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Is it ‘erkek’ or ‘ekmek’ that I want?
“Inek var†or “inecek var� When we are learning a second language it is easy to confuse words that have totally different meanings. If you have a funny experience, drop me a note. I would love to hear your story. When I was first learning Turkish I was trying to practice what I was learning in the classroom. This can be dangerous.
In the late 1970s in İstanbul I was in a crowded three-seater 1950s Chevrolet -- yes, it had the capacity to seat nine passengers! (Transportation has come a long way: the dolmuş -- shared taxi -- today seats many more much more comfortably and has air conditioning) I was sitting in the very back with my head bent forward, because in the very back seat if you were average height or taller you could not sit up straight. I knew we were approaching my destination, Şişli Square. I always dread having to shout to the driver that I want out, but this time if I wanted to get out I had to. I worked up the courage and shouted, “Inek var!†Boy, did I cause a commotion. Everybody was looking everywhere for the cow. I had said “there is a cow!†I should have said, “İnecek var!†(I would like to get out) Even back then -- nearly three decades ago -- you would not see a cow in Şişli.
Many Turks know English grammar usage better than native speakers. I felt flattered when I received a letter in nearly perfect English from a Turk. Ayla who lives in the US had a grammar question for me.
Ayla from Memphis, Tennessee, wrote to me and asked: Could you share some insight on the proper usage of the words “affect†and effect�
I was so pleased to be able to answer this question. Being the ex-English teacher that I am, I could not resist providing Ayla with some examples: the misuse of the words “affect†and “effect†is such an epidemic that some folks are considering assembling regional support groups to deal with the problem. But while the words are often used incorrectly, they aren’t as tough to keep straight as you may think.
“Affect†is generally used as a verb: the eye-patch affected my vision.
“Effect†on the other hand, is almost exclusively used as a noun: acting like a pirate has had a negative effect on my social life.
So the basic rule of thumb is that “affect†is almost always a verb and “effect†is usually a noun. There are deviations from this, but when in doubt, stick to the rule. If you need help remembering, think of this mnemonic device: The action is affect, the end result is effect.
I always felt sorry for the Turkish students who were studying English and would ask very sensible questions about the sentence construction and often, the only explanation about the English point raised is that it is an exception to the rule. The Turkish language originates from an area that stretches between the Ural and Altay mountain ranges (former Soviet Central Asia). Turkish is an amazingly logical language. The language is regular, with very few exceptions to the rules and only one irregular verb (the verb “to beâ€).
Unlike French or German, there are no grammatical genders. The pronouns “he,†“she,†and “it†are all the same.
But we foreigners can be tripped up by the fact that sentence construction is the opposite of English, e.g. “school-to go-I.â€
Turkish adds “agglutinative suffixes†-- endings added to a stem word to make a longer word. In fact, you could say that Turks are people of few words but lots of suffixes!
The English sentence “It appears that he said that he would be unable to come†is just two words in Turkish! (Gelemeyeceğine söylemiş
When you begin to study Turkish, it will seem overwhelming. Laugh at your mistakes and learn from them. In my early days I asked the shopkeeper for a man (erkek), instead of bread (ekmek). To make it worse, I asked for fresh bread -- or so I thought!
Just persevere and don’t be too hard on yourself. We may mix the suffixes and confuse the words, but pity the poor foreigner learning English. Amongst other things they must determine: Is it an irregular or regular verb? Is “herbs†pronounced the British way with an aitch, or the American way without one? Is it “effect†or “affectâ€? Is it “thru†or “throughâ€...?
İyi çalışmalar! Enjoy studying!
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON,todayszaman
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