Throughout our Turkish Citizenship by Investment journey, many have asked us if we speak Turkish.
Put simply… no. Aside from fundamentals.
I have always had a brain for languages and can still get by in the Spanish and French I took in school. But Turkish is a whole different structure — nothing like the Romance Languages of my past.
Which just provides an additional challenge — I’m not shying away from it!
Many speak at least basic English, if not better. In fact, Turks are usually eager to practice their English when you’re out and about, so I have had to specify that I’m trying to practice, too! It makes me feel better that some of the other expats we’ve met, even after a year of residency, are still at the Sesame Street level. We’re not alone!
While there are many apps available for foreign language learning, nothing beats sitting down with a native speaker and just chatting. (I made some local friends from a Duolingo Spanish conversation group — so I’m not totally against apps!)
In our recent trip to Istanbul, in fact, I felt so rudimentary in my communication that I couldn’t help but think of the famous ESL scene from Stripes…
Immersion will be the best classroom once we’re able to be there longer-term!