Language Quirks

                Another glitch in this whole constant boredom thing is the lack of interesting things to blog about.  There are only so many times that I can write about my daily activities- as enthralling as it is I am sure to read about, writing about it isn’t, and while I could talk about Buğlem all day (just ask Joe) because I am madly in love with that little girl, I feel that not everyone is as taken with her two year old antics as I am, and since she is not actually my child I feel I should probably refrain.  This week I have been starting to compile a list of Turkish idioms and phrases that help to explain the nature of the culture that we are a part of.  Although I am not overly apt at language learning, it is a process I find fascinating, so perhaps you might as well.

Hoş geldeniz-  Used whenever you enter someone’s house or a shop, this literally translates to ‘it’s nice you came’, a very sweet semblance to express your gratitude that someone has come by.  I find it more pleasant than ‘welcome’.  It is also considerably more common to hear here than one would hear ‘Welcome’ back home, or maybe I am simply forgetting the frequency.

My door adornment.  A housewarming present from Mustafa.

Hoş bulduk- The appropriate response to ‘Hoş geldiniz’, this translates to ‘I find it nice,’ and although it is not necessarily necessary to use in shops, it is considered quite rude to not reply with this after you enter a friend’s house. 

Daha guzeli senin olsun.  Elif bought some new shoes and she said this to me, and although I understood the words, I had to get her to translate the sentiment for me.  Roughly it translated to “May the shoes you buy be more beautiful than the ones I bought” which I found quite interesting having come from a place where when you buy something you tend to want everyone to be envious (at least for a week) and the generosity behind this statement- especially if you had seen how excited Elif was about these shoes- was quite sweet.

Afiyet olsun- The one most common expression that I hear on this list, it is said before and after everything you eat or drink in Turkey.  Loosely it translates to ‘Bon appetite’ but the sentiment behind it is, ‘May it be good for you.’  I find it a little overbearing to be honest, there are only so many times I can say ‘Thanks’ for the same cup of tea or coffee before I run out of things to say.  However the strange expressions I get from students when I say you only say, “enjoy your meal or bon appetite’ at the beginning of a meal and never for drinks is equivalent to saying that I am moving to Antarctica to live with the penguins.

Geçmiş olsun- Although this translates to “may it pass”, and is used most commonly as ‘Feel better’ in English, it can also be used for misfortune or when having difficulties.  I learned this the other day when one of my co-workers got into a minor car crash (everyone but the car was fine) and everyone at work kept telling him Geçmiş olsun, which I thought was odd (as I thought it only meant Get well soon).  Gotta love a versatile phrase.

Cok yaşa:  After someone sneezes, you typically say this which means ‘Long Life’ and is responded with Sen de gor, (Long life to you also).  It has made me realize how common it is in English to say ‘Thank you’ to certain responses as opposed to sending the sentiment back to the sender.

Altogether Turkish is a very interesting language.  The verbs all get clustered together so that they are like twenty letters long and a pain in the ass to remember, but being a phonetic language pronunciation isn’t a huge issue and it’s been an enjoyable- albeit slow- learning process. It’s a unique language with many endearing qualities.