Introduction
Merhaba! The Turkish Studies Program of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University offers Turkish language courses at all levels (elementary, intermediate, advanced), as well as other courses on Turkish culture, and literature. All language courses of the Turkish Studies Program are open as electives to students from all faculties. Students completing four half-courses of Turkish Language courses beyond the first-year level and/or half-courses taught primarily in Turkish can receive printed citations along with their diplomas. To learn more on Citations in Foreign Languages click here.

An undergraduate degree in the Turkish program may be obtained in combination with other programs. Undergraduate students with advanced standing have the option of applying for a joint A.B./A.M. degree. All concentrators must complete at least four semesters of a departmental language. To further this goal, as well as to provide prolonged exposure to the civilizations of the region, the Department encourages a junior year abroad in Turkey, provided that course work completed abroad falls within the concentration and is approved by the student's advisor.

The Turkish Program has several activities jointly coordinated with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. A lecture series on Modern Turkey and another with topics on the Ottoman Empire are taking place at the CMES. Turkish films with English subtitles are regularly screened for Harvard affiliates. Historians of the Ottoman Empire, an on-line bio-bibliographical encyclopedia project, was launched by the faculty members of the Turkish Studies Program in 2003.

Some Facts About Turkish Language
Turkish, a member of the Turkic subdivision of the Altaic language family and the successor of Ottoman-Turkish, is a so-called agglutinative language. That means many suffixes can be attached to words, such as reflexive, passive and case endings. Some words may have meanings, that would correspond to long sentences in English for example:

Amerika-li-las¸-tir-ama-dik-lar-imiz-dan-sin
'You are one of those, whom we could not make American'.

This is an exaggerated example, but putting the suffixes into the right order is one of the difficulties for learners. But the good news: There is neither gender nor definite articles in Turkish! And an English speaker would be able to recognize a remarkable number of words borrowed from French and English. Another peculiarity of Turkish is its vowel harmony. Generally, the vowels of a word must be either back or front, and the vowels of suffixes attached to them usually adjust themselves.

Ottoman-Turkish was written with the Arabic script. Changing the Arabic script was a much discussed issue in the second half of the 19th century. The change into the Latin alphabet came in 1928 along with many other reforms in Turkey. Some letters had diacritics added, such as 'ç' (/ch/) and the unique letter 'yumus¸ak g' or the 'soft g'. The letters q, x and, w are not used in the Modern Turkish alphabet.

Today, the standard high Turkish is referred to as Istanbul Türkçesi, or Istanbul Turkish. Turkish is spoken by the natives of Turkey as a mother tongue (~60 million people), and a significant number of Turks living outside of Turkey (Cyprus, Balkans, Europe). Other modern Turkic languages have many common features with Turkey Turkish, be it in grammar or lexically. Especially Gagauz (spoken in Moldova), Azeri (spoken in Azerbaijan), and Turkmen (spoken in Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan) are close to Turkey Turkish. The mastery of Turkey Turkish is certainly a key to learning other Turkic languages as well.

TURKISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
General
Basic Turkish is a two-year program that comprises Elementary Turkish (a full-year course; indivisible for credit) and Intermediate Turkish 120a (Fall) and 120b (Spring). To attend intermediate Turkish students have to successfully complete Elementary Turkish or equivalent, this is also the minimum requirement to be admitted to Ottoman Turkish 140 courses. Ph.D. candidates should demonstrate a command of at least advanced intermediate level of Modern Turkish at the outset and normally start with Advanced Turkish 130a and 130b courses.

Students pursuing a graduate degree in Turkish Studies are required to meet the general graduate requirements for all students pursuing graduate degrees in the Department of Near Eastern Language and Civilizations.

Dictionaries
• A good updated dictionary is The Larger Redhouse Portable Dictionary (Eng-Tk; Tk-Eng). Istanbul: several reprints, (ISBN 975 8176 03 X). The dictionary is available at the COOP. ~ $60.

•If you are going to read Turkish from the mid-20th century The Oxford Turkish-English
Dictionary and An English-Turkish Dictionary by H.C. Hony and F. Iz. (Oxford: several reprints) will be very helpful to you. The dictionary is out of print but can easily be found through 2nd hand bookshops.

•If you plan to continue your studies with Ottoman Turkish Redhouse Turkish/Ottoman-English Dictionary (Tk-Eng) (Istanbul: several reprints; ISBN 975 8176 11 0) is a good dictionary. This is an updated version of Sir James Redhouse's original Turkish-English Lexicon, published in 1890. Not so up-to-date on neologisms and current terminology, but it is a must for those who will have to read materials from late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Ottoman spelling of each entry is also given in the Ottoman script.

