Turkish language

Turkish ( Türkçe ), also referred to as Istanbul Turkish,[4] is the most widely

spoken of the Turkic languages, with around ten to fifteen million native speakers in
Turkish
Southeast Europe (mostly in East and Western Thrace) and sixty to sixty-five million Türkçe
native speakers in Western Asia (mostly in Anatolia). Outside Turkey, significant Pronunciation [ˈtyɾctʃe] ( listen)
smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany, Bulgaria, North Macedonia,[5] Native to Turkey (official),
Northern Cyprus,[6] Greece,[7] the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Northern Cyprus
Asia. Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official (official), Cyprus
language, even though Turkey is not a member state.[8] (official), Bulgaria,
North Macedonia,
To the west, the influence of Ottoman Turkish—the variety of the Turkish language Greece, Iraq,
that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire— Syria, Azerbaijan,
spread as the Ottoman Empire expanded. In 1928, as one of Atatürk's Reforms in the Kosovo, Romania,
early years of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was replaced
Iraq, Bosnia and
Herzegovina
with a Latin alphabet.
Region Anatolia, Balkans,
The distinctive characteristics of the Turkish language are vowel harmony and Cyprus,
extensive agglutination. The basic word order of Turkish is subject–object–verb. Mesopotamia,
Turkish has no noun classes or grammatical gender. The language has a strong T–V Levant,
distinction and usage of honorifics. Turkish uses second-person pronouns that Transcaucasia
distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, age, courtesy or familiarity Ethnicity Turkish
toward the addressee. The plural second-person pronoun and verb forms are used Native 75.7
referring to a single person out of respect. speakers million[1] (2002–
2018)
88 million (L1 +
L2)[2]
Contents Language Turkic
Classification family
Common Turkic
History
Ottoman Turkish
Oghuz
Language reform and modern Turkish Western
Oghuz
Geographic distribution
Official status Turkish
Dialects
Early forms Old Anatolian
Phonology Turkish
Consonants
Consonant devoicing Ottoman
Turkish
Vowels
Vowel harmony Dialects Karamanli Turkish

Word-accent Cypriot Turkish

Syntax Writing Latin (Turkish

Sentence groups system alphabet)
Negation Turkish Braille
Yes/no questions
Official status
Word order
Immediately preverbal Official Turkey
language in Northern
Postpredicate
 Topic Cyprus
Cyprus
Grammar
Nouns Recognised Bosnia and
Personal pronouns minority Herzegovina
Noun phrases (tamlama) language in Greece
Adjectives Iraq
Verbs Kosovo
Verb tenses North
Attributive verbs (participles) Macedonia
Vocabulary
Romania
Word formation Regulated by TDK (grammar,
Writing system vocabulary,
spelling)
Sample
TRT
Turkish Whistling Language
(pronunciation,
See also
vocabulary)
References
Sources Language codes

Further reading
ISO 639-1 tr

External links ISO 639-2 tur

ISO 639-3 tur

Glottolog nucl1301[3]
Classification Linguasphere part of 44-AAB-a

About 40% of all speakers of Turkic languages are native Turkish speakers.[9]The
characteristic features of Turkish, such as vowel harmony, agglutination, and lack of
grammatical gender, are universal within the Turkic family. The Turkic family
comprises some 30 living languages spoken across Eastern Europe, Central Asia,
and Siberia.

Turkish is a member of the Oghuz group of languages, a subgroup of the Turkic

language family. There is a high degree ofmutual intelligibility between Turkish and
the other Oghuz Turkic languages, including Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai,
Gagauz, and Balkan Gagauz Turkish.[10]
Countries where Turkish is an
The Turkic languages were grouped into the now discreditedAltaic language group.
official language
Countries where it is recognized
History as a minority language
The earliest known Old Turkic inscriptions are the three monumental Orkhon
inscriptions found in modern Mongolia. Erected in honour of the prince Kul Tigin and his brother Emperor Bilge Khagan, these date
back to the second Turk Kaghanate.[11] After the discovery and excavation of these monuments and associated stone slabs by Russian
archaeologists in the wider area surrounding the Orkhon Valley between 1889 and 1893, it became established that the language on
the inscriptions was theOld Turkic language written using the Old Turkic alphabet, which has also been referred to as "Turkic runes"
or "runiform" due to a superficial similarity to theGermanic runic alphabets.[12]

With the Turkic expansion during Early Middle Ages (c. 6th–11th centuries), peoples speaking Turkic languages spread across
Central Asia, covering a vast geographical region stretching from Siberia and to Europe and the Mediterranean. The Seljuqs of the
Oghuz Turks, in particular, brought their language,Oghuz—the direct ancestor of today's Turkish language—into Anatolia during the
11th century.[13] Also during the 11th century, an early linguist of the Turkic languages, Mahmud al-Kashgari from the Kara-Khanid
Khanate, published the first comprehensive Turkic language dictionary and map of the geographical distribution of urkic
T speakers in
the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects (Ottoman Turkish: Divânü Lügati't-Türk).[14]
Ottoman Turkish
Following the adoption of Islam c. 950 by the Kara-Khanid Khanate and the Seljuq Turks,
who are both regarded as the ethnic and cultural ancestors of the Ottomans, the administrative
language of these states acquired a large collection of loanwords from Arabic and Persian.
Turkish literature during the Ottoman period, particularly Divan poetry, was heavily
influenced by Persian, including the adoption of poetic meters and a great quantity of
imported words. The literary and official language during the Ottoman Empire period (c.
1299–1922) is termed Ottoman Turkish, which was a mixture of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic
that differed considerably and was largely unintelligible to the period's everyday Turkish. The
everyday Turkish, known as kaba Türkçe or "rough Turkish", spoken by the less-educated
lower and also rural members of society, contained a higher percentage of native vocabulary
and served as basis for the modern Turkish language.[15]

Language reform and modern Turkish

After the foundation of the modern state of Turkey and the script reform, the Turkish
Language Association (TDK) was established in 1932 under the patronage of Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, with the aim of conducting research on Turkish. One of the tasks of the newly
established association was to initiate a language reform to replace loanwords of Arabic and
Persian origin with Turkish equivalents.[16] By banning the usage of imported words in the
Old Turkic inscription with
press, the association succeeded in removing several hundred foreign words from the
the Old Turkic alphabet (c.
language. While most of the words introduced to the language by the TDK were newly 8th century). Kyzyl, Russia
derived from Turkic roots, it also opted for reviving Old Turkish words which had not been
used for centuries.[17]

Owing to this sudden change in the language, older and younger people in Turkey started to differ in their vocabularies. While the
generations born before the 1940s tend to use the older terms of Arabic or Persian origin, the younger generations favor new
expressions. It is considered particularly ironic that Atatürk himself, in his lengthy speech to the new Parliament in 1927, used a style
of Ottoman which sounded so alien to later listeners that it had to be "translated" three times into modern Turkish: first in 1963, again
in 1986, and most recently in 1995.[18]

The past few decades have seen the continuing work of the TDK to coin new Turkish words to express new concepts and
technologies as they enter the language, mostly from English. Many of these new words, particularly information technology terms,
have received widespread acceptance. However, the TDK is occasionally criticized for coining words which sound contrived and
artificial. Some earlier changes—such as bölem to replace fırka, "political party"—also failed to meet with popular approval (fırka
has been replaced by the French loanword parti). Some words restored from Old Turkic have taken on specialized meanings; for
example betik (originally meaning "book") is now used to mean script"
" in computer science.[19]

