Learn Turkish in the fastest, easiest and most fun way!
Create Your Free Lifetime Account
Or sign up using Facebook

Your Ultimate Turkish Pronunciation Guide

Knowing how to correctly pronounce words when you learn to speak a new language is crucial for speaking it well. It is no different with Turkish. At TurkishClass101, we put a lot of emphasis on teaching and demonstrating correct pronunciation, as it is our aim to help you to speak like a native after a while!

According to Dictionary.com, ‘pronunciation’ is: the act or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation, often with reference to some standard of correctness or acceptability.

Paying attention to your Turkish pronunciation not your own essentially means you’re learning to ditch most of your foreign accent. This is very important if you want to be a successful communicator in any language. Getting Turkish pronunciation right may seem like a daunting task at the onset, but it need not be!

Download Your FREE Guide to the Turkish Alphabet!

If you want to master the Turkish language and become fluent, you must learn the Turkish alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.

This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Turkish learning beginners!

FREE Turkish eBook

Download your FREE Turkish practice sheets PDF today and learn the Turkish language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners

1. Introduction to Turkish Pronunciation

Turkish Pronunciation

Learning to pronounce Turkish words is not very difficult, even though some of the words and sounds might seem foreign on your tongue when you first start using them. In time, and with practice, your Turkish pronunciation is going to be perfect. However, if you want to have perfect pronunciation skills you have to start with the basics and then build from there.

Sounds and Syllables

In the Turkish language, you will have 8 vowels - a, e, ı (un-dotted), i (dotted), o, ö, u, and ü. The language contains 21 consonants b, c, ç, d, f, g, ğ, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, ş, t, v, y, z. You will find that most of the letters in the language have pronunciation that is very similar to English, which is a good thing for those learning the language. When you have many letters and combinations of letters that sound similar together, it makes the learning process faster and more enjoyable.However, you are going to find some exceptions to the rule when it comes to Turkish pronunciation, and it is very important to take note of these exceptions so you know what to do when they come up.Remember that every letter in a word is pronounced in the Turkish language, and that each of the letters has only a single sound. One of the things that makes the language different from so many others is that they never combine two or more letters to make a new or different sound. Knowing this is going to make pronunciation when you see different Turkish words much easier.In fact, this is one of the most difficult areas for English speakers to grasp. Because of all of the strangeness in the English language, with silent letters and similar rules, it can be easy to mispronounce words in Turkish. Remembering the above rules will help you, but it can take some time to get this into your head.

Stress

Trying to speak Turkish is not difficult once you understand proper Turkish pronunciation and you understand the basics of the grammar rules. One of the pronunciation issues that give some people trouble is the dotted and undotted “i” and “ı”. When you see the dotted version, you pronounce it as “ee” in the word see. The un-dotted version is pronounced with an “uh” sound, as in the word muss.Pronunciation can seem tricky, but the more you learn and practice the easier it will become.

2. Why is Correct Pronunciation in Turkish Important?

Correct Pronunciation

Proper pronunciation is important, very important. Some say it’s even more important than getting the grammar perfectly correct! Why would this be?

1) Good Understanding

If communicating with native speakers matters to you when learning Turkish, you need to be understood when you talk, and you need to be able to understand the native speakers. After all, without understanding, the purpose of language is null and void! In order to be understood, you need to be able to speak the language in a way that is familiar to native speakers, or at least recognizable by them.

When learning to speak a new language, you will learn that the more you progress the more intricate it becomes! For instance, almost every language has vocabulary that may look the same in writing, but because the words are pronounced differently, they have very different meanings. This means that you may say a word in Turkish, and because of a slight change in pronunciation, the meaning of the word changes completely. Understandably, this can make for pretty embarrassing situations! At worst, your mispronounced Turkish will sound garbled to a native speaker.

Knowing the nuances of how a word or letter is pronounced will also help you to understand spoken Turkish better.

No worries if this feels hard; you’re learning, and with our help at TurkishClass101, you will not have a problem with mispronunciation if you follow our advice and examples carefully.

2) Good Communication

Not pronouncing Turkish or any other language correctly can lead to a lot of frustration because you’re unable to express what you mean, and you will not be understood correctly. Even if you have total knowledge of Turkish grammar, and can write it like a native, not knowing how to speak it properly will only make for very frustrating communication all around.

3) A Good Impression

Even if you’re only a beginner, it is possible to speak any language correctly. This way, you are bound to make a good impression on native speakers, and when you’re more fluent, you will be likely to garner a lot more respect than a fumbling newbie speaker who doesn’t care much for correct pronunciation.

People often have a lot of patience for someone who learns to speak a new language, but native speakers are more likely to address you and engage with you in conversation if you work hard on your accent. This is simply because you’ll be able to understand one another! So, proficiency in pronunciation can mean the difference between having none or plenty of Turkish speaking friends. It will also serve you well in the workplace, and make you popular with your Turkish speaking managers and employers or employees.

Learning to speak Turkish properly is also a sign of respect for not only the language, but also the native speakers and their customs.

3. Secrets to Learning the Correct Turkish Pronunciation

Secrets to Learning

1) Use voice recording tools to perfect your pronunciation

TurkishClass101 has plenty of resources to help you with your Turkish pronunciation, so be sure to make thorough use of our recordings with native Turkish speakers. These are available not only to demonstrate to you how you should pronounce Turkish vocabulary, but also sentences and dialogues. Watch and listen to these over and over again to train your ear, and watch the teacher’s mouth as she speaks in the video lessons. Then, copy the speech as best you can. Later, you can record yourself to hear if you sound like a native speaker and compare yourself with native speakers. Great for self-motivation.

