Greetings in Turkish

In this very short first video, we wanted to highlight the greeting-introduction dialogue, and the language used by the students when they are talking to each other and with teachers. In Turkish, there are formal and informal usages both in greetings and introductions.

Introductions – Greetings

In English, some word and question patterns in introduction-greeting dialogues have formal and informal usages as well. Formal usage is achieved by using both “siz” and the suffixes at the end of the words. While “What is your name?” “Welcome” are colloquial uses, ” What is your name?” “Welcome” are formal versions.

How are you? How are you? Whats up?

A comparable usage is the question “How are you?”. “How are you?” Is the formal and plural form; “How are you?” Is the informal one. Apart from these, the question “N’aber?” Is especially common in teenagers; It is only used by peers. Asking “What’s up?” To people who address you as “you” is not welcome.

In this video, students are using colloquial phrases while greeting each other and formal version with their teachers.

When is it “you”? When is it “you”?

• If you’re meeting with a person for the first time or do not know them at all, or even if you know that person,
• If this person is considerably older than you,
• If this person is your teacher, supervisor, boss or a distant colleague,

It is appropriate to address this person as ” you “. After meeting for the first time, if you continue to socialize with this person, ” sen ” can be used. In our culture, ” respect for the elders ” is an important value, and therefore it is normal for older people to address younger people as “you” even if they’re meeting for the first time. On the other hand, children are expected to address elders as “siz” in social settings, however in a family environment, how to address elders is dependent on familial relations.

If you meet with Turkish people;

Turkish people are friendly people. They love to meet with new people and chat.

In the survey we conducted, foreigners’ responses on this matter are as follows:

“The people are very friendly.

“Turkish people love socializing and chatting.”

“They are friendly and love to talk by touching. They send ‘Hi’ to everyone.”

Do you have any children? ”

“I do not know what to expect.”

Do not be surprised if you see such behavior from the Turkish people you meet. These observations are correct, but not applicable to every setting and person. Especially in formal settings, you do not see such behavior.

But it’s a fact that the Turkish people are warm and friendly, and do not like the formalities very much.

Ayşin Önder

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