LingoflyWhile speaking
A text in Turkish at level B1. The translation sits next to it for checking, not for support: at this level the text is read whole, and an unknown word is usually guessed from the sentence. The hardest thing about speaking a foreign language is not the words, but the ability to manage a conversation. If you…
Text
- Yabancı bir dilde konuşurken en zor şey kelime değil, sohbeti yönetmek. Duymadıysanız çekinmeyin: pardon, ne dediniz, diye tekrar sorun ya da harf harf söylemelerini isteyin. Bir şey rica ederken acaba ile başlayın, zahmet olmazsa ekleyin; reddederken korkarım hayır demek yeter. Karşınızdaki uzun konuşursa sözünü kesmeyin, sırası gelince izninizle ekleyeyim deyin. Konu dağılırsa konuya dönelim, sonunda da özetleyelim: bu iki cümle her toplantıyı kurtarır.The hardest thing about speaking a foreign language is not the words, but the ability to manage a conversation. If you didn't hear, don't be shy: ask again — 'sorry, what did you say?' — or ask them to spell it out. When you're asking for something, start with acaba and add 'if it's no trouble'; when declining, 'I'm afraid not' is enough. If your conversation partner talks for long, don't interrupt, and in turn say 'may I add something'. If the topic has sprawled — 'let's get back to the topic', and at the end 'let's sum up': these two phrases save any meeting.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- What does the author consider the hardest?
- What to do if you didn't hear?
- How should a request start?
- What to say if the topic has sprawled?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Turkish?
B1. That means: everyday topics are behind you, you know about three thousand words, and an unknown word is more often guessed from the sentence than looked up.
How to read a text in an unfamiliar language usefully?
First all the way through without peeking at the translation — just to catch the familiar words. Then with the translation. Then all the way through again: the second pass brings noticeably more, and that feeling matters more than any rule.