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Turkic languages - order of learning

 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
hombre gordo
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Japan
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 Message 1 of 7
12 August 2009 at 1:20pm | IP Logged 
I personally believe that the Turkic languages are interesting. However, if it even possible to learn anything other than Turkish? Learning materials seem to be virtually inexistent for most of the languages of this language family.

If we suppose that we are able to abtain sufficient materials for these languages, is there a systematic order for learning the major languages of this family?

Of course Turkish being the most accessible would naturally be the first. Then after that I supposed it would be wise to study the most distant language from Turkish (but at the same time one that has a significant number of speakers) and then fill in the gaps. What would be a good choice for number two in the order? Maybe Uzbek or Khazak?

Please comment on what you think may be the best order.
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phantometal
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Turkey
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 Message 2 of 7
12 August 2009 at 3:18pm | IP Logged 

     woow thats an interesting question, especially for me as a native turk. i did not think about it seriously before.

     first of all you should know that all the turkic languages(about 30 languages) look like almost the same both in vocabulary and grammar. i am a speaker of turkey turkish but i am able to understand azeri turkish and uygur turkish too(but i can't talk). i mean its a language spoken through almost all asia(see the map at the link below). differences between these languages are because of the geographcal distances.

     so you choose yourself. if you want to learn a chinese-mongolic influenced turkish try uyghur languages, if you want russian influenced turkish, try kazak,kırgız,özbek ...if you want some arabic or persian in it try others.. (: i hope i made myself clear.

     by the way i see you speak/study japanese and korean. you probably know that they are from the same language family(altaic language).i dont think you are going to have a hard time while learning any of turkic languages.

     i must say that none of these opinions of mine are professinal or academic they are all based on personal impressions.

     i want to share some useful links about turkic languages. especially check out the vocab comparison section at the first link. you will get my point about the differences.

wikipedia
other link

Edited by phantometal on 12 August 2009 at 3:26pm

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hombre gordo
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 Message 3 of 7
12 August 2009 at 8:55pm | IP Logged 
Thank you. I had already seen the first link. The second is new to me.

By the way, I have heard that Turkish speakers are really appreciative and inclined to help foreigners who learn their language. I have heard that Turks are general very encouraging. Is this true for all the Turkic languages.

If what I have heard is true, I will definitely be inclined to learn Turkish. The truth is that I have always had a great sense of respect for Turkey, its culture and its language. On my trip there I was impressed. I really have a serious intention to learn it at some point.

Edited by hombre gordo on 12 August 2009 at 9:29pm

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zhiguli
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 Message 4 of 7
14 August 2009 at 11:10pm | IP Logged 
Azeri is the 2nd biggest Turkic language, Uzbek the 3rd, Kazakh the 4th. Turkish is mutually intelligible with Azeri (and Turkmen and Crimean Tatar to a lesser extent), Uzbek with Uyghur, Kazakh with Kyrgyz.
So I would say - Turkish, then Uzbek, then Kazakh. Azeri is a good bridge between Turkish and Uzbek, but not really necessary. This covers the most important branches (Oguz, Karluk, Kipchak), the others (Siberian and Chuvash) are too small and divergent to really be worth studying, and what little material there is on them is mainly in Russian.

phantometal wrote:


     i must say that none of these opinions of mine are professinal or academic they are all based on personal impressions.



It's good that you say this, because even the idea of an Altaic language family is no longer accepted by many (I dare say - most) linguists. The second link uses a classification from 1922..
Though it is true that there are similarities in the grammar that make it easier for, say, Turks to learn Japanese than speakers of Indo-European languages.
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William Camden
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 Message 5 of 7
15 August 2009 at 11:41pm | IP Logged 
Good point. I may have seen an Azerbaijani-English dictionary somewhere, but by and large it is only Turkish learning materials I have seen.
If you know Russian, it gets a little easier to find textbooks for learning Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kazakh etc. I have seen Russian-XXX XXX-Russian dictionaries for most of the Turkic languages, published in Soviet times.
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Alvinho
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 Message 6 of 7
16 August 2009 at 8:07pm | IP Logged 
I wonder if it would be a good deal to listen to any Turkish radio in order to hear them speaking, no matter if I won't understand anything.....only to hear how it sounds.
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medeor
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Turkey
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 Message 7 of 7
16 August 2009 at 10:28pm | IP Logged 
i think;

turkish -> kazakh -> uzbek would be the best order.

beside their being the most spoken turkic languages after turkish and azeri, to me kazakh is the most beautiful one. also as far as i know it has a different and complex grammar. when it comes to uzbek, it's easier cos it doesnt have vowel harmony unlike the others.


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