The building meeting in Turkish
A dispute among residents at the building meeting in Turkish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bence asansörü yenilemeliyiz, artık tehlikeli.» — In my opinion, the elevator needs replacing, it's dangerous already.; «Katılmıyorum. Bu yıl bütçe yok, bakım yeter.» — I disagree. There's no budget this year, maintenance will do. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a dispute among residents at the building meeting. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Bence asansörü yenilemeliyiz, artık tehlikeli.In my opinion, the elevator needs replacing, it's dangerous already.
- Katılmıyorum. Bu yıl bütçe yok, bakım yeter.I disagree. There's no budget this year, maintenance will do.
- Rakamlara bakalım: tamir masrafı iki kat arttı.Let's look at the numbers: repair costs have doubled.
- Bir uzmana soralım, o karar versin.Let's ask a specialist, let him decide.
- İyi fikir. Ama komşuların çoğu benim tarafımda.Good idea. But most of the neighbors are on my side.
- Taraf tutmayalım. Anket yapalım, herkes fikrini söylesin.Let's not take sides. Let's run a survey, let everyone speak their mind.
- Kabul. Hatamı da kabul ediyorum, sesimi yükselttim.Agreed. And I admit my mistake — I raised my voice.
- Önemli değil. Sonuçları görünce herkes ikna olur.It doesn't matter. When they see the consequences, everyone will be convinced.
Lines one by one
| Turkish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bence asansörü yenilemeliyiz, artık tehlikeli. | — | In my opinion, the elevator needs replacing, it's dangerous already. |
| Katılmıyorum. Bu yıl bütçe yok, bakım yeter. | — | I disagree. There's no budget this year, maintenance will do. |
| Rakamlara bakalım: tamir masrafı iki kat arttı. | — | Let's look at the numbers: repair costs have doubled. |
| Bir uzmana soralım, o karar versin. | — | Let's ask a specialist, let him decide. |
| İyi fikir. Ama komşuların çoğu benim tarafımda. | — | Good idea. But most of the neighbors are on my side. |
| Taraf tutmayalım. Anket yapalım, herkes fikrini söylesin. | — | Let's not take sides. Let's run a survey, let everyone speak their mind. |
| Kabul. Hatamı da kabul ediyorum, sesimi yükselttim. | — | Agreed. And I admit my mistake — I raised my voice. |
| Önemli değil. Sonuçları görünce herkes ikna olur. | — | It doesn't matter. When they see the consequences, everyone will be convinced. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Turkish in this situation?
“Bence asansörü yenilemeliyiz, artık tehlikeli.” — In my opinion, the elevator needs replacing, it's dangerous already.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.