Turkish Language Facts

If you’re thinking about learning Turkish it’s always good to know a little about the origins and history of the language you are learning. Here, Cactus Language offers up our most interesting Turkish language facts:

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5 Interesting Turkish Language Facts

1. The Turkish language is part of the Turkic languages

The Turkish language was first spoken in Mongolia, before being strongly influenced by Arabic and Persian. Turkish was then reformed in the 20th century.

2. Turkish has around 75 million native speakers

The Turkish speakers are mainly in Turkey and the surrounding countries. Thanks to a large Turkish diaspora, Turkish is spoken in more than 30 countries where it is not an official language, including Germany with two million Turkish speakers.

3. Before 1928, Turkish was written using a specific form of Arabic writing

In order to modernise Turkey, the administration adopted an adapted form of the Latin alphabet in the 20th century to replace the Arabic writing.

4. Some Turkish words made it to the English Language

Examples include divan, kayak, kebab, kiosk, pilaf and yogurt.

5. The Turkish language has some tongue twisters

Tongue twisters are present in most languages and Turkish is no exception. For example: Bir berber bir berbere gel berber beraber Berberistan’da bir berber dükkanı açalım demiş. – A barber told another barber “come barber, let’s start up a joint barbershop in Barberistan”.

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Frequently asked questions

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Our Course Outlines give an overview of the content and learning framework of Cactus courses. Includes themes, grammar and vocabulary you can typically expect to cover. These are intended as a guide only. Language teachers may at times adapt the course content to suit the specific level, aims and interests of the class.

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