Many of the words derived by TDK coexist with their older counterparts. This usually happens when a loanword changes its original
meaning. For instance,dert, derived from the Persian dard (‫" درد‬pain"), means "problem" or "trouble" in Turkish; whereas the native
Turkish word ağrı is used for physical pain. Sometimes the loanword has a slightly different meaning from the native Turkish word,
creating a situation similar to the coexistence of Germanic and Romance words in English. Some examples of modern Turkish words
and the old loanwords are:
 Ottoman Modern English
Comments
Turkish Turkish translation
müselles üçgen triangle Compound of the nounüç the suffix -gen
Derived from the verb uçmak ("to fly"). The word was first proposed to mean
tayyare uçak aeroplane
"airport".
The old word is still used in the language today together with the new one.
nispet oran ratio
The modern word is from the Old Turkic verb or- (to cut).
Derived from the Old Turkic noun kuz ("cold and dark place", "shadow"). The
şimal kuzey north
word is restored from Middle Turkic usage.[20]
The noun ekim means "the action of planting", referring to the planting of
teşrinievvel ekim October
cereal seeds in autumn, which is widespread in Turkey

Geographic distribution
Turkish is natively spoken by the Turkish people in Turkey and by the Turkish diaspora in some 30 other countries. Turkish language
is mutually intelligible with Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages. In particular, Turkish-speaking minorities exist in countries that
formerly (in whole or part) belonged to the Ottoman Empire, such as Iraq[21] , Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece (primarily in Western
Thrace), the Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia. More than two million Turkish speakers live in Germany; and there
are significant Turkish-speaking communities in the United States, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and the
United Kingdom.[22] Due to the cultural assimilation of Turkish immigrants in host countries, not all ethnic Turkish immigrants
speak the language with native fluency.[23]

In 2005, 93% of the population of Turkey were native speakers of Turkish,[24] about 67 million at the time, with Kurdish languages
making up most of the remainder.[25] However, most linguistic minorities in Turkey are bilingual, speaking Turkish with native-like
fluency.

Official status
Turkish is the official language of Turkey and is one of the official languages of
Cyprus. Turkish has official status in 38 municipalities in Kosovo, including
Mamusha,[26][27] and two in the Republic of North Macedonia.[28]

In Turkey, the regulatory body for Turkish is the Turkish Language Association
(Türk Dil Kurumu or TDK), which was founded in 1932 under the name Türk Dili
Tetkik Cemiyeti ("Society for Research on the Turkish Language"). The Turkish
Language Association was influenced by the ideology of linguistic purism: indeed
one of its primary tasks was the replacement of loanwords and foreign grammatical
constructions with equivalents of Turkish origin.[29] These changes, together with Road signs in Prizren, Kosovo.
Official languages are: Albanian
the adoption of the new Turkish alphabet in 1928, shaped the modern Turkish
(top), Serbian (middle) and Turkish
language spoken today. TDK became an independent body in 1951, with the lifting (bottom).
of the requirement that it should be presided over by the Minister of Education. This
status continued until August 1983, when it was again made into a governmental
body in the constitution of 1982, following the militarycoup d'état of 1980.[17]

Dialects
Modern standard Turkish is based on the dialect of Istanbul.[30] This "Istanbul Turkish" (İstanbul Türkçesi) constitutes the model of
written and spoken Turkish, as recommended byZiya Gökalp, Ömer Seyfettin and others.[31]
 Dialectal variation persists, in spite of the levelling influence of the standard used in
mass media and the Turkish education system since the 1930s.[32] Academically,
researchers from Turkey often refer to Turkish dialects as ağız or şive, leading to an
ambiguity with the linguistic concept of accent, which is also covered with these
words. Projects investigating Turkish dialects are being carried out by several
universities, as well as a dedicated work group of the Turkish Language Association.
Work is currently in progress for the compilation and publication of their research as
a comprehensive dialectatlas of the Turkish language.[33][34]
Map of the main subgroups of
Rumelice is spoken by immigrants from Rumelia, and includes the distinct dialects
Turkish dialects across Southeast
Europe and the Middle East. of Ludogorie, Dinler, and Adakale, which are influenced by the theoretized Balkan
sprachbund. Kıbrıs Türkçesi is the name for Cypriot Turkish and is spoken by the
Turkish Cypriots. Edirne is the dialect of Edirne. Ege is spoken in the Aegean
region, with its usage extending to Antalya. The nomadic Yörüks of the Mediterranean Region of Turkey also have their own dialect
of Turkish.[35] This group is not to be confused with the Yuruk nomads of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey who speak
Balkan Gagauz Turkish.

Güneydoğu is spoken in the southeast, to the east of Mersin. Doğu, a dialect in the Eastern Anatolia Region, has a dialect continuum.
The Meskhetian Turks who live in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia as well as in several Central Asian countries, also speak an
Eastern Anatolian dialect of Turkish, originating in the areas of Kars, Ardahan, and Artvin and sharing similarities with Azerbaijani,
the language of Azerbaijan.[36]

The Central Anatolia Regionspeaks Orta Anadolu. Karadeniz, spoken in the Eastern Black Sea Region and represented primarily by
the Trabzon dialect, exhibits substratum influence from Greek in phonology and syntax;[37] it is also known as Laz dialect (not to be
confused with the Laz language). Kastamonu is spoken in Kastamonu and its surrounding areas. Karamanli Turkish is spoken in
Greece, where it is calledKαραμανλήδικα. It is the literary standard for theKaramanlides.[38]

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes of Standard T

urkish
Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Stop p b t d (c) (ɟ) k ɡ
Affricate t͡ʃ d͡ʒ
Fricative f s z ʃ ʒ h
v
Approximant (ɫ) l j
Flap ɾ

At least one source claims Turkish consonants are larengially specified three-way fortis-lenis (aspirated/neutral/voiced) like
Armenian.[39]

The phoneme that is usually referred to as yumuşak g ("soft g"), written ⟨ğ⟩ in Turkish orthography, represents a vowel sequence or a
rather weak bilabial approximant between rounded vowels, a weak palatal approximant between unrounded front vowels, and a
vowel sequence elsewhere. It never occurs at the beginning of a word or a syllable, but always follows a vowel. When word-final or
[40]
preceding another consonant, it lengthens the preceding vowel.
In native Turkic words, the sounds [c], [ɟ], and [l] are in complementary distribution with [k], [ɡ], and [ɫ]; the former set occurs
adjacent to front vowels and the latter adjacent to back vowels. The distribution of these phonemes is often unpredictable, however,
in foreign borrowings and proper nouns. In such words, [c], [ɟ], and [l] often occur with back vowels:[41] some examples are given
below.

Consonant devoicing
Turkish orthography reflectsfinal-obstruent devoicing, a form of consonant mutation whereby a voiced obstruent, such as /b d dʒ ɡ/,
is devoiced to [p t tʃ k] at the end of a word or before a consonant, but retains its voicing before a vowel. In loan words, the voiced
equivalent of /k/ is /g/; in native words, it is/ğ/.[42][43]

Obstruent devoicing in nouns

Underlying Devoiced Underlying Dative case /
Dictionary form Meaning
consonant form morpheme 1sg present
b p *kitab kitap kitaba book (loan)
c ç *uc uç uca tip
d t *bud but buda thigh
g k *reng renk renge color (loan)
ğ k *ekmeğ ekmek ekmeğe bread

This is analogous to languages such as German and Russian, but in the case of Turkish, the spelling is usually made to match the
sound. However, in a few cases, such as ad /at/ 'name' (dative ada), the underlying form is retained in the spelling (cf. at /at/ 'horse',
dative ata). Other exceptions areod 'fire' vs. ot 'herb', sac 'sheet metal', saç 'hair'. Most loanwords, such as kitap above, are spelled as
pronounced, but a few such ashac 'hajj', şad 'happy', and yad 'strange(r)' also show their underlying forms.

