Colloquial Turkish: The Complete Course for Beginners

This is an interesting if slightly quirky introductory course. The quality of the material is very conversational, which is not a bad thing, and there is enough grammar so that by the end of the course the learner will have a pretty good idea of how the language works as well as a very serviceable everyday vocabulary. For more grammatical details, there are the oldies-but-goodies 'Elementary Turkish' (Lewis Thomas) and G.L. Lewis'classic 'Turkish Grammar'. The authors have chosen a very intuitive way of presenting the vowel harmony rules that apply with all the vast array of Turkish suffixes, but it is an approach that works surprisingly well and the rules are set out clearly for the benefit of more rule-oriented beginning students. In any case to naturally absorb this system it is necessary to spend a lot of time working with the accompanying audio. There are also a lot of interesting reads on Turkish history and culture, much better than the usual run that appears in books of this type. Most of the chapters start out with a relatively simple dialogue, usually have a slightly more complex dialogue in the middle, and a another, more challenging one at the end, where the idea is to read (and listen) to get the drift without necessarily learning every new word in advance. Be forewarned, though, that even in the early parts of the book grammatical forms (especially tenses) turn up that don't get explained until later. So this is a course that would definitely work better with a tutor, although it certainly isn't impossible to benefit from it if you don't have one.

I think that this Turkish textbook has been unfairly reviewed by-and-large. It is not your ordinary language text. The authors are trying something new. And the new thing they are trying is, in my opinion, a good thing -- heavily dialog-centered learning. Each chapter has several dialogs. After each dialog, there is a vocabulary list, an expository lump about the dialog and what it is trying to teach you, and then maybe a few exercises to nail things down. Finally, each lesson has a hard bit of dialog at the end to make you reach for it and then some stuff about Turkey. It's a clear, fresh, speaking-based approach. Kind of informal. I like that. I enjoy using this book. I have been studying Turkish steadily for about a year, at this time, and I learned a few things from the first lesson in this book. I don't have the audio -- CDs or cassettes -- so I can't speak to those. But the book is quite good and well worth your time and money.

This book's a disaster - the material is presented in a disorganized manner; there are several errors (in grammar, in spelling, in usage, and even in class - Arabic or peasanty words that you won't often come across) in the dialogues and some in the answers; it's much harder to follow than the earlier edition written by different authors; it assumes a little background info on Turkish, which it shouldn't; and, above all, its back cover, claiming "jargon-free grammar notes," is an out-and-out lie: you'll have to pore through ablative cases, converbs, and relative clauses to get to the good stuff.BUT - the good stuff is fantastic. The book fills a much-needed space in your studies. Other books are too didactic (such as the In Three Months series); others are too basic (the Teach Yourself book), and then you're left on your own. This book is hefty enough, intermediate enough, and colloquial enough to be of help when you're at the position of knowing the basics but not ready yet to read a Turkish newspaper and be on your own. The example sentences are superb and give you much practice in dealing with the topics so poorly presented. Probably the best way to approach it is to get another book first, then to get this book, skip the grammatical expositions, and to go over the sample sentences and exercises with a spouse or friend, who can help give other contexts in which they're used, and even correct some of the errors.

Over the past few months, as I've struggled to learn a bit of Turkish, books on that topic have filled my shelves and backpack. Every time I find another one, I add it to my collection. My addiction to all language books Turkish isn't just based on the delusion that owning a lot of books will automatically give me knowledge.What I've discovered is that one book just won't do it -- (see my other reviews on this topic).Rudimentary books are necessary at first to give you basic phrases you'd need. Once you find you can count to ten, say hello, good-bye, yes, no, please, thank you, how are you, fine, etc. you'll find a need for deeper understanding, a larger vocabulary and a better understanding of how to put sentences together.In my opinion, this book (the 8th I've bought) is so far the best of those that teach you the language, not just phrases. It comes with two tapes (you MUST have something to listen to -- pronunciation is essential to get your message across correctly). Although you could get along without the tapes which do not cover all the chapters, dialogues or tests, if you are serious, make sure you get the tapes -- they are extremely helpful.Using this book (in my opinion) works best if you have started with a couple of smaller, basic phrase books, and have a self-forgiving attitude. Turkish is different from English. Some parts are easy to learn once you understand the format -- others are difficult exceptions, difficult to comprehend. This book has helped me understand the tenses that are needed (so I don't have to only use the present tense for everything in my life!) The tests are sometimes offered using words you haven't learned yet -- this is an intentional stretch for your learning curve -- and is a good thing. I'm pretty sure I've found an error or two in the answers (which is why it is good to have several books and sources on hand). The more I did the lessons and then went back to my basic survivor books, the more I understood, and the more I could say.So far this is the best book I've found -- I suspect the next level requires lessons with real people, which is where I'm headed!Excellent for the mid to advanced learner! Iyi talih!

I decided to learn a little of the Turkish language 2 months ago. I borrowed this book from my university's library, and held on to it for 1 and 1/2 months before returning it. I was actually late returning it! This is because it is such a good book! I was so disappointed to have to let go of it, that I decided I would buy myself this book as soon as I could - and I have just placed an order for it! I can't wait to have it on my bookshelf! :)It has an excellent pronounciation guide, though it does make simple conversation seem more complex than necessary. But overall, I would say it is worth the purchase. It also provides a decent explanation of Turkish verb endings. The writing style of the authors is clear to the beginner. And isn't that just a great picture on the cover? It makes me want to visit Turkey one day...