Turkakan Khosaktsutsyun (Turkish Conversation)

[Sako]

Lol, thanks Phantom. Dude, you sure your first phrase isn't an offensive one? Maybe in Turkish it isn't but in English it might be offensive don't you think, kardesh?

[Steph]

Lol, thanks Phantom. Dude, you sure your first phrase isn't an offensive one? Maybe in Turkish it isn't but in English it might be offensive don't you think, kardesh?

[ardakilic]

How about some funny Turkish sayings, including the dirty ones, which are, of course, the most fun.

I'll start with a couple of my favorites, learned mostly from my grandma:

Turkish - Esek sikmenin usuli var.
English - There's a way to screw a donkey. (Implying, there is a right way to screw a donkey and a wrong way to do it).

Turkish - Itim soyler, gotum dinler.
English - My donkey speaks, my ass listens. (She used to say that one to my dad quite often).

Turkish - Kedilere maskara olduk.
English - We became clowns for the cats.

The first one is really dirty, but funny. In English translation, it is made more polite. The true translation should be f*** instead of screw.

[phantom]

Saco, it's offensive in Turkish too, but it's also kind of funny, so the humor reduces the offensiveness. And I toned it down in my English translation. I'm sure you know the real translation of "sik" which is the active part of the word "sikmenin". Every Armenian knows what that word means, right!

The last one is particularly vivid in my mind. Imagine 2 grandmas sitting in a room together and knitting while they chat. One is Armenian and the other is Greek. The Armenian one can speak only Armenian and Turkish and the Greek one can speak only Greek and Turkish. Together they converse in Turkish. Now imagine 2 young boys bothering them by doing things only disgusting little boys would do like picking their noses and rubbing it on their grandmas' clothes. Now imagine the Armenian grandma swats one of the boys away and turns to the Greek grandma and says, "Ahhh, khinami, gordun mu, kedilere maskara olduk!" That's how I remember it.

[ardakilic]

The last one is particularly vivid in my mind. Imagine 2 grandmas sitting in a room together and knitting while they chat. One is Armenian and the other is Greek. The Armenian one can speak only Armenian and Turkish and the Greek one can speak only Greek and Turkish. Together they converse in Turkish. Now imagine 2 young boys bothering them by doing things only disgusting little boys would do like picking their noses and rubbing it on their grandmas' clothes. Now imagine the Armenian grandma swats one of the boys away and turns to the Greek grandma and says, "Ahhh, khinami, gordun mu, kedilere maskara olduk!" That's how I remember it.

Very lovely scene

[phantom]

Very lovely scene

Thanks Arda. It's even lovelier in my mind and makes me miss my grandmas. My Armenian grandma never got over having to emmigrate from Istanbul. She never got used to America, and she always spoke so fondly of Istanbul. She used to curse out my dad on occasion for having brought her to such a tasteless place as America (in her view). My Greek grandma lived much longer and eventually became somewhat accustomed to America, but I think her golden years would also have been happier had we never left Istanbul. It's hard to move like that when you are already old.

[ardakilic]

Thanks Arda. It's even lovelier in my mind and makes me miss my grandmas. My Armenian grandma never got over having to emmigrate from Istanbul. She never got used to America, and she always spoke so fondly of Istanbul. She used to curse out my dad on occasion for having brought her to such a tasteless place as America (in her view). My Greek grandma lived much longer and eventually became somewhat accustomed to America, but I think her golden years would also have been happier had we never left Istanbul. It's hard to move like that when you are already old.

I have been to US once and comparing to Istanbul, i think they are absolutely very right. But even Istanbul is tasteless without them; Armenians, Greeks... I miss also.

My father is from Mersin, a very cosmopolitan city of south Anatolia. He always mentions about his Armenian and Christian Arab neighbours.

It is hard to say a word like "once upon a time...".

[Sako]

Thanks guys for the interesting stories ... and *ahem* phrases, lol. Let's speak some more proper Turkish, I'd like to learn some new words.

[ardakilic]

Thanks guys for the interesting stories ... and *ahem* phrases, lol. Let's speak some more proper Turkish, I'd like to learn some new words.

OK, we have an excited student:P

Pronouns

I = Ben
You = Sen
He/She/It = 0
We = Biz
You = Siz
They = Onlar

Ben seni seviyorum (I love you).

O öğrencidir (He is student) -Öğrenci: Student-

Biz eve gidiyoruz (We are going home) -Ev: home-

[VaheTheGreat(e)]

They = Onlar

Ben seni seviyorum (I love you).

I know that one
Biz eve gidiyoruz!(she is a student) )