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I stayed a month in Turkey to learn some Turkish. I noticed that this strange language contains a lot of French words. Then I started looking actively for the French words, and they showed up in strange places and odd spelling.
Earlier, the Turks borrowed many words from Arabic and Farsi. 150 years ago they started borrowing French words. Many of these word describe the bourgeois life in town, and they were adapted exactly when the Turks began moving to towns. I was told that there are 5,000 French words in Turkish, nearly all of them nouns. 50 years ago English words arrived as well, but not to the same extent.
The Turks changed from using the Arabian alphabet to the Latin alphabet around 1920. It was one of Kemal Ataturk's numerous reforms. The Turks started on a fresh transcription with a one-to-one connection between letters and pronounciation. That is a clever principle. It is also the rule in Finnish, Hungarian and Italian, and it helps schoolchildren to read and write within their first year in school.
Five rules for Turkish pronounciation:
To make the Latin alphabet and the Turkish sounds match means that some of them are not pronounced as we expect:
Exercise: Pronounce these loans from English: videoteyp, greypfrut, flört, tişört.
The Turkish grammar uses vowel harmony where the basic Turkish words use either a - ı - o - u or e - i - ö - ü. This rule reveals the imported words: "videoteyp" has the vowels i - e - o - e which are not consistent with the vowel harmony.
Further, the Turks likes words where there is only one consonant and one vowel at a time: vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant etc. That is easy and quick to pronounce, and that has altered "auto" to "oto", "sport" to "spor" and "machine" to "makinesi".
As every letter is pronounced, the Turks will always change the spelling of imported words so that they match with their Turkish pronounciation. Example:
pardon |
pardon |
|
lavabo |
lavabo |
washbasin |
liste |
liste |
list |
argo |
argot |
argot, slang |
bonfile |
bon filét |
good steak |
depo |
depot |
depository |
garson |
garçon |
waiter |
gri |
gris |
grey |
lig |
ligue |
league |
otel |
hôtel |
|
pantolon |
pantalon |
trousers |
park |
parc |
park |
reklam |
réclame |
advertisement |
sinema |
cinéma |
|
şef |
chef |
chief (not cook) |
tren |
train |
|
vapur |
vapeur |
French meaning "steam", Turkish meaning "steamboat harbour" |
vitrin |
vitrine |
showcase |
avukat |
avocat |
advocate, lawyer |
garaj |
garage |
|
kantin |
cantine |
canteen |
kalorifer |
calorifère |
furnace |
kartpostal |
carte postale |
postcard |
lamba |
lampe |
lamp |
restoran |
restaurant |
|
vazo |
vase |
ajans |
agence |
agency |
aksesuar |
accessoire |
accessory |
alyans |
alliance |
Turkish meaning "engagement ring" |
apartman |
appartement |
flat, apartment |
asansör |
ascenseur |
lift, elevator |
banliyö |
banlieue |
suburb |
berber |
barbier |
barber |
bisküvi |
biscuit |
|
büro |
bureau |
|
çikolata |
chokolat |
|
ekselans |
excellence |
excellency |
fayans |
faïence |
faiance |
fuar |
foire |
fair |
kalite |
qualité |
quality |
kartvizit |
carte de visite |
business card |
klozet |
closette |
bathroom |
koaför |
coiffeur |
hairdresser |
kolej |
college |
|
komodin |
commode |
commode, chest of drawers |
kumanda |
commande |
command (noun) |
kuzen |
cousin |
|
küvet |
cuvette |
bathtub |
lisans |
licence |
|
lise |
lycée |
high school |
makine |
machine |
|
manevra |
manoeuvre |
maneuver, exercise |
misyon |
mission |
|
ofis |
office |
office |
okul |
ecole |
school |
omlet |
omelette |
omelet |
peruk |
perruque |
wig |
petibör |
petit beurre |
petit beurre, biscuit |
piknik |
pique-nique |
picnic |
randevu |
rendez-vous |
rendezvous |
sabun |
savon |
soap |
sekreter |
secrétaire |
secretary |
sosyete |
société |
society |
spor |
sport |
|
şans |
chance |
|
şifonyer |
chiffoniere |
make-up table |
şifre |
chiffres |
digit |
şoför |
chauffeur |
|
şok |
choc |
shock |
şömine |
cheminée |
fireplace |
turizm |
tourisme |
tourism |
tuvalet |
toilettes |
bathroom |
Londra |
Londres |
London |
Norveç |
Norvege |
Norway |
Danimarka |
Danemark |
Denmark |
Kopenhag |
Copenhague |
Copenhagen |
istasionu |
station, gare |
station |
İsviçre |
Suisse |
Switzerland |
İsveç |
Suede |
Sweden |
İspanya |
Espagne |
Spain |
mesaj |
message |
text message, SMS |
ekran |
ecran |
screen |
hoparlör |
hautparleur |
loudspeaker |
www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/LanguageGuide/Pronunciation.html