Learn to Speak Turkish

Once the language of the Ottoman Empire, modern day Turkish is now one of the most spoken languages in Central Asia, specifically in the regions that once made up the vast Ottoman Empire. Spoken by approximately 63 million people worldwide, most of who reside in Turkey and Cyprus, the language is also spoken by substantial minority groups across Eastern Europe and in the once Soviet block countries. A language and a country that connects Europe and Central Asia both physically and culturally, Turkish is an important language for both adventure and trade in the area. In fact, as Turkey often seems to be politically, culturally and geographically at the fulcrum of the East and West, the language helps bridge Europe with the Middle East. In addition, because students in Turkey are now learning English at record rates, there is a need for more native English speakers to learn the language to help offset the imbalance and there are business and teaching opportunities for English speakers who can also communicate in Turkish.

Modern day Turkish descended directly from Ottoman Turkish, which during the powerful days of the Empire was a very influential means of communication. Turkish is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, which is a language group of approximately 30 languages spoken by people across a vast areas of Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia, Siberia and Western China. While Turkish is a very regular language with few exceptions to grammatical rules, it is not related to Germanic or Latin languages, which may make it trickier to learn for native English speakers.

There are many ways to go about learning Turkish. While there may or may not be classes orffered in Turkish at your local community college, many universities do offer the language as a subject area. Hiring a private tutor, especially one that can help you with communication skills can also be a good way to go. Programs like Rosetta Stone are also not only relatively affordable (compared to private lessons or university classes), but can also help you learn the basics of both grammar and vocabulary and pronunciation. Of course, the best way to learn any language is through total immersion. In fact, just a few weeks speaking Turkish on a daily basis can be worth more than year in the classroom.