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\markboth{\emph{Pr\'ecis} of Turkish}{\emph{Pr\'ecis} of Turkish}

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\title{\emph{Pr\'ecis} of Turkish}
\author{David Pierce}
\date{2005.05.16}

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\begin{document}

%      \maketitle
\thispagestyle{empty}
\emph{David Pierce originally prepared these notes on the Turkish
  language in May of 2005 for distribution to people attending a
  mathematical conference in Antalya.} 

Developed in 1928 to allow phonetic transcription of the language, the
Turkish alphabet has 29 letters.  To obtain it from the English alphabet:
throw out (\letter Q,~\letter q), (\letter W,~\letter w), and (\letter
X,~\letter x);
replace the letter (\letter I,~\letter i) with the two letters
(\letter I,~\letter {\i}) and 
(\letter {\.I},~\letter i); and
introduce the new letters (\letter{\c C},~\letter{\c c}), (\letter
{\u G},~\letter {\u g}), (\letter {\"O},~\letter {\"o}), (\letter {\c
  S},~\letter {\c s}), (\letter {\"U},~\letter {\"u}). 
%In alphabetical order, the Turkish letters are:
%\begin{center}
%  \letter{A}\,   \letter{B}\,   \letter{C}\,    \letter{\c C}\, \letter{D}\,
%  \letter{E}\,   \letter{F}\,   \letter{G}\,    \letter{\u G}\, \letter{H}\,
%  \letter{I}\,   \letter{\.I}\, \letter{J}\,    \letter{K}\,    \letter{L}\,
%  \letter{M}\,   \letter{N}\,   \letter{O}\,    \letter{\"O}\,  \letter{P}\,
%  \letter{R}\,   \letter{S}\,   \letter{\c S}\, \letter{T}\,    \letter{U}\,
%  \letter{\"U}\, \letter{V}\,   \letter{Y}\,    \letter{Z}. 
%\end{center}

According to their pronunciation, the eight vowels correspond to the
vertices of a cube.  At
the origin of Cartesian 3-space, place the vowel \letter{\i}.  As
fits its simple written form, you pronounce \letter {\i} by relaxing
the mouth 
completely, but keeping the teeth nearly clenched.  The national drink
\Tur{rak\i} is \emph{not} pronounced like ``Rocky'': in the last
syllable of \emph{this}, the tongue is too far forward.  The letter
\letter{\i} is the 
\textbf{close, unround, back} 
vowel.  Other vowels deviate from this by being \textbf{open, round}
or \textbf{front}; 
let these deviations correspond respectively to movement in the $x$-, $y$- or
$z$-directions (right, up, or forwards).  Then the vowels can be
diagrammed:
%\\[0.5\baselineskip]
%\mbox{\quad }$  
\begin{equation*}
  \xymatrix%@!0
{
&&*\txt{round}&&&\\
&& *+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{u} \ar@{-}[dl] \ar@{-}'[d][dd] \ar@{-}[rr] \ar[u] & &
    *+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{o}\ar@{-}[dl]\ar@{-}[dd]&\\ 
&*+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{\"u} \ar@{-}[dd]\ar@{-}[rr] && *+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{\"o}\ar@{-}[dd] &&\\
&& *+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{\i} \ar@{-}[dl]\ar@{-}'[r][rr] &&
    *+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{a}\ar@{-}[dl] \ar[r]& *+\txt{open}\\
&*+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{i}\ar@{-}[rr] \ar[ld]&&*+<10pt>[o][F]\txt{e} &&\\
*\txt{front}&&&&&
}
\end{equation*}
%\parbox[t]{8cm}
{In particular: \letter a is like ``uh'' in English;
  \letter{\"o} and \letter{\"u} are as 
in German, or are like the French ``eu'' and ``u''; and \letter{u} is
like the short English ``{oo}''.  Diphthongs are obtained by addition of
\letter y: so, \Tur{ay} is English long ``i'', and \Tur{ey} is English
long ``a''.  Syllables are fairly uniformly stressed.}

The consonants that need mention are: \letter c, like English ``j'';
\letter{\c c}, like English ``ch'';
\letter{\u g}, or ``soft \letter
g'', which never begins a word, but lengthens the vowel that precedes
it; \letter{j}, as in French; and \letter{\c s}, like
English ``sh''.
Some expressions follow: 

\Tur{L\"utfen/Te\c sekk\"urler/Bir \c sey de\u gil}
(Please/Thanks/It's nothing);\\
\Tur{Evet/Hay\i r} (Yes/No); \Tur{Affedersiniz} (You make pardon,
\emph{i.e.}{} Excuse me);\\ 
\Tur{Merhaba} (Hello); \Tur{G\"unayd\i n} (Day [is] bright,
\emph{i.e.}{} Good morning);\\ 
\Tur{\.Iyi g\"unler/ak\c samlar/geceler} (Good day/evening/night).

