Job Discussion Forums

[dmb]

Harbi can also mean ramrod(I used to teach a group of soldiers)

So saying harbi mi to a male student could be dangerous.


*Is it a a ramrod...... or are you just pleased to see me*

[thrifty]

I have never heard of that word-is it newish slang?

[yaramaz]

A guy in a bufe I used to regularly frequent in Suadiye a few years ago taught me that one. It was actually about the same time the Harby chocolate bars came out and just before I moved to Harbiye (which i learned means war Academy or similar). It's all very connected.

I find it freaks people out a bit if i use the terms harbi mi or harbiden (really? really!), or if I use 'lan'. It's like they are insider secrets that yabancilar aren't supposed to know. Like Aboooo and noruyon (dots on o and u), which are Kayseri slang.

[thrifty]

Did you use to frequent the guy or the bufe?

[yaramaz]

The bufe.


Get your mind out of the gutter, thrifty.

[Noelle]

I was told by my students that "harby mi" is only to be used by men. They said there is a different expression for women.

In any case... how can I say simply... "be nice and don't speak Turkish in front of us" in their language. I'm thinking I'd actually like to get my other students (the non-Turks) saying it as well!

Can anyone give me this sentence and it's pronunciation?

[tvik]

WAIT!!!!!!!!!

i'm sorry to ask the question but it seems important.....

do you like turkish men??????
if yes then........
if no then... well its better to say yes...... although not alway... but sometimes and ....... well..... anywayssss�����.....

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

[Noelle]

Dillerinz hep gotunuzdeyse nasil baska what....??

What in the world is that supposed to mean??

You can't just give me a sentence and not translate it.

As for the other poster... "do I like Turkish men?"
I don't really see what that has to do with anything. I guess I like them as I would any other kind of men.

What is the best way to say "Please don't speak Turkish" in their language? I want to learn for myself as well as the other students in my class. If I can get it down, I'll teach it to the others as well!

[justme]

'L�tfen, T�rk�e konuşmayın' = please don't speak Turkish. The '�' is 'ch' and the 'ş' is 'sh'. The '�' is like 'ew' (a rounded IPA 'i'). The 'ı' is like a schwa. The rest is as it's written (Turkish is pretty much phonetic).

However, I'd be wary of using Turkish with them as they're likely to find this so amusing and wonderful you may end up losing control of them for the rest of the lesson. Rather than actually saying it, maybe try writing on the board before the lesson actually starts? Turks are overly delighted by foreigners speaking Turkish, and they find our pronunciation hilarious, so actually saying it could really bellyflop... My Turkish isn't crap anymore but it's not perfect either and I rarely speak it in front of students. I pretend I don't speak it, and I totally lost a lesson once when a cleaner came in during a lesson and I told him in Turkish to come back on the break...

[lovelace]

So when they say 'Your Turkish is sweet', they actually mean it's awful? Aw. I suspected, but was kidding myself I sounded cute..

[justme]

No, you probably really do sound cute to them!

I'm just oversensitive, so I find it slightly belittling when they get all delighted with my Turkish and find it cute, and I totally clam up after that. I mean, I would never say that to a student who was obviously trying hard and taking risks-- I think they should be taken more seriously, and I expect the same.

[Baba Alex]

The fact is that as Native English speakers we are more use to hearing foreigners speak our mother tounge than Turks. I've had conversations in Turkish with people for about 5 minutes, then on their realising that I'm a Brit they suddenly stop usign Turkish and use their (in many cases VERY BAD English). I've had to walk out of shops becasue of the assitant's refusal to accept that I can speak some Turkish. They just don't expect it, and when they do, they seldom put the kind of effort in to understanding us that they expect from us when speaking English.

My advice to a question that hasn't been asked is, learn Turkish, practice, practice, practice. But never insist on speaking Turkish to Turks if they start speaking in English.

Turk - "So how long have you been here?"
Me - "About 4 years"
Turk - "Why don't you speak any Turkish?"
ME - "I do, you're the one who started speaking English"
Turk - silence
Me - *massive fart*

[dmb]

[Baba Alex]