2) Practice in front of the mirror.

And see that you’re copying the correct lip and mouth movements.

3) Use our TurkishClass101 dictionary!

Use the Turkish dictionary provided by TurkishClass101 to look up words and listen to the audio pronunciation. This will go a long way towards giving you an idea of how to pronounce a word or letter correctly.

4) Train your ear to the language!

Make an effort to often listen to Turkish music and recorded books, and watch plenty of Turkish movies and/or TV shows in Turkish. This will train your ear to the language, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you pick up the accent. Remember, this is the way we learned to speak when we were young - mostly by listening to the adults talking, and repeating what they say!

5) Practice, practice, practice…

Repetition of the same thing may be boring, but in learning a new language, you’re creating new pathways in your brain. For these to remain and become habitual, you will need to repeat the correct pronunciation often.

6) Make friends with a native Turkish speaker.

Don’t be shy to address them in Turkish! Ask them to correct you when you make a pronunciation mistake - this is a wonderful way to practice and learn the language first-hand, and also to make new friends.

7) Practice your pronunciation with your Turkish teacher!

If you’re a serious student and don’t know where to meet native Turkish speakers, consider investing in TurkishClass101’s Premium PLUS plan. This means you will have your own native Turkish teacher available to practice your pronunciation with, and much more! Send recordings of yourself speaking Turkish and get feedback from your Turkish teacher.

4. How to Download Your Free Guide to the Turkish Alphabet

Download Your FREE Guide to the Turkish Alphabet!

If you want to master the Turkish language and become fluent, you must learn the Turkish alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.

This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Turkish learning beginners!

FREE Turkish eBook

Download your FREE Turkish practice sheets PDF today and learn the Turkish language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners

Log in with Your Free Lifetime Account and we’ll give you an instructional Turkish PDF that covers the letters of the alphabet, practice worksheets, and a quiz to test yourself with… — absolutely FREE!

3 Reasons to Learn Turkish Through PDF Lessons

Let’s now take a closer look at how studying Turkish lessons in PDF format can help you reach your dream in up to half the time of normal video or audio lessons!

① Saves Minutes on Your Data Plan

Learning Turkish through PDF lessons can dramatically reduce your data use. Once a lesson or tool is downloaded, you can then access it offline via your computer or smartphone any time or place regardless of Internet access. And once you’ve downloaded the Turkish lessons in PDF format, you can actually access them faster than logging in and trying to do so via a live site. So not only will learning Turkish using PDF lessons save minutes on your data plan—it will save you some significant time as well as the lessons add up!

② Print and Take All Turkish Lessons and PDF Tools With You Anywhere

Sometimes, a tiny smartphone screen just isn’t adequate, especially when you are trying to learn something new. The great thing about PDF lessons, tools or files is that they can be quickly printed and taken anywhere after you download them. In fact, printing out Turkish lessons in PDF format can actually save you time when compared to going through the material on a smartphone with a small screen—even with the extra printing time!

③ Great Study Tool to Boost Retention and Mastery

Studying video or audio lessons online is a great way to learn a language because students can play and rewind sections as many times as needed until the lesson is mastered. But when you review the same Turkish lessons again in PDF format, an incredible thing happens: your retention dramatically improves! Thanks to Time Spaced Repetition, seeing the information again in written format helps reinforce the information in your mind and improves both retention and recall. The benefits of learning Turkish using PDF lessons quickly add up to significant time savings for you, your data plan, and your dream of learning a new language!

Why are we giving it away?

Learning to read and write is a must for all beginners. Although you get video lessons on how to write in Turkish at TurkishClass101, you’ll still need physical worksheets to practice on. That’s why you’re getting this printable tutorial PDFs as a gift.

5. Related Lessons

How to Say Hello in Turkish
Do you know how to say hello in Turkish? It’s the most basic phrase that you’ll need to say and hear in everyday life. If you don’t know yet, learn 15 ways to say hello and greet others in Turkish. Why 15? The more variations you know, the more you can speak and the more fluent you become!
How to Introduce Yourself in Turkish
Can you introduce yourself in Turkish? Don’t worry! Check out the 10 Turkish Lines You Need To Introduce Yourself with this free Review Sheet. From “My name is…“ and “I live in…” down to “My hobbies are…” Just review the 10 lines. It will only take you 2 minutes. Then, introduce yourself in the comment section below!
Turkish Alphabet
Learn everything you need to know about the Turkish alphabet. At TurkishClass101, we introduce you to Turkish writing in simple, easy-to-follow steps, and you can ask for advice or help anywhere along the way. It is important to master the Turkish alphabet completely from the start.
How to Say Thank You in Turkish
Has anyone thanked you today? We will. Thank you for reading this article and learning with us! In fact, today, you’ll learn the many different ways to say “Thank You” in Turkish. It’s one of the most important Turkish phrases. Check it out and watch the video too to practice your pronunciation.

2 Comments
Please to leave a comment.
😄 😞 😳 😁 😒 😎 😠 😆 😅 😜 😉 😭 😇 😴 😮 😈 ❤️️ 👍

TurkishClass101.com Verified
Friday at 07:34 AM
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Merhaba Najla,


Çok teşekkürler for notifying us about that.

I informed our team. Hopefully this will get resolved soon! 😇

If you have any questions or further feedback, feel free to reach out to us.


Sevgiler,

Levente

Team TurkishClass101.com

Najla
Thursday at 10:26 AM
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

I think your download link is pointing to the wrong page. You refer in the text to cheat sheets but the download button takes you to the alphabet ebook

×
Learn Beginner Turkish the Fast, Fun and Easy Way
Create Your Free Lifetime Account
Or sign up using Facebook