\Tur{Bay/Bayan}: Sir/Madam, or gentlemen's/ladies' (room, clothing, \&c.);\\
\Tur{\.Itiniz/\c Cekiniz} (Push/Pull);
\Tur{giri\c s/\c c\i k\i \c s} (entrance/exit);\\ 
\Tur{sol/sa\u g} (left/right); \Tur{so\u guk/s\i cak} (cold/hot).

\Tur{Nas\i ls\i n\i z?/\.Iyiyim; siz?/Ben de iyiyim}  (How are
you?/I'm fine; you?/I'm also fine). 

\Tur{Elinize sa\u gl\i k}: Health to your hand.  (This is a standard
compliment to the
chef, who will reply: \Tur{Afiyet olsun}---May it be healthy.)

\Tur{S\i f\i r, bir, iki, \"u\c c, d\"ort, be\c s, alt\i, yedi, sekiz,
  dokuz} (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9);\\
\Tur{on, yirmi, otuz, k\i rk, elli, altm\i\c s, yetmi\c s, seksen,
  doksan} (10, 20, 30, \dots, 90);\\
\Tur{y\"uz, bin, milyon, milyar}
  ($10^2$, $10^3$, $(10^3)^2$, $(10^3)^3$);\\
\Tur{y\"uz k\i rk dokuz milyon be\c s y\"uz doksan yedi bin sekiz
  y\"uz yetmi\c s} ($149\,597\,870$).

\Tur{Daha/en} (more/most); \Tur{az} (less), \Tur{en az} (least).

\Tur{Kim, ne, ne zaman, nerede, nereye, nereden, ni\c cin, nas\i l,
  ka\c c, ne kadar?}\\ 
(who, what, when, where, whither, whence, why,
  how, how many, how much?)---these Turkish \textbf{interrogatives}
  also function as rudimentary relatives: \Tur{Ne zaman gelecekler
  bilmiyorum} (What time come-will-they know-not-I; \emph{i.e.}{} I
  don't know when they will come); but most of the work
  done in English by relative clauses is done in Turkish by verb-forms
  (participles):  ``the book that I gave you'' in Turkish becomes
  \Tur{size verdi\u gim kitap}---you-wards gave-that-I book, or the
  book \emph{given} to you by me.

In Turkish, you can describe somebody to me for a
long time without my having any idea of the sex of that person:  there
is no \textbf{gender}.  Even
accomplished Turkish speakers of English confuse ``he'' and ``she'':
there is a unique third-person singular Turkish pronoun, \Tur{o(n)},
meaning indifferently ``he/she/it''.

Turkish is \textbf{agglutinative} or \textbf{synthetic}.  Written as two, but pronounced as
one word is the question 
  \Tur{Avrupa\sufflist l\i\nsuff la\nsuff\c s\nsuff t\i
  r\nsuff ama\nsuff d\i k\nsuff lar\nsuff \i m\i z\nsuff dan\nsuff{} m\i\nsuff
s\i n\i z\nsuff?}  
Here I have numbered the eleven suffixes.  These
translate mostly as separate words in English, in the reverse order:
Are\msf{10} you\msf{11} one-of\msf9 those\msf7 whom\msf6 we\msf8
could-not\msf5 \emph{Europeanize} (\emph{i.e.}{} make\msf4
be\msf2come\msf3 Europe\msf0an\msf1)?

The interrogative particle \Tur{m\i s\i n\i z} here is \textbf{enclitic}: in particular,
it shows \textbf{vowel harmony} with the preceding word.  Each
syllable of the suffixes above features either a close vowel (\{\Tur{\i,
  i, u, \"u}\}, which I'll denote \letter\#) or an open unround vowel
(\{\Tur{a, e}\}---I'll call it \letter@).  
%I shall symbolize each of these
%two kinds of vowels by \letter\# or \letter@ respectively.  
Used in a word, an indeterminate vowel \# or~\letter @ settles down in the 
vowel-cube to the available point nearest the preceding
vowel. Changing ``Europeanize'' to ``Turkify'' in the long word above means
writing \Tur{T\"urkle\c stiremediklerimizden misiniz?}

Agglutination or synthesis can be seen on signs all over:  An
\Tur{in\sufflist dir\nsuff im\nsuff} is an instance\msf2 of
causing\msf1 to go-down\msf0, that is, a reduction, a \emph{sale};
while \Tur{in\sufflist il\nsuff ir\nsuff} means ``is\msf2 got\msf1
down-from\msf0, is an exit [not an entrance]''---it's written at the rear door of city
busses.  Some common suffixes are: 

\Tur{-\c c\#} (or \Tur{-c\#}), indicating a person involved
with something: \Tur{kebap\c c\i} (kebab-seller); \Tur{kilit\c ci} (locksmith);
\Tur{bal\i k\c c\i} (fishmonger); \Tur{dedikoducu} (rumor-monger);
\Tur{ga\-zeteci} (journalist or newsagent);

\Tur{-l\#/-s\#z}, indicating inclusion/exclusion: 
  \Tur{s\"utl\"u/s\"uts\"uz} (with/without milk); \Tur{\c se\-kerli/\c
  sekersiz} (sweetened/sugar-free); \Tur{etli/etsiz}
  (with-meat/meatless);

\Tur{-l\#k}, indicating containment or more abstract involvement:
\Tur{tuzluk} (salt cellar); \Tur{kimlik} (identity); %\Tur{kitapl\i k} (bookcase); 
\Tur{g\"unl\"uk}
(daily or diary); \Tur{gecelik} (nightly or nightgown);

\Tur{-l@r}, the \textbf{\emph{indefinite} plural} marker: it's not
used if a definite number is named:
\Tur{ba\c slar} (heads); \Tur{be\c s ba\c s}: (five head); \Tur{ki\c
  siler} (people); \Tur{on iki ki\c si} (twelve person).

