that is a very good point and it never once came into my mind.. well done for thnkng of that bod! u are a smart one indeed unfortunately, i myself am unable to supply u with an answer for it.. so i too will now sit back and wait for a decent reply...

rick.. i agree with u by saying that there are lots of members who just want to get translations for the bf or gf who they have met on holiday! and that angers me sometimes as they dont generally want to learn TR.
there are however, several members who genuinely want to learn this beautiful language, such as myself and the other members who have also posted so far

i dont know about the military side of thangs.. considering that im a female who has grown up in the UK! although, i believe "selam" is a much more informal way to say "hello"
i would translate it to "hi" actually

if i give u some more examples rather than explaining it maybe u will understand

gelirim
giderim
beklerim
özlerim
isterim
bakarım
atarım
koşurum
üşÃ¼rüm


u can see that most of them follow the vowel type harmony although there are about 12-13 exceptions..
these are all listed in another thread which was started by myself a while ago.. maybe u can find it? that would help u also as it explains things in more depth

there are lots of websites where u can find turkish speaking penpals all around the world rick..
maybe u will find someone who can help u from there

http://trunks.secondfoundation.org/files/psychic.swf

this is amazing people.. i dont know how they do it !!

i will have to check that out.. i really didnt know that u cud put things in alphabetical order on there!
i have always used access :S