Omar wanted to talk about his experience in studying a new language and how is it coming along for him. He says, “The Turkish language is the mother tongue of more than 90 million people. Therefore, with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the old days. The Turkish vocabulary was spread to Arab countries, and in this way, the Turkish language was affected by many Arabic words.”
Learning the Turkish Language
“I learned the Turkish language through encounters with the Turkish people, and as it has been quite some time that I have lived here, I somewhat got involved in this society. This in turn affected my ability to learn the language faster. I also learned some Turkish vocabulary before I came to Turkey to prepare myself.”
“I learned the Turkish language and started reading and writing in only about 4 months. In my case, I found that speaking was difficult for me and required more focus and time. Overall, you can master the language within 8 months to a year, especially if you are living in the country. This will speed up the process of your language learning because you are forcing yourself to talk in Turkish daily. I learned the language by talking to a lot of Turkish people. However, if you surround yourself with more ways to learn the language by listening to Turkish. This can be done by listening to music, watching series and films, reading newspapers, etc.”
Difficulties in learning the language
Omar further says, “While mingling with the Turkish people, at first I had difficulty understanding. There is a difference between the Turkish that is taught in books and the slang which is usually spoken everywhere. Also, there is a difference between one person to another as it depends on their accents and their pronunciation of words. I also felt difficulty in learning the Turkish language in the order of the sentence. The placement of the verb in Turkish grammar is different from the Arabic language. It is important for you to always practice the language, so you do not forget the vocabulary or grammar.
After learning the Turkish language, I felt that I have accomplished something important. Ultimately, my friends began to help me in translating some things. My friend was offered a job as a translator from Turkish to Arabic. Despite my experience in the language, I keep finding myself in funny situations because it is difficult to pronounce the vowels a/e/o/ö/u/ü/ı/i.”
Lastly, he mentions, “My advice is to learn the Turkish language with love and passion so that you can master it faster. This is because you are going to live in the country during your study period, you must learn it because you live in this country.”
Listen to the interview here
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