Native nouns of two or more syllables that end in /k/ in dictionary form are nearly all //ğ// in underlying form. However, most verbs
and monosyllabic nouns are underlyingly//k//.[44]

Vowels
The vowels of the Turkish language are, in their alphabetical order, ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩,
⟨ı⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ö⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ü⟩.[45] The Turkish vowel system can be considered as
being three-dimensional, where vowels are characterised by how and where
they are articulated focusing on three key features:front and back, rounded and
unrounded and vowel height.[46] Vowels are classified [±back], [±round] and
[±high].[47]

The only diphthongs in the language are found in loanwords and may be
categorised as falling diphthongs usually analyzed as a sequence of /j/ and a
vowel.[40]
Vowels of Turkish. From Zimmer & Orgun
(1999:155)
Vowel harmony

Front Vowels Back Vowels

Turkish Vowel Harmony
Unrounded Rounded Unrounded Rounded
Vowel e /e/ i /i/ ü /y/ ö /œ/ a /a/ ı /ɯ/ u /u/ o /o/
Twofold (Backness) e a
Fourfold (Backness + Rounding) i ü ı u
Turkish is an agglutinative language where a series of suffixes are added to the stem
word; vowel harmony is a phonological process which ensures a smooth flow,
requiring the least amount of oral movement as possible. Vowel harmony can be
viewed as a process of assimilation, whereby following vowels take on the
characteristics of the preceding vowel.[48] It may be useful to think of Turkish
vowels as two symmetrical sets: the a-undotted (a, ı, o, u) which are all back vowels,
articulated at the back of the mouth; and the e-dotted (e, i, ö, ü) vowels which are
articulated at the front of the mouth. The place and manner of articulation of the
vowels will determine which pattern of vowel harmony a word will adopt. The
pattern of vowels is shown in the table above.[49]

Grammatical affixes have "a chameleon-like quality",[50] and obey one of the
following patterns of vowel harmony:
Road sign at the European end of
twofold (-e/-a):[51] the locative case suffix, for example, is -de after front the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.
vowels and -da after back vowels. The notation-de² is a convenient (Photo taken during the 28thIstanbul
shorthand for this pattern.
Marathon in 2006)
fourfold (-i/-ı/-ü/-u): the genitive case suffix, for example, is -in or -ın
after unrounded vowels (front or back respectively); and-ün or -un after
the corresponding rounded vowels. In this case, the shorthand notation -
in4 is used.
Practically, the twofold pattern (also referred to as the e-type vowel harmony) means that in the environment where the vowel in the
word stem is formed in the front of the mouth, the suffix will take the e-form, while if it is formed in the back it will take the a-form.
The fourfold pattern (also called the i-type) accounts for rounding as well as for front/back.[48] The following examples, based on the
copula -dir4 ("[it] is"), illustrate the principles of i-type vowel harmony in practice: Türkiye'dir ("it is Turkey"),[52] kapıdır ("it is the
door"), but gündür ("it is the day"), paltodur ("it is the coat").[53]

There are several exceptions to the vowel harmony rules, which can be categorised as follows:

1. A few native root words such as anne (mother), elma (apple) and kardeş (brother). In these cases the suf fixes
harmonise with the final vowel.
2. Compounds such as the bu-gün (today) and baş-kent (capital). In these cases vowels are not required to harmonise
between the constituent words.
3. Loanwords often don't harmonise, however, in some cases the suffixes will harmonise with the front vowel even in
words that may not have a front vowel in the final syllable. Usually this occurs when the words end in a palatal [l], for
example halsiz < hal + -siz "listless", meçhuldür < meçhul + -dir "it is unknown". However, affixes borrowed from
foreign languages do not harmonise, such as -izm (ateizm "atheism"), -en (derived from French -ment as in taxmen
"completely), anti- (antidemokratik "antidemocratic").
4. A few native suffixes are also invariable (or at least partially so) such as the second vowel in the bound auxiliary -
abil, or in the marker -ken as well as in the imperfect suffix -yor. There are also a few derivational suffixes that do not
harmonise such as -gen in uçgen (triangle) or altigen (hexagon).[46]
Some rural dialects lack some or all of these exceptions mentioned above.

The road sign in the photographabove illustrates several of these features:

a native compound which does not obey vowel harmony:Orta+köy ("middle village"—a place name)
a loanword also violating vowel harmony:viyadük (< French viaduc "viaduct")
the possessive suffix -i4 harmonizing with the final vowel (and softening thek by consonant alternation): viyadüğü
The rules of vowel harmony may vary by regional dialect. The dialect of Turkish spoken in the Trabzon region of northeastern
Turkey follows the reduced vowel harmony of Old Anatolian Turkish, with the additional complication of two missing vowels (ü and
ı), thus there is no palatal harmony. It's likely that elün meant "your hand" in Old Anatolian. While the 2nd person singular
possessive would vary between back and front vowel, -ün or -un, as in elün for "your hand" and kitabun for "your book", the lack of
ü vowel in the Trabzon dialect means -un would be used in both of these cases —elun and kitabun.[54]

Word-accent
Word-accent is usually on the last syllable in most words.[40] There are however, several exceptions. Exceptions include certain
loanwords, particularly from Italian and Greek, as well as interjections, certain question words, adverbs (although not adjectives
functioning as adverbs), and many proper names. Loanwords are usually accented on the penultimate syllable ([ɫoˈkanta] lokanta
"restaurant" or [isˈcele] iskele "quay"). Proper names are usually accented on the penultimate syllable as in [isˈtanbuɫ] İstanbul, but
sometimes on the antepenultimate, if the word ends in a cretic rhythm (– u x), as in [ˈaŋkaɾa] Ankara. (See Turkish phonology#Place
names.)

In addition, there are certain suffixes such as -le "with" and the verbal negative particle -me-/-ma-, which place an accent on the
syllable which precedes them, e.g.kitáp-la "with the book", dé-me-mek "not to say".[55]

In some circumstances (for example, in the second half of compound words or when verbs are preceded by an indefinite object) the
accent on a word is suppressed and cannot be heard.

Syntax

Sentence groups
Turkish has two groups of sentences: verbal and nominal sentences. In the case of a verbal sentence, the predicate is a finite verb,
while the predicate in nominal sentence will have either no overt verb or a verb in the form of the copula ol or y (variants of "be").
Examples of both are given below:[56]

Sentence type Turkish English

Subject Predicate
Verbal Necla okula gitti Necla went to school
Nominal (no verb) Necla oğretmen Necla is a teacher
(copula) Necla ev-de-y-miş (hyphens delineate suffixes) Apparently Necla is at home

Negation
The two groups of sentences have different ways of forming negation. A nominal sentence can be negated with the addition of the
word değil, for example the sentence above would become Necla oğretmen değil (Necla is not a teacher). However, the verbal
sentence requires the addition of a negative suffix -me to the verb (the suffix comes after the stem but before the tense): Necla okula
gitmedi (Necla did not go to school).[57]

Yes/no questions
In the case of a verbal sentence, an interrogative morpheme -mi is added to the end of the sentence and stands alone, for example
Necla okula gitti mi? (Did Necla go to school?). In the case of a nominal sentence, then the -mi comes after the predicate but before
[57]
the personal ending, so for exampleNecla, siz oğretmen misiniz? (Necla, are you a teacher? using the formal 2nd person plural).

Word order
Word order in simple Turkish sentences is generally subject–object–verb, as in Korean and Latin, but unlike English, for verbal
sentences and subject-predicate for nominal sentences. However, as Turkish possesses a case-marking system, and most grammatical
relations are shown using morphological markers, often the SOV structure has diminished relevance, in fact it may be considered a
"pragmatic word order" of language, one that does not rely on word order for grammatical purposes.[58] While the basic word order
in Turkish is firmly SOV, the word order may vary in particular conditions.

