The Delights of Learning Turkish: A self-study course book for learners of Turkish

I don't usually take the time to write book reviews on Amazon, unless the book is REALLY good! Well this is one of those times! I have been trying to get my head around the Turkish Language for the past few years. You would think that a language that is completely phonetic and written in the Latin Alphabet would give an English Speaker an advantage when learning it. It does not! Turkish is an agglutinative language. Basically this means that it pretty much makes a whole sentence and expresses in two or three words. And many time in just one word! Why so few words - because they cram all the words of a sentence together in a series of suffixes to make nice long words. Words that take the english speaking mind minutes to pick apart! You literally have to learn to think a little differently. It is not impossible - it just takes a little training. I am making progress - but not as fast as I usually do with other languages (Portuguese, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic and several others). I have purchased over 35 books on learning Turkish in my journey. Some of them old and out of print, several published in Turkey for school children or Immigrants, and just about all the other newer "usual suspects" for learning a language. I only wish that I could have found this book first! It is absolutely the best book available to learn Turkish. Where do I start - it is logically set up with great vocabulary. The Grammar is really explained well - so that anyone could understand it. The exercises all make sense and they all have an answer key. Even the type face in the book seems to help with reading the lessons! The only thing lacking is an audio component. But Turkish is a totally phonetic language (like Spanish!) and you can easily get pronunciation practice from many other sources and courses available on Amazon. In short, buy this book! You will not be sorry and you will even learn Turkish!

The book is smartly organized into real-life subjects -- shopping, going to a restaurant, travel, family, etc -- with grammar and vocab interwoven in such a way as to maximize one's ability to communicate in those circumstances. There is also an entire section dedicated to folk sayings in the language, something extremely important to any culture, but often overlooked in most texts. This is one of the better introductory language books I have read, and the only one of this pedagogical quality for studying Turkish. All the other introductory Turkish material I have been exposed too (including apps like Duolingo) teach the grammar of the object definite (aka definite accusative) first or close to it. Kuzucu's Delights of Learning Turkish does not take this approach, relegating the object definite to much later in the text -- and I wholly support this. Yes, without the ability to properly specify "the apple" vs "an apple" one does sound like a child, but in my opinion, sounding like a child is the point of learning any new language, since it means that one can actually communicate. The finer nuances of the language can get ironed out later, once communication actually happens. There are other positive's to this book as well, but they are too numerous to list. Iyi kitap ^.^b

I do not regret buying this book. I was slightly nervous starting with teaching myself Turkish because it is more different than what I'm used to, even though I'm a self-taught learner of Italian and German and have managed to reach a B2-C1 level well within a year to a year and a half with each. This book is very well organized and similar to the books I used for Italian and German in terms of its layout: seperated in "Units", introducing grammar concepts, weaved in with a few culture concepts, gradually in a logical, easy-harder way. I've noticed the vocabulary provided with the grammar can tend to be a bit more advanced than what I find fits my learning level (for example, not even knowing how to use the verb "to have" yet introducing words beforehand like conversational phrases and words relating to more advanced topics---"suffering", "to expire", "forgiveness", etc--- though I understand learners don't have to go page-by-page in order like I tend to do as part of my learning style). It is just something I noticed that has stood out to me a bit more. However, other than this the book is very comprehensive with helpful charts, excercises, and a dictionary in the back of it. It seems I am on the right track to reaching a solid intermediate level by the time I will have seen all the concepts provided by the book. Definitely the top source that I have used since beginning my journey with Turkish 3 months ago.

includes a lot of details about Turkish grammar and language rules, very good source to learn the language

Livre pas mal, niveau structure, organisation et contenu.

This is an excellent textbook to learn Turkish. It goes well beyond the basic conversations that are stilted and unnatural that you will see in most language books. I’m here, you are given conversations that will challenge you to look up, think and deduce in order to learn a language. I am only beginning Unit 3 but I e already learned a lot.

Livro excelente com explicações detalhadas.

"The Delights of Learning Turkish" is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to embark on a journey of discovery into the rich and vibrant world of Turkish language and culture. This self-study course book is thoughtfully designed to cater to learners of all levels, providing a comprehensive and engaging approach to language acquisition. One of the standout features of this book is its clear and concise presentation of grammatical concepts. The explanations are easy to understand, even for those new to Turkish, and the accompanying exercises provide ample opportunities for practice and reinforcement. The cultural insights woven throughout the lessons offer a valuable context for understanding the language and its nuances. The audio recordings that accompany the book are particularly helpful for improving pronunciation and listening comprehension. The native speakers provide excellent examples of how Turkish is spoken in everyday conversations, allowing learners to develop a natural-sounding accent. Moreover, "The Delights of Learning Turkish" encourages active engagement with the language through its interactive exercises and cultural activities. These elements make the learning process enjoyable and stimulating, preventing it from becoming monotonous. In conclusion, "The Delights of Learning Turkish" is a highly recommended resource for anyone interested in learning Turkish. Its comprehensive approach, engaging content, and clear explanations make it an ideal companion for both beginners and intermediate learners. If you're looking to embark on a rewarding journey of language learning, this book is a must-have.

The middle page came out on the day I received the book.