Turkish nouns are \textbf{declined} roughly as in Latin: there are genitive, 
\emph{definite} accusative, dative, ablative and locative cases.  From
\Tur{g\"ul} (rose):\\
\Tur{G\"ul\"un dikeni; G\"ul\"u koparmay\i n}:
Rose's thorn; Don't pick \emph{the} rose.\\
\Tur{G\"ule, g\"ulden, g\"ulde}: to/from/on (a/the) rose.

{Adjectives} as such are not declined; but adjectives can be used as nouns.
Nouns can indicate
\textbf{person} in two senses: the person of the \emph{possessor} of
the indicated object, and the person \emph{of} the object:\\
\Tur{g\"ul\"um, g\"ul\"un, (Deniz'in) g\"ul\"u}: my rose, thy rose,
(Deniz's) her-or-his rose;\\
\Tur{g\"ul\"um\"uz, g\"ul\"un\"uz, g\"ulleri}: our/your/their rose.\\
\Tur{G\"ul\"um.  G\"uls\"un. G\"uld\"ur}: I-am/Thou-art/He-She-It-is a rose.\\
\Tur{G\"ul\"uz.  G\"uls\"un\"uz. G\"uld\"urler}: We/you/they are a
rose.\\
\Tur{G\"ullerdir}: They are the roses.  \Tur{G\"ul\"ums\"un}:  Thou
art my rose.

When two nouns are joined, even though the first doesn't name a
possessor of the second, the second tends to be put in the third
person: \Tur{b\"ol\"um} department; \Tur{matematik b\"ol\"um\"u}
mathematics department.  You can see this feature in business names:
\Tur{banka} bank; \Tur{\.I\c s Bankas\i} Work Bank.

Not prepositions, but \textbf{postpositions} are used:
\Tur{G\"ul gibi} means ``like a rose''.

There is no {verb} corresponding to the English \textbf{``have''.}  ``I
have a rose'' becomes \Tur{G\"ul\"um var}---My rose \emph{exists}.  The
negation of \Tur{var} is \Tur{yok}.  But other verbless sentences are
negated with \Tur{de\u gil}: ``I am not Rose'' becomes \Tur{G\"ul
  de\u gilim}.

One Turkish verb can comprise an incredible amount of information.
From a simple verb-stem like \Tur{oku-} (read), longer stems
can be formed with various suffixes.  These suffixes can be: 

---\textbf{vocal}, \emph{i.e.}{} indicating voice: \Tur{okun-} (be read);
\Tur{okut-} (make read); \Tur{okuttur-} (make make read---as might be
said of a principal giving orders to his teachers); \Tur{sev-} (love);
\Tur{sevi\c s-} (make love);

---\textbf{logical}, indicating affirmation,
denial, impossibility and their \emph{possibility}:
\begin{tabular}{lrlr}
%\Tur{okuyama-} & cannot read; & \Tur{okuyamabil-} & may be unable to read\\
\Tur{oku-} & read; & \Tur{okuyabil-} & can read;\\
\Tur{okuma-} & not read; & \Tur{okumayabil-} & may not read;\\
  \Tur{okuyama-} & cannot read; & \Tur{okuyamayabil-} & may be unable to
  read;
\end{tabular}

---\textbf{modal} and \textbf{temporal}:  Here are some complete
third-person singular verbs (which can stand as complete sentences):
\Tur{okumaktad\i r} ([s/he] is engaged
in reading); \Tur{okumal\i} (must read); \Tur{okusun} (let [him/her]
read); \Tur{okusa} (if only [s/he] would read); \Tur{okuyor} (is
reading); \Tur{okuyacak} (will read); 
\Tur{okur} (reads, is a reader); \Tur{okumaz} (does not read);
\Tur{okudu} (did [definitely] read); \Tur{okumu\c s} (read [in the past, according
to present evidence]).

There are two \textbf{verbal nouns}: \Tur{okumak} (to read) and \Tur{okuma}
(reading).

Different kinds of endings can be combined into one word:
\Tur{okunabilecekti} (was going to be readable); \Tur{okuyamamam\i z}
(our inability to read).

Some sayings:  \Tur{Balc\i n\i n var bal tas\i; oduncunun var
  baltas\i} (A honey-seller has a honey-pot; a woodsman has an
  axe). 
\Tur{Bakmakla \"o\u grenilse, k\"opekler kasap olurdu}:  If
learning were done by watching, dogs would be butchers.

\end{document}