Immediately preverbal
Consider the following simple sentence which demonstrates that the focus in Turkish is on the element that immediately precedes the
verb:[59]

Word
Focus
order
Ahmet yumurta-yı yedi unmarked:
SOV Ahmet egg (accusative) ate Ahmet ate the
egg

the focus is on
the subject:
SVO Ahmet yedi yumurta-yı Ahmet (it was
Ahmet who ate
the egg)
the focus is on
the object: egg
OVS Yumurta-yı yedi Ahmet
(it was an egg
that Ahmet ate)

Postpredicate
The postpredicate position signifies what is referred to as background information in Turkish- information that is assumed to be
known to both the speaker and the listener, or information that is included in the context. Considerthe following examples:[56]

Sentence Word
type order
S- Bu ev güzelmiş (apparently this house is
Nominal unmarked
predicate beautiful)
Predicate- Güzelmiş bu ev (it is apparently beautiful, it is understood that the sentence is about
s this house) this house
Bana da bir kahve getir (get me a coffee
Verbal SOV unmarked
too)
Bana da getir bir kahve (get me one too, a it is understood that it is a coffee that the
coffee) speaker wants

Topic
There has been some debate among linguists whether Turkish is a subject-prominent (like English) or topic-prominent (like Japanese
and Korean) language, with recent scholarship implying that it is indeed both subject and topic-prominent.[60] This has direct
implications for word order as it is possible for the subject to be included in the
verb-phrase in Turkish. There can be S/O inversion in
sentences where the topic is of greater importance than the subject.

Grammar
Turkish is an agglutinative language and frequently uses affixes, and specifically suffixes, or endings.[61] One word can have many
affixes and these can also be used to create new words, such as creating a verb from a noun, or a noun from a verbal root (see the
section on Word formation). Most affixes indicate the grammatical function of the word.[62] The only native prefixes are alliterative
intensifying syllables used with adjectives or adverbs: for example sımsıcak ("boiling hot" < sıcak) and masmavi ("bright blue" <
mavi).[63]

The extensive use of affixes can give rise to long words, e.g. Çekoslovakyalılaştıramadıklarımızdanmışsınızcasına
, meaning "In the
manner of you being one of those that we apparently couldn't manage to convert to Czechoslovakian". While this case is contrived,
long words frequently occur in normal Turkish, as in this heading of a newspaper obituary column: Bayramlaşamadıklarımız
(Bayram [festival]-Recipr-Impot-Partic-Plur-PossPl1; "Those of our number with whom we cannot exchange the season's
greetings").[64] Another example can be seen in the final word of this heading of the online Turkish Spelling Guide (İmlâ Kılavuzu):
Dilde birlik, ulusal birliğin vazgeçilemezlerindendir ("Unity in language is among the indispensables [dispense-Pass-Impot-Plur-
PossS3-Abl-Copula] of national unity ~ Linguistic unity is asine qua non of national unity").[65]

Nouns
There is no definite article in Turkish, but definiteness of the object is implied when the accusative ending is used (see below).
Turkish nouns decline by taking case endings. There are six noun cases in Turkish, with all the endings following vowel harmony
(shown in the table using the shorthand superscript notation. The plural marker -ler ² immediately follows the noun before any case
or other affixes (e.g. köylerin "of the villages").

Examples
Case Ending Meaning
köy "village" ağaç "tree"
Nominative ∅ (none) köy ağaç (the) village/tree
the village's/tree's
Genitive -in 4 köyün ağacın
of the village/tree
Dative -e ² köye ağaca to the village/tree

Accusative -i 4 köyü ağacı the village/tree

Ablative -den ² köyden ağaçtan from the village/tree

Locative -de ² köyde ağaçta in the village/on the tree

The accusative case marker is used only for definite objects; compare (bir) ağaç gördük "we saw a tree" with ağacı gördük "we saw
the tree".[66] The plural marker -ler ² is generally not used when a class or category is meant:ağaç gördük can equally well mean "we
saw trees [as we walked through the forest]"—as opposed toağaçları gördük "we saw the trees [in question]".

The declension of ağaç illustrates two important features of Turkish phonology: consonant assimilation in suffixes (ağaçtan, ağaçta)
and voicing of final consonants before vowels a( ğacın, ağaca, ağacı).

Additionally, nouns can take suffixes that assign person: for example -imiz 4, "our". With the addition of the copula (for example -im
4, "I am") complete sentences can be formed. The interrogative particle mi 4 immediately follows the word being questioned: köye
mi? "[going] to the village?",ağaç mı? "[is it a] tree?".

Turkish English
ev (the) house
evler (the) houses
evin your (sing.) house
eviniz your (pl./formal) house
evim my house
evimde at my house
evlerinizin of your houses
evlerinizden from your houses
evlerinizdendi (he/she/it) was from your houses
evlerinizdenmiş (he/she/it) was (apparently/said to be) from your houses
Evinizdeyim. I am at your house.
Evinizdeymişim. I was (apparently) at your house.
Evinizde miyim? Am I at your house?
Personal pronouns
The Turkish personal pronouns in the nominative case are ben (1s), sen (2s), o (3s), biz (1pl), siz (2pl, or 2h), and onlar (3pl). They
are declined regularly with some exceptions:benim (1s gen.); bizim (1pl gen.); bana (1s dat.); sana (2s dat.); and the oblique forms of
o use the root on. All other pronouns (reflexivekendi and so on) are declined regularly.

Noun phrases (tamlama)

Two nouns, or groups of nouns, may be joined in either of two ways:

definite (possessive) compound b ( elirtili tamlama). E.g. Türkiye'nin sesi "the voice of Turkey (radio station)": the
voice belonging to Turkey. Here the relationship is shown by the genitive ending-in4 added to the first noun; the
second noun has the third-person suffix of possession -(s)i4.
( elirtisiz tamlama). E.g. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti "Turkey-Republic[67] = the Republic of
indefinite (qualifying) compound b
Turkey": not the republic belonging to Turkey, but the Republic that is Turkey. Here the first noun has no ending; but
the second noun has the ending-(s)i4—the same as in definite compounds.
The following table illustrates these principles.[68] In some cases the constituents of the compounds are themselves compounds; for
clarity these subsidiary compounds are marked with [square brackets]. The suffixes involved in the linking are underlined. Note that
if the second noun group already had a possessive suf
fix (because it is a compound by itself), no further suf
fix is added.

Linked nouns and noun groups

Definite
Indefinite (qualifier) Complement Meaning
(possessive)
kimsenin yanıtı nobody's answer
"kimse" yanıtı the answer "nobody"
Atatürk'ün evi Atatürk's house
Atatürk Boulevard (named after, not belonging to
Atatürk Bulvarı
Atatürk)
Orhan'ın adı Orhan's name
"Orhan" adı the name "Orhan"
r sessizi the consonant r
[r sessizi]nin söylenişi pronunciation of the consonantr
Türk [Dil Kurumu] Turkish language-association
[Türk Dili] Dergisi Turkish-language magazine
Ford [aile arabası] Ford family car
Ford'un [aile arabası] (Mr) Ford's family car
[Ford
arabası the Ford family's car[69]
ailesi]nin

Ankara [Kız Lisesi][70] Ankara Girls' School

[yıl sonu] sınavları year-end examinations

Bulgaristan'ın
[ [İstanbul Üniversitesi]
[Edebiyat Fakültesi] ]
[İstanbul the Istanbul Consulate-General of Bulgaria
Başkonsolosluğu] (located in Istanbul, but belonging to Bulgaria)
[ [Türk Edebiyatı] Professor of Turkish Literature in the Facultyof
Profesörü] Literature of the University of Istanbul

ne oldum delisi "what-have-I-become!"[71] madman = parvenu

who gives himself airs

[72]
As the last example shows, the qualifying expression may be a substantival sentence rather than a noun or noun group.
There is a third way of linking the nouns where both nouns take no suffixes (takısız tamlama). However, in this case the first noun
acts as an adjective,[73] e.g. Demir kapı (iron gate), elma yanak ("apple cheek", i.e. red cheek), kömür göz ("coal eye", i.e. black
eye) :

Adjectives
Turkish adjectives are not declined. However most adjectives can also be used as nouns, in which case they are declined: e.g. güzel
("beautiful") → güzeller ("(the) beautiful ones / people"). Used attributively, adjectives precede the nouns they modify. The
adjectives var ("existent") and yok ("non-existent") are used in many cases where English would use "there is" or "have", e.g. süt yok
("there is no milk", lit. "(the) milk (is) non-existent"); the construction "noun 1-GEN noun 2-POSS var/yok" can be translated "noun
1 has/doesn't have noun 2"; imparatorun elbisesi yok "the emperor has no clothes" ("(the) emperor-of clothes-his non-existent");
kedimin ayakkabıları yoktu("my cat had no shoes",lit. "cat-my-of shoe-plur.-its non-existent-past tense").

