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to thank
Feyza: teşekkür etmek [slowly - broken down by syllable] teşekkür etmek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Feyza: teşekkürler! [natural native speed]
Gabriella: thanks
Feyza: teşekkürler! [slowly - broken down by syllable] teşekkürler! [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Gabriella: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Feyza: The first one is "‘Lütfen’ which means ‘please, if you please’ or ‘kindly’. You will be exposed to ‘lütfen’ lots of times in your daily life while you’re learning Turkish.
Gabriella: That’s no surprise!. How do you say ‘tickets please’?
Feyza: That is ‘Biletler lütfen’
Gabriella: How about when you’re about to leave a restaurant where you have just eaten?
Feyza: That is ‘Hesap lütfen’ meaning ‘Check please’
Gabriella: Hmm, Turkey is famous for its traffic jams, especially in the larger cities such as Istanbul, right? So what will the bus driver in an overly packed bus that says ‘İlerleyin lütfen’ mean?
Feyza: Hmm, that would be ‘İlerleyin lütfen’ meaning ‘Move on please’.
Gabriella: Listeners, like most parts of a Turkish sentence, you can change the position of ‘lütfen’ according to what you want to emphasise. Please see the lesson notes for some good examples!
Feyza: Yes dear listeners. Also, you will find other contextual meanings for ‘lütfen’ in those notes!
Gabriella: Alright, what’s next?
Feyza: “Buyurun”. This expression can be adapted to many contexts: ‘like ‘here you are’, ‘here you go’, ‘here, help yourself’ regarding food and so on. And “Please have it” when giving a present. Remember that it is also used when inviting people to enter a house, as seen in the dialogue.
Gabriella: I think our listeners will be hearing this one a lot!
Feyza: Oh definitely. Since Turkish people take great pleasure in serving their guests, you’ll be hearing this a lot: ‘Buyurun lokum’ meaning ‘Here, Turkish delight’, ‘Buyurun ikinci tabak’ meaning ‘Here, the second plate (of food)’, ‘Buyurun çay’ meaning ‘Here, tea’... or one of the most important ones ‘Buyurun terlik’ upon entering a Turkish house. This one means ‘Here, slippers’
Gabriella: Hmm the last one is especially interesting. So, the literal meaning of this is something like ‘Here you are, as you would wish/command’, right?
Feyza: That’s right, Gabriella. The ‘Buyurun+noun’ construction sounds very polite in Turkish. Listeners, for more information about this one, you know where to go...
Gabriella: ...The lesson notes!
Feyza: Ok, and now for our final expression, ‘Rica ederim’. This expression means ‘to ask for’, ‘to appeal’, ‘to please’.
Gabriella: So, this is the most polite way of saying ‘You’re welcome’
Feyza: Yes, In many cases...
Gabriella: I am curious about the infinitive form of this one...
Feyza: Oh, ‘rica etmek’. It is sometimes combined with ‘Rica ederim, hiç önemi yok’ meaning ‘You’re welcome. It is not important at all.’ But the meaning of ‘not at all’ is already embedded in ‘rica ederim’.
Gabriella: So it is a very compact expression that has great semantic depth, and adding anything else may seem extravagant. Modesty and humbleness are highly valued in Turkish society, depending on the context.
Feyza: Yes, so it is important to keep it simple. And it’s also easier this way!
Gabriella: Which is good news for everyone! Ok, now onto the grammar.
GRAMMAR POINT
Gabriella: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to show your appreciation by saying “thank you” and saying ‘you’re welcome’ when giving a present or offering something in Turkish.
Feyza: And the most common – or the most standard way – to do this in Turkish is to say “Teşekkür ederim” meaning ‘thank you’.
Gabriella: You can use this in both formal and informal situations.
Feyza: Yes, for example - after hearing ‘Lütfen kabul edin’ which is set in a formal context meaning ‘Please accept’, an appropriate reply is usually "Teşekkür ederim" which means "Thank you." Or if you want to sound slightly less informal and more lively, say ‘teşekkürler!
Gabriella: You will hear the following examples in banks, or from your colleagues or boss
Feyza: Yes, even in e-mails. When you want to call for attention you usually write ‘İlginiz için teşekkür ederim’ in advance at the end of an e-mail. This means ‘thank you for your concern.’
Gabriella: That was quite easy. But listeners, please refer to the lesson notes for other less common expressions used when expressing your appreciation. So, what’s our second grammar focus?
Feyza: Now this one is a challenge.
Gabriella: Yes, it’s Haplology in Turkish and Common Spelling Mistakes. Before you start worrying, for this section please pull up the lesson notes because they’ll help you visualise what we’re talking about. We’ll be talking a little bit about spelling rules!
Feyza: Let’s begin with a simple definition.
Gabriella: You may not have heard of it, but haplology exists in almost every language. It means eliminating a syllable when two consecutive, identical or similar syllables occur.
Feyza: In Turkish, haplology generally occurs when words composed of two syllables have a suffix starting with a vowel.
Gabriella: Haplology usually happens in two ways in Turkish.
Feyza: The first way happens in the last syllable, when a suffix starting with a vowel is attached.
Gabriella: Can you give an example Feyza?
Feyza: Sure - the word ‘ağız’ meaning “mouth” gets the suffix ‘-ı’. Normally, it would become a-ğı-zı but the vowel -ı drops and the word becomes ağzı. As in ‘Top ağzıma çarptı’ meaning My mouth was hit by a ball.
Gabriella: Okay, and how about the second case?
Feyza: The second way happens in combined words. Like ‘pazartesi’ which means Monday, for example. Pazartesi is actually a compound word: Pazar (meaning “sunday”) and ertesi (meaning “after”). Altogether it makes Pazartesi, meaning “Sunday”.
Gabriella: And the vowel ‘e’ in the first syllable of the second word here drops, doesn’t it?
Feyza: Exactly, here haplology is both visible in its oral and written form.
Gabriella: But Feyza, in our dialogue ‘buyurun’ is written as is, without losing any syllables. Why is that?
Feyza: Well, that’s the tricky part. Attention listeners, ‘Buyur-un-’ meaning ‘Here you are’ or ‘Here you go’ is an exception where haplology doesn’t occur in the written form. The correct way of spelling it is ‘b-u-y-u-r-u-n’.
Gabriella: Hmm, I think I am beginning to understand this. Could you repeat the example from the dialogue to us please? ‘Hello, please come in’ is...
Feyza: Merhaba, lütfen içeri buyurun!
Gabriella: Hey wait a second there! You just read it with haplology! I thought it was an exception.
Feyza: Yes, and that’s my last point. One thing to keep in mind about haplology is how it applies to pronunciation. Although the correct version of written ‘buyurun’ is without haplology, it should be read as ‘buyrun’. In a way, the haplology doesn’t exist in the written form, but it continues to exist in the spoken form.
Gabriella: Hmm, can you give us some more examples?
Feyza: Sure. Listeners, for an in-depth understanding, please open the lesson notes and repeat after me. Gabriella: will read the English translations and I will say it in Turkish. Please pay attention to the way it is written and pronounced. First is, Sofraya buyurun!
Gabriella: “(Please) come to the (dining room) table! (to eat)”
Feyza: Buyurun lokum
Gabriella: "Here, Turkish delight"
Feyza: Buyurun çay
Gabriella: "Here, tea"
Feyza: Buyurun terlik
Gabriella: "Here are some slippers"
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Outro

Gabriella: Okay, that about does it for this lesson!
Feyza: Thanks for listening, everyone! Teşekkürler!
Gabriella: Bye!
Feyza: Hoşçakalın!

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