•Students are encouraged not to use dictionaries in the first semester.

Notes on the Courses
•All classes start at 7 minutes past the hour.
•Turkish A usually meets at least one week during the reading periods.
• Regular Harvard and other students may NOT audit Turkish courses under any circumstances.
• Attendance and coming on time to all classes, including sections, is compulsory. If you have to miss classes due to circumstances beyond your control, you should inform the instructor or the teaching fellow that you will not be able to attend a certain class in advance. Missing classes and coming late frequently will effect the grading negatively.
• There are constant assignments in all courses. All assignments will be corrected and returned to the students without delay. There is no letter grading for the assignments, but turning them in is important for the instructors to monitor your progress.
•H. Karateke teaches on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. These classes will cover all structural explanations, drills and exercises. Mondays and Thursday classes are going to be taught by the teaching fellow. Do not expect any structural explanations in these sections. All of the class time will be devoted to the active participation of the students doing drills, exercises, situational practices and conversation.

Turkish A: Elementary Modern Turkish
Catalog Number: 2527
Hakan T. Karateke
Full course (indivisible). M. through F., at 9. EXAM GROUP: 3, 12
Note: Not open to auditors.
Course Website
Emphasis on all aspects of Turkish grammar toward developing a solid foundation for speaking, listening, reading, writing, and vocabulary skills. This course is two semesters and indivisable.

Materials
• Yas¸ayan Türkçe [Living Turkish]. An unpublished textbook by Engin Sezer. Chapters of this book will be distributed in the class, the rest is to be reproduced at the copy shop. Usually the pace of the course is one chapter per week, however certain topics may need more attention. The goal is to cover 10 chapters each semester.
• Konus¸malar [Dialogues]. A series of unpublished dialogues prepared by Selim Kuru, that run parallel with Sezer's grammar book. Students will do the weekly fill-in-the-blank exercises at home. The dialogues are accessible through: http://lrcnt.fas.harvard.edu

Evaluation
• Homework assignments (Exercises from Yas¸ayan Türkçe, compositions, etc.) 25 %
• Quizzes: A quiz every Friday, starting the second week. One week only vocabulary [10 min], other weeks grammar + vocabulary [20 min]. Students will receive a list of new vocabulary every week ('Her hafta 30 kelime'); these will build the basis of vocabulary quizzes - cumulatively 25 %
• Written final exam : 30 %
• Rapor: Everyone will write a report of what s/he did during the week and plan to do the coming week. The first rapor is due on February 10. The raporlar will be collected by the teaching fellow on Thursdays and returned on Mondays. 10 %
• Each student will make a 15 minutes presentation during the semester. The dates are to be arranged. 5 %
• Participation: 5 %
• Students who are not satisfied with their quiz grades can write an essay of 1,5 page describing a travel experience of theirs, or a movie they like, etc. This will count as 25 % and the final note will be calculated out of 125. Please inform Hakan Karateke if you want to do so in the beginning of November or April.

Turkish 120a: Intermediate Turkish I
Catalog Number: 4009
Hakan T. Karateke
Half course (fall term). M., Tu, Th., and F., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 2, 11
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Turkish A or equivalent.
Course Website
Emphasis on complex sentence structure and building communicative competence in describing events and expressing ideas through exercises in reading, writing, and speaking. Some of the topics that will be covered are the passive, the comparative and superlative, and complement clauses. There are weekly composition assignments.

Materials
• Some chapters of the unpublished reader by Engin Sezer will be distributed in the class.
• Müge Galin. Turkish Sampler: Writings For All Readers. Indiana, 1989.

Evaluation
• Homework assignments. 15 %
• 3 quizzes (~30 min.): 15 %
• Final. 20 %
• Weekly composition assignments (1 page). Students will rewrite corrected compositions in a separate notebook and these will be collected in the last week of classes. 20 %
• Translation of a (semi-)academic and a literary text from Turkish into English; 3 pages written in Times New Roman 12 pts.; double line spacing; margins: top/bottom: 1"; left/right: 1.25". 20 %
• Each student will make a 15 minutes presentation on any topic in the last two weeks of the classes and answer questions from the other students. 5 %
• Participation. 5 %
• Those who are not satisfied with the grades of their quizzes can write a two page essay (~500 words). This will count as 20 % and the final note will be calculated out of 120. Please talk to Hakan Karateke to qualify for this homework after the second quiz.