Verbs
Turkish verbs indicate person. They can be made negative, potential ("can"), or impotential ("cannot"). Furthermore, Turkish verbs
show tense (present, past, future, and aorist), mood (conditional, imperative, inferential, necessitative, and optative), and aspect.
Negation is expressed by theinfix -me²- immediately following the stem.

Turkish English
gel- (to) come
gelebil- (to) be able to come
gelme- not (to) come
geleme- (to) be unable to come
gelememiş Apparently (s)he couldn't come
gelebilecek (s)he'll be able to come
gelmeyebilir (s)he may (possibly) not come
gelebilirsen if thou can come
gelinir (passive) one comes, people come
gelebilmeliydin thou shouldst have been able to come
gelebilseydin if thou could have come
gelmeliydin thou shouldst have come

Almost all Turkish verbs are conjugated in the same way, most notable exception being the irregular and defective verb i-, the
Turkish copula (corresponding to English to be), which can be used in compound forms (the shortened form is called an enclitic):
Gelememişti = Gelememiş idi = Gelememiş + i- + -di.

Verb tenses
(Note. For the sake of simplicity the term "tense" is used here throughout, although for some forms "aspect" or "mood" might be
more appropriate.) There are 9 simple and 20 compound tenses in Turkish. 9 simple tenses are simple past (di'li geçmiş), inferential
past (miş'li geçmiş), present continuous, simple present (aorist), future, optative, subjunctive, necessitative ("must") and
imperative.[74] There are three groups of compound forms. Story (hikaye) is the witnessed past of the above forms (except
command), rumor (rivayet) is the unwitnessed past of the above forms (except simple past and command), conditional (koşul) is the
conditional form of the first five basic tenses.[75] In the example below the second person singular of the verb gitmek ("go"), stem
gid-/git-, is shown.
 English of the basic form Basic tense Story (hikaye) Rumor (rivayet) Condition (koşul)
you went gittin gittiydin – gittiysen
you have gone gitmişsin gitmiştin gitmişmişsin gitmişsen
you are going gidiyorsun gidiyordun gidiyormuşsun gidiyorsan
you (are wont to) go gidersin giderdin gidermişsin gidersen
you will go gideceksin gidecektin gidecekmişsin gideceksen
if only you go gitsen gitseydin gitseymişsin –
may you go gidesin gideydin gideymişsin –
you must go gitmelisin gitmeliydin gitmeliymişin –
go! (imperative) git – – –

There are also so-called combined verbs, which are created by suffixing certain verb stems (like bil or ver) to the original stem of a
verb. Bil is the suffix for the sufficiency mood. It is the equivalent of the English auxiliary verbs "able to", "can" or "may". Ver is the
suffix for the swiftness mood, kal for the perpetuity mood and yaz for the approach ("almost") mood.[76] Thus, while gittin means
"you went", gidebildin means "you could go" and gidiverdin means "you went swiftly". The tenses of the combined verbs are formed
the same way as for simple verbs.

Attributive verbs (participles)

Turkish verbs have attributive forms, including present,[77] similar to the English present participle (with the ending -en 2); future (-
ecek 2); indirect/inferential past (-miş 4); and aorist (-er 2 or -ir 4). These forms can function as either adjectives or nouns: oynamayan
çocuklar "children who do not play", oynamayanlar "those who do not play"; okur yazar "reader-writer = literate", okur yazarlar
"literates".

The most important function of some of these attributive verbs is to form modifying phrases equivalent to the relative clauses found
in most European languages. The subject of the verb in an -en 2 form is (possibly implicitly) in the third person (he/she/it/they); this
form, when used in a modifying phrase, does not change according to number. The other attributive forms used in these constructions
are the future (-ecek2) and an older form (-dik 4), which covers both present and past meanings.[78] These two forms take "personal
endings", which have the same form as the possessive suffixes but indicate the person and possibly number of the subject of the
attributive verb; for example, yediğim means "what I eat", yediğin means "what you eat", and so on. The use of these "personal or
relative participles" is illustrated in the following table, in which the examples are presented according to the grammatical case which
[79]
would be seen in the equivalent English relative clause.
 English equivalent Translation
Case of relative Example
Pronoun Literal Idiomatic
pronoun
who, şimdi konuşan the man (who is) now
Nominative "now speaking man"
which/that adam speaking
whose babası şimdi "father-is now speaking the man whose father is now
Genitive
(nom.) konuşan adam man" speaking
babasını dün "father-is-ACC yesterday the man whose father I saw
whose (acc.)
gördüğüm adam seen-my man" yesterday
resimlerine "pictures-is-to looked-our the artist whose pictures we
at whose
baktığımız ressam artist" looked at
muhtarı seçildiği "mayor-its been-chosen- the village of which he was
of which
köy his village" elected mayor
muhtarı seçilmek the village of which he
of which
istediği köy wishes to be elected mayor
Remaining cases
(incl. whom, which yazdığım mektup "written-my letter" the letter (which) I wrote
prepositions)
the door from which we
from which çıktığımız kapı "emerged-our door"
emerged
on which geldikleri vapur "come-their ship" the ship they came on

which + yaklaştığını "approach-their-ACC the prison days (which) he

subordinate anladığı hapishane understood-his prison knew were
clause günleri days-its" approaching[80][81]

Vocabulary
Latest 2010 edition of Büyük Türkçe Sözlük (Great Turkish Dictionary), the official
dictionary of the Turkish language published by Turkish Language Association,
[82]
contains 616,767 words, expressions, terms and nouns.

The 2005 edition of Güncel Türkçe Sözlük, the official dictionary of the Turkish
language published by Turkish Language Association, contains 104,481 words, of
which about 86% are Turkish and 14% are of foreign origin.[83] Among the most
significant foreign contributors to Turkish vocabulary are Arabic, French, Persian,
Italian, English, and Greek.[84]
Origin of the words in Turkish
vocabulary, which contains 104,481
Word formation words, of which about 86% are
Turkish and 14% are of foreign origin
Turkish extensively uses agglutination to form new words from nouns and verbal
stems. The majority of Turkish words originate from the application of derivative
suffixes to a relatively small set of core vocabulary.[85]

Turkish obeys certain principles when it comes to suffixation. Most suffixes in Turkish will have more than one form, depending on
the vowels and consonants in the root- vowel harmony rules will apply; consonant-initial suffixes will follow the voiced/ voiceless
character of the consonant in the final unit of the root; and in the case of vowel-initial suffixes an additional consonant may be
inserted if the root ends in a vowel, or the suffix may lose its initial vowel. There is also a prescribed order of affixation of suffixes-
as a rule of thumb, derivative suffixes precede inflectional suffixes which are followed by clitics, as can be seen in the example set of
words derived from a substantive root below:
 Turkish Components English Word class
göz göz eye Noun
gözlük göz + -lük eyeglasses Noun
gözlükçü göz + -lük + -çü optician Noun
gözlükçülük göz + -lük + -çü + -lük optician's trade Noun
gözlem göz + -lem observation Noun
gözlemci göz + -lem + -ci observer Noun
gözle- göz + -le observe Verb (order)
gözlemek göz + -le + -mek to observe Verb (infinitive)
gözetlemek göz + -et + -le + -mek to peep Verb (infinitive)

