Learn some common Turkish slang
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is Turkish slang like? |
| Dilek: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At TurkishClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Nilgün, a college student, uses a slang expression Ben has never heard before. She says, |
| Nilgün Nevşehirli: N'aber? |
| Dialogue |
| Nilgün Nevşehirli: N'aber? |
| Ben Lee: Bu ne demek? |
| Nilgün Nevşehirli: Bu, nasılsın demek. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Nilgün Nevşehirli: N'aber? |
| Michael: "'N'aber"?" |
| Ben Lee: Bu ne demek? |
| Michael: "What does it mean?" |
| Nilgün Nevşehirli: Bu, nasılsın demek. |
| Michael: "It means "what's up?"" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Slang is an aspect of language that isn't usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. Slang is a set of words and expressions, used by a group of people to better convey feelings and implied concepts. Slang is usually an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from one group to the other. In Turkish, "slang" is |
| Dilek: argo |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's start with the slang word in the conversation. |
| Do you remember the expression used by Nilgun? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Dilek as Nilgun Nevsehirli: N'aber? |
| Michael: This is the short version of |
| Dilek: ne haber |
| Michael: which literally means "what news". It's like asking what news you've got since you last saw the other person, something like "what's up with you lately?" |
| Michael: So far, you've learned that slang is an important aspect of colloquial language. It is often limited to small groups and it can change quickly or become obsolete. |
| Now, let's look at some more examples of Turkish slang. The first is |
| Dilek: kanka |
| Michael: this is the short version of |
| Dilek: kan kardeşi, |
| Michael: which means "blood brothers." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "close friend, dude." It used to be a literal "blood brothers" because two best friends would cut their palms, draw some blood, and shake hands while the blood was dripping. By doing so, they would make their blood run through as one, since they were one in two different bodies. Use this slang expression when you talk about your close friends. Here is a sample sentence: |
| Dilek: Dün kankamla bütün İstanbul'u gezdik. |
| Michael: "Yesterday, we strolled all over Istanbul with my close friend." The next slang phrase is |
| Dilek: kal gelmek |
| Michael: This literally means "to come to stay." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to freeze." It's mostly used by teenagers and describes someone who freezes in a situation, and does nothing but stare. Here is a sample sentence |
| Dilek: Eski erkek arkadaşını Aylin ile görünce, ona kal geldi. |
| Michael: "When she saw his ex-boyfriend with Aylin, she froze." Here is another slang expression popular among teenagers |
| Dilek: okul kırmak |
| Michael: This literally means "to break out of school." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to ditch school." You can use this slang expression when a student doesn't go to school for a day, for no obvious reason other than fun. Let's hear a sample sentence: |
| Dilek: Yarın okulu kıralım mı? |
| Michael: "Shall we ditch school tomorrow?" Our next slang word is |
| Dilek: ayı |
| Michael: this literally means "bear." But, when it's used as a slang expression, it means "rude person." Be careful when using this word, because calling someone "bear" might sound very rude, unless you are joking with a close friend. Let's see how to use it in a sentence |
| Dilek: Kapıyı çalmadan içeri ayı gibi daldın. |
| Michael: "You came in very rudely without even knocking on the door." The next slang phrase is |
| Dilek: çok da fifi |
| Michael: This means something like "too much blah blah blah." But, when it's used as a slang expression, it means "I don't care one bit." Here's a sample sentence |
| Dilek: Aman sen onu ne dinliyorsun, çok da fifi! |
| Michael: which means "Come on, who cares about him!" Our last slang expression is |
| Dilek: boş yapmak |
| Michael: This means something like "to do vain." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to talk nonsense." Here's a sample sentence |
| Dilek: Amma boş yaptın ya! |
| Michael: which means "You talked so much nonsense!" |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: The Turkish word meaning "slang" or |
| Dilek: argo |
| Michael: has an unclear etymology. Also in English there's a similar word "argot," which comes from French and indicates a codified language shared by a small group, usually incomprehensible to other speakers. |
Outro |
| Michael: That's all for this lesson. Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Dilek: Hoşçakalın! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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