Another example, starting from a verbal root:

Turkish Components English Word class

yat- yat- lie down Verb (order)
yatmak yat-mak to lie down Verb (infinitive)
yatık yat- + -(ı)k leaning Adjective
yatak yat- + -ak bed, place to sleep Noun
yatay yat- + -ay horizontal Adjective
yatkın yat- + -gın inclined to; stale (from lying too long) Adjective
yatır- yat- + -(ı)r- lay down Verb (order)
yatırmak yat- + -(ı)r-mak to lay down something/someone Verb (infinitive)
yatırım yat- + -(ı)r- + -(ı)m laying down; deposit, investment Noun
yatırımcı yat- + -(ı)r- + -(ı)m + -cı depositor, investor Noun

New words are also frequently formed by compounding two existing words into a new one, as in German. Compounds can be of two
types- bare and (s)I. The bare compounds, both nouns and adjectives are effectively two words juxtaposed without the addition of
suffixes for example the word for girlfriend kizarkadaş (kiz+arkadaş) or black pepper karabiber (kara+biber). A few examples of
compound words are given below:

Turkish English Constituent words Literal meaning

pazartesi Monday pazar ("Sunday") and ertesi ("after") after Sunday
bilgisayar computer bilgi ("information") and say- ("to count") information counter
gökdelen skyscraper gök ("sky") and del- ("to pierce") sky piercer
başparmak thumb baş ("prime") and parmak ("finger") primary finger
önyargı prejudice ön ("before") and yargı ("splitting; judgement") fore-judging

However, the majority of compound words in Turkish are (s)I compounds, which means that the second word will be marked by the
3rd person possessive suffix. A few such examples are given in the table below (notevowel harmony):

Turkish English Constituent words Possessive Suffix

el çantası handbag el (hand) and çanta (bag) +sı
masa örtüsü tablecloth masa (table) and örtü (cover) +sü
çay bardağı tea glass çay (tea) and bardak (glass) +ı (the k changes to ğ)
Writing system
Turkish is written using a Latin alphabet introduced in 1928 by Atatürk to replace the
Ottoman Turkish alphabet, a version of Perso-Arabic alphabet. The Ottoman alphabet marked
only three different vowels—long ā, ū and ī—and included several redundant consonants,
such as variants of z (which were distinguished in Arabic but not in Turkish). The omission of
short vowels in the Arabic script was claimed to make it particularly unsuitable for Turkish,
which has eight vowels.[86]

The reform of the script was an important step in the cultural reforms of the period. The task
of preparing the new alphabet and selecting the necessary modifications for sounds specific to
Turkish was entrusted to a Language Commission composed of prominent linguists,
academics, and writers. The introduction of the new Turkish alphabet was supported by public
education centers opened throughout the country, cooperation with publishing companies, and
encouragement by Atatürk himself, who toured the country teaching the new letters to the
public.[87] As a result, there was a dramatic increase in literacy from its original Third World Atatürk introducing the new
Turkish alphabet to the
levels.[88]
people of Kayseri.
The Latin alphabet was applied to the Turkish language for educational purposes even before September 20, 1928. (Cover
of the French L'Illustration
the 20th-century reform. Instances include a 1635 Latin-Albanian dictionary by Frang Bardhi,
magazine)
who also incorporated several sayings in the Turkish language, as an appendix to his work
(e.g. alma agatsdan irak duschamas[89] —"An apple does not fall far from its tree").

Turkish now has an alphabet suited to the sounds of the language: the spelling is largely phonemic, with one letter corresponding to
each phoneme.[90] Most of the letters are used approximately as in English, the main exceptions being ⟨c⟩, which denotes [dʒ] (⟨j⟩
being used for the [ʒ] found in Persian and European loans); and the undotted ⟨ı⟩, representing [ɯ]. As in German, ⟨ö⟩ and ⟨ü⟩
represent [ø] and [y]. The letter ⟨ğ⟩, in principle, denotes [ɣ] but has the property of lengthening the preceding vowel and
assimilating any subsequent vowel. The letters ⟨ş⟩ and ⟨ç⟩ represent [ʃ] and [tʃ], respectively. A circumflex is written over back
vowels following ⟨k⟩, ⟨g⟩, or ⟨l⟩ when these consonants represent[c], [ɟ], and [l]—almost exclusively in Arabic and Persianloans.[91]
An apostrophe is used to separate proper nouns from inflectional suffixes: e.g. İstanbul'da "in Istanbul"' (but not from derivational
suffixes since 2009 spelling revision byTDK, e.g. İstanbullu "from/of Istanbul").

The Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters (q, x, w omitted and ç, ş,ğ, ı, ö, ü added); the complete list is:

a, b, c, ç, d, e, f, g, ğ, h, ı, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, r, s, ş, t, u, ü, v, y, and z (Note that capital of i

is İ and lowercase I is ı.)

The specifically Turkish letters and spellings described above are illustrated in this table:

Turkish spelling Pronunciation Meaning

Cağaloğlu ˈdʒaːɫoːɫu [İstanbul district]
çalıştığı tʃaɫɯʃtɯˈɣɯ where/that (s)he works/worked
müjde myʒˈde good news
lazım laˈzɯm necessary
mahkûm mahˈcum condemned

Sample
Dostlar Beni Hatırlasın by Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu (1894–1973), a minstrel and highly regarded poet in the Turkish folk literature
tradition.
 Orthography IPA Translation
Ben giderim adım
bæn ɟid̪ e̞ɾim äd̪ ɯm käɫɯɾ I depart, my name remains
kalır
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın
Düğün olur There are weddings, there
d̪ yjyn o̞ ɫuɾ bäjɾäm ɟe̞ liɾ
bayram gelir are feasts
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın

Can kafeste The soul won't stay caged, it

d͡ʒäŋ käfe̞ st̪e̞ d̪ uɾmäz ut͡ʃäɾ
durmaz uçar flies away
Dünya bir han d̪ ynjä biɾ häŋ ko̞nän The world is an inn, residents
konan göçer ɟø̞t͡ʃæɾ depart
Ay dolanır yıllar The moon wanders, years
äj d̪ o̞ɫänɯɾ jɯɫːäɾ ɟe̞ t͡ʃæɾ
geçer pass by
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın

Can bedenden d͡ʒän be̞ d̪ænd̪ æn

The soul will leave the body
ayrılacak äjɾɯɫäd͡ʒäk
Tütmez baca t̪yt̪mæz bäd͡ʒä jänmäz The chimney won't smoke,
yanmaz ocak o̞ d͡ʒäk furnace won't burn
Selam olsun se̞ läːm o̞ ɫsuŋ kud͡ʒäk
Goodbye goodbye to you all
kucak kucak kud͡ʒäk
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın

Açar solar türlü Various flowers bloom and

ät͡ʃäɾ so̞ läɾ t̪yɾly t͡ʃit͡ʃe̞ c
çiçek fade
Kimler gülmüş cimlæɾ ɟylmyʃ cim Someone laughed, someone
kim gülecek ɟyle̞ d͡ʒe̞ c will laugh
Murat yalan ölüm
muɾät jäɫän ø̞lym ɟæɾt͡ʃe̞c Wishes are lies, death is real
gerçek
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın

Gün ikindi akşam Morning and afternoon turn

ɟyn icindi äkʃäm o̞ɫuɾ
olur to night
Gör ki başa neler And many things happen to a
ɟø̞ɾ ci bäʃä ne̞ læɾ ɟe̞ liɾ
gelir person anyway
Veysel gider adı Veysel departs, his name
ʋe̞ jsæl ɟidæɾ äd̪ɯ käɫɯɾ
kalır remains
Dostlar beni
d̪ o̞st̪ɫäɾ be̞ ni hätɯɾɫäsɯn May friends remember me
hatırlasın
Turkish Whistling Language
In the Turkish province of Giresun, the locals in the village of Kuşköy have communicated using a whistled version of Turkish for
over 400 years. The region consists of a series of deep valleys and the unusual mode of communication allows for conversation over
distances of up to 5 kilometres. Turkish authorities estimate that there are still around 10,000 people using the whistled language.
However, in 2011 UNESCO found whistling Turkish to be a dying language and included it in its intangible cultural heritage list.
Since then the local education directorate has introduced it as a course in schools in the region, hoping to revive its use.

A study was conducted by a German scientist of Turkish origin Onur Güntürkün at Ruhr University, observing 31 "speakers" of kuş
dili ("bird's tongue") from Kuşköy, and he found that the whistled language mirrored the lexical and syntactical structure of Turkish
language.[92]

See also
List of English words of Turkic origin
Sun Language Theory
Turkish name
Turkish Sign Language

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19. "Öz Türkçeleştirme Çalışmaları"(http://www.cokbilgi.com/yazi/oz-turkcelestirme-calismalari/). Çok Bilgi. Retrieved
29 May 2014.
20. Mütercim Asım (1799).Burhân-ı Katı Tercemesi (in Turkish). İstanbul.
21. "Iraq" (https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/Arabs#toc22939). Encyclopedia Britannica. 2016.
22. Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Report for language
code:tur (Turkish)" (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=tur). Retrieved 2011-09-04.
23. e.g. citations given in Cindark, Ibrahim/Aslan, Sema (2004):Deutschlandtürkisch? (http://pub.ids-mannheim.de/autor
en/ids/cindarkibrahim.html). Institut für Deutsche Sprache, page 3.
24. European Commission(2006). "Special Eurobarometer 243: Europeans and their Languages (Survey)"
(http://ec.eur
opa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf)(PDF). Europa. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
25. Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Report for language
code:kmr (Kurdish)" (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kmr). Retrieved 2007-03-18.
26. "Kosovo" (https://www.britannica.com/place/Kosovo#toc296713). Encyclopedia Britannica. 2016.
27. "Kosovo starts using Turkish as fifth official language in documents"(https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2015/07/0
9/kosovo-starts-using-turkish-as-fifth-official-language-in-documents).
28. "Official regional languages"(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html#mk). CIA
World Factbook. 2002. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
29. The name TDK itself exemplifies this process. The wordstetkik and cemiyet in the original name are both Arabic
loanwords (the final -i of cemiyeti being a Turkish possessive suffix); kurum is a native Turkish word based on the
verb kurmak, "set up, found".
30. Campbell, George (1995). "Turkish". Concise compendium of the world's languages
. London: Routledge. p. 547.
31. "En iyi İstanbul Türkçesini kim konuşur?"(http://www.milliyet.com.tr/-magazin-1628628/). Milliyet. Retrieved
2017-12-30.
32. Johanson, Lars (2001),Discoveries on the Turkic linguistic map (https://web.archive.org/web/20070205070509/htt
p://www.srii.org/Map.pdf) (PDF), Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, archived fromthe original (http://www.srii.or
g/Map.pdf) (PDF) on February 5, 2007, retrieved 2007-03-18
33. Özsoy
34. Akalın, Şükrü Halûk (January 2003)."Türk Dil Kurumu'nun 2002 yılı çalışmaları (T urkish Language Association
progress report for 2002)"(https://web.archive.org/web/20070627231538/http://www .tdk.gov.tr/TR/dosyagoster.asp
x?DIL=1&BELGEANAH=2693&DOSYAISIM=calismalar2002.pdf) (PDF). Türk Dili (in Turkish). 85 (613). ISSN 1301-
465X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1301-465X). Archived from the original (http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/dosyagoster.as
px?DIL=1&BELGEANAH=2693&DOSY AISIM=calismalar2002.pdf) (PDF) on June 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
35. Shashi, Shyam Singh (1992).Encyclopaedia of Humanities and Social Sciences(https://books.google.com/?id=4T0
oAAAAMAAJ&q=yoruk+turkish+taurus&dq=yoruk+turkish+taurus) . Anmol Publications. p. 47. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
36. Aydıngün, Ayşegül; Harding, Çiğdem Balım; Hoover, Matthew; Kuznetsov, Igor; Swerdlow, Steve (2006), Meskhetian
Turks: An Introduction to their History, Culture, and Resettelment Experiences(https://web.archive.org/web/2007071
4205907/http://www.cal.org/co/pdffiles/mturks.pdf) (PDF), Center for Applied Linguistics, archived fromthe original (h
ttp://www.cal.org/CO/pdffiles/mturks.pdf) (PDF) on 2007-07-14
37. Brendemoen, B. (1996). "Conference on T
urkish in Contact, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in the
Humanities and Social Sciences, Wassenaar, 5–6 February 1996".
38. Balta, Evangelia (Fall 2017). "TRANSLA
TING BOOKS FROM GREEK INTO TURKISH FOR THE KARAMANLI
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS OF ANATOLIA (1718-1856)". International Journal of Turkish Studies. 23(1-2): 20 – via
Ebsco.
39. Petrova, Olga; Plapp, Rosemary; Ringen, Catherine; Szentgyörgyi, Szilárd (2006)."Voice and aspiration: Evidence
from Russian, Hungarian, German, Swedish, and T urkish" (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7a27/5c57dd25134aa76
28c46a64ca470cc3a71db.pdf)(PDF). The Linguistic Review. 23 (1): 1–35. doi:10.1515/tlr.2006.001 (https://doi.org/1
0.1515%2Ftlr.2006.001). ISSN 0167-6318 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0167-6318).
40. Handbook of the IPA, p. 155
41. Lewis 2001, pp. 93–4,6
42. "Sesler ve ses uyumları "Sounds and Vovel karmony" " (http://www.imla.dilimiz.com/TDK/unsuzlerinnitelikleri.HTM)
(in Turkish). Turkish Language Association. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
43. "Turkish Consonant Mutation"(http://turkishbasics.com/grammar/consonant-mutation.php)
. turkishbasics.com.
44. Lewis 2001, p. 10
45. The vowel represented by⟨ı⟩ is also commonly transcribed as⟨ɨ⟩ in linguistic literature.
46. Goksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005).Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge. pp. 24–25.ISBN 0-415-
11494-2.
47. Khalilzadeh, Amir (Winter 2010). "Vowel Harmony in Turkish". Karadeniz Araştırmaları: Balkan, Kafkas, Doğu A
vrupa
ve Anadolu İncelemeleri Dergisi. 6(24): 141–150 – via Central and Eastern European Online Library.
48. Underhill, Robert (1976).Turkish Grammar. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. p. 25.ISBN 0-262-21006-1.
49. Note that this table is essentially the same as the IP
A vowel chart shown above: both table and chart indicate the
physical location and quality of each vowel. However , the second table includes additional information on how
Turkish harmonies vowels sounds across syllables based on the physical location and quality of the initial syllable.
50. Lewis 1953, p. 21
51. For the terms twofold and fourfold, as well as the superscript notation, see Lewis (1953):21–22. In his more recent
works Lewis prefers to omit the superscripts, on the grounds that "there is no need for this once the principle has
been grasped" (Lewis [2001]:18).
52. In modern Turkish orthography, an apostrophe is used to separate proper names from any suf
fixes.
53. Husby, Olaf. "Diagnostic use of nonword repetition for detection of language impairment amongurkish
T speaking
minority children in Norway"(https://www.academia.edu/3029750/Annotating_and_sharing_language_paradigms_on
line). Working Papers Department of Language and Communication Studies NTNV . 3/2006: 139–149 – via
Academia.edu.
54. Boeschoten, Hendrik; Johanson, Lars; Milani, V
ildan (2006). Turkic Languages in Contact. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
ISBN 978-3-447-05212-2.
55. Levi, Susannah V. (2005). "Acoustic correlates of lexical accent in Turkish". Journal of the International Phonetic
Association. 35 (1): 76. doi:10.1017/S0025100305001921(https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0025100305001921) .
56. Goksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005).Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11494-2.
57. Underhill, Robert (1976).Turkish Grammar. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.ISBN 0-262-21006-1.
58. Thompson, Sandra (April 1978). "Modern English from a yTpological Point of View: Some Implications of the
Function of Word Order". Linguistische Berlichte. 1978(54): 19–35 – via ProQuest.
59. Erguvanlı, Eser Emine (1984).The Function of Word Order in Turkish Grammar. Linguistics Vol. 106. Berkeley:
University of California Press.ISBN 0-520-09955-9.
60. Kiliçasaslan, Yılmaz. "A Typological Approach to Sentence Structure in Turkish" (http://www.turkofoni.org/files/a_typo
logical_approach_to_sentence_structure_in_turkish-yilmaz_kili_arslan_trakya_uni.pdf) (PDF).
61. This section draws heavily on Lewis (2001) and, to a lesser extent, Lewis (1953). Only the most important references
are specifically flagged with footnotes.
62. see Lewis (2001) Ch XIV.
63. "The prefix, which is accented, is modelled on the first syllable of the simple adjective or adverb but with the
substitution of m, p, r, or s for the last consonant of that syllable." Lewis (2001):55.The prefix retains the first vowel
of the base form and thus exhibits a form of reverse vowel harmony .
64. This "splendid word" appeared at the time ofBayram, the festival marking the end of themonth of fasting. Lewis
(2001):287.
65. "İmlâ Kilavuzu" (http://www.dilimiz.com/dil/imlakilavuzu/TDK/imlaanasayfa.htm). Dilimiz.com. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
66. Because it is also used for the indefinite accusative, Lewis uses the term "absolute case" in preference to
"nominative". Lewis (2001):28.
67. Lewis points out that "an indefinite izafet group can be turned into intelligible (though not necessarily normal) English
by the use of a hyphen". Lewis (2001): 42.
68. The examples are taken from Lewis (2001): 41–47.
69. For other possible permutations of this vehicle, see Lewis (2001):46.
70. "It is most important to note that the third-person suf
fix is not repeated though theoretically one might have expected
Ankara [Kız Lisesi]si." Lewis (2001): 45 footnote.
71. Note the similarity with the French phraseun m'as-tu-vu "a have-you-seen-me?", i.e., a vain and pretentious person.
72. The term substantival sentence is Lewis's. Lewis(2001:257).
73. "Journal of Turkish World Studies (be celal Demir)"(http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/YENI%20TURK%20DILI/celal_demir_gr
amer_isim_tamlamasi_sorunu.pdf)(PDF) (in Turkish). Retrieved 2013-03-29.
74. Yüksel Göknel:Turkish Grammar (http://tr.scribd.com/doc/115291192/TURKISH-GRAMMAR-UPDATED-ACADEMIC-
EDITION-YUKSEL-GOKNEL-OCTOBER-2012-signed-pdf)
75. "Turkish Studies Vol 7/3" (http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/1934555583_85Kad%c4%b1u%20Spartak_S-159
3-1603.pdf) (PDF) (in Turkish). Retrieved 2013-03-29.
76. "Dersimiz Edebiyat Online course"(http://www.dersimizedebiyat.com/icerik_detay.asp?icr=63&bs=S%F6zc%FCk%2
0(%20Kelime%20)%20T%FCrleri%20-%20Fiiller%20(%20Eylemler%20)) (in Turkish). Dersimizedebiyat.com.
Retrieved 2013-03-29.
77. The conventional translation of the film titleDünyayı Kurtaran Adam, The Man Who Saved the World, uses the past
tense. Semantically, his saving the world takes place though in the (narrative) present.
78. See Lewis (2001):163–165, 260–262 for an exhaustive treatment.
79. For the terms personal and relative participle see Lewis (1958):98 and Lewis (2001):163 respectively
. Most of the
examples are taken from Lewis (2001).
80. This more complex example fromOrhan Pamuk's Kar (Snow) contains a nested structure: w [ hich he knew [were
approaching]]. Maureen Freely's more succinct and idiomatic translation isthe days in prison he knew lay ahead.
Note that Pamuk uses the spellinghapisane.
81. From the perspective of Turkish grammar yaklaştığını anladığı is exactly parallel to babasını gördüğüm ("whose
father I saw"), and could therefore be paraphrased as "whose approaching he understood".
82. "Büyük Türkçe Sözlük Turkish Language Association" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130328002715/http://tdkterim.
gov.tr/bts/) (in Turkish). Tdkterim.gov.tr. Archived from the original (http://tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/) on 2013-03-28.
Retrieved 2013-03-29.
83. "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük"(https://web.archive.org/web/20070321023726/http://www .tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F
6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFB40CE59E171C629F) (in Turkish). Turkish Language Association. 2005.
Archived from the original (http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFB4
0CE59E171C629F) on March 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
84. "Türkçe Sözlük (2005)'teki Sözlerin Kökenlerine Ait Sayısal Döküm (Numerical list on the origin of words Türkçe
in
Sözlük (2005))" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070301064559/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8
892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF1A46C5FBFA979D0C) (in Turkish). Turkish Language Association. 2005. Archived
from the original (http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF1A46C5FBF
A979D0C) on March 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
85. Goksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005).Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge. pp. 43–48.ISBN 0-415-
11494-2.
86. Zimmer & Orgun (1999:155)
87. Dilaçar, Agop (1977). "Atatürk ve Yazım" (http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAA
F6AA849816B2EFC3C6D81741DBEB05). Türk Dili (in Turkish). 35 (307). ISSN 1301-465X (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/1301-465X). Retrieved 2007-03-19.
88. Coulmas 1989, pp. 243–244
89. In modern Turkish spelling: elma ağaçtan ırak düşmez.
90. Celia Kerslake; Asli Goksel (11 June 2014).Turkish: An Essential Grammar(https://books.google.com/books?id=-Db
JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12). Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-134-04218-0.
91. Lewis (2001):3–7. Note that in these cases the circumflex conveys information about the preceding consonant rather
than the vowel over which it is written.
92. "Northern village of Kuşköy still communicates with amazing urkish
T whistling language"(https://www.dailysabah.co
m/life/2016/02/17/northern-village-of-kuskoy-still-communicates-with-amazing-turkish-whistling-language)
. The Daily
Sabah. February 16, 2016.
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Further reading
 Eyüboğlu, İsmet Zeki (1991).Türk Dilinin Etimoloji Sözlüğü[Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language] (in
Turkish). Sosyal Yayınları, İstanbul. ISBN 978975-7384-72-4.
Özel, Sevgi; Haldun Özen; Ali Püsküllüoğlu, eds. (1986).Atatürk'ün Türk Dil Kurumu ve Sonrası[Atatürk's Turkish
Language Association and its Legacy] (in Turkish). Bilgi Yayınevi, Ankara. OCLC 18836678.
Püsküllüoğlu, Ali (2004).Arkadaş Türkçe Sözlük[Arkadaş Turkish Dictionary] (in Turkish). Arkadaş Yayınevi, Ankara.
ISBN 975-509-053-3.

External links
Turkish dictionaries at Curlie
Turkish language at Curlie
Swadesh list of Turkish basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix)
Turkish Language: Resources – University ofMichigan
LT: Turkish grammar introduction and automatic verb declinations (non-commercial)

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