Turkish 120b: Intermediate Turkish II
Catalog Number: 1394
Hakan T. Karateke
Half course (spring term). M., Tu, Th., and F., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 2, 11
Studies in argumentative and literary prose.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Turkish 120a or equivalent.
Course Website
Emphasis on complex sentence structure and building communicative competence in describing events and expressing ideas through exercises in reading, writing, and speaking. Emphasis will be given to speaking and listening. There are weekly composition assignments. A Turkish film will be watched. Note that this course is conducted fully in Turkish.

Materials
• Müge Galin. Turkish Sampler: Writings For All Readers. Indiana, 1989.
• Reading material will be distributed in the class.

Evaluation
• Quizzes: A quiz every Thursday, starting February 17. Students will receive a list of new vocabulary every week ('Her hafta 20 kelime'); these will build the basis of vocabulary quizzes -- cumulatively ! 10 %
• 2 mid-terms: March 11; April 15. 15 %
• Final 20 % grammar, reading, listening, translation.
• Weekly composition assignments (1 page). Students will rewrite corrected compositions in a separate notebook and these will be collected in the last week of classes. 20 %
• Translation of a (semi-)academic and a literary text from Turkish into English; 3 pages written in Times New Roman 12 pts.; double line spacing; margins: top/bottom: 1"; left/right: 1,25". (To be delivered on May 1.) 15 %
• Debates. There will be three debates during the semester (February 25, March 18, April 22). A group of students will argue pro and the other contra the subject. They are expected to come very well-prepared in the subject, preferably with hand-outs. Every group will make a 5 minute introductory presentation and then the debate will last the rest of the hour. 10 %
• Each student will make a 15 minutes presentation on any topic in the last two weeks of the classes and answer questions from the other students. 10 %
• Participation. 5 %
• Those who are not satisfied with the grades of their quizzes can write a two page essay (~500 words). This will count as 20 % and the final note will be calculated out of 120. Please talk to Hakan Karateke to qualify for this homework after the second quiz.

Turkish 130a: Advanced Turkish I
Catalog Number: 6964
Hakan T. Karateke
Half course (fall term). M., through F., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4, 13
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Turkish 120b or equivalent.
Course Website
Gaining and improving advanced language skills in Modern Turkish through reading, writing, listening, and speaking with special emphasis on the proper usage of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. This course is conducted fully in Turkish. Every meeting consists of three parts. In the first hour we work on our conversation skills. We either chat about general subjects or one of the four debates takes place. In the second hour we work on a text that was translated as homework by the students. And in the third hour we watch a Turkish film. I distribute a script of the part we are going to watch with many blanks and the students should fill in the blanks while watching the film.

Evaluation
•Weekly compositions, (1,5 pages). 30 %
•Translation of two academic and two literary texts from Turkish into English; 3 pages written in Times New Roman 12 pts.; double line spacing; margins: top/bottom: 1"; left/right: 1,25". 25 %
•Debates: There will be four debates during the semester. A group of students will argue pro and the other contra the subject. They are expected to come very well-prepared in the subject, preferably with hand-outs. Every group will make a 5 to 10 minute introductory presentation and then the debate will last one hour. 20 %
Participation: 25 %

Turkish 130b: Advanced Turkish II
Catalog Number: 4354
Hakan T. Karateke
Half course (spring term). W 1-4pm. EXAM GROUP: 4, 13
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Turkish 130a or equivalent.
Course Website
Gaining and improving advanced language skills in Modern Turkish through reading, writing, listening, and speaking with special emphasis on the proper usage of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. This course is conducted fully in Turkish. Every meeting consists of three parts. In the first hour we work on our conversation skills. We either chat about general subjects or one of the four debates takes place. In the second hour we work on a text that was translated as homework by the students. And in the third hour we watch a Turkish film. I distribute a script of the part we are going to watch with many blanks and the students should fill in the blanks while watching the film.

Evaluation
•Weekly compositions, (1,5 pages). 30 %
• Quizzes: A quiz every third week (February 23, March 16, April 6, April 27). Students will receive a list of new vocabulary every week ('Her hafta 20 kelime'); these will build the basis of vocabulary quizzes -- cumulatively ! 15 %
•Translation of one academic and one literary texts from Turkish into English; 3 pages written in Times New Roman 12 pts.; double line spacing; margins: top/bottom: 1"; left/right: 1,25". To be delivered on the following days: March 23, May 4. 25 %
•Debates: There will be four debates during the semester (February 23, March 16, April 6, April 27). A group of students will argue pro and the other contra the subject. They are expected to come very well-prepared in the subject, preferably with hand-outs. Every group will make a 5 to 10 minute introductory presentation and then the debate will last one hour. 15 %
•Participation: 15 %

Turkish 141: Ottoman Biographical Dictionaries
Catalog Number: 3234
Half course (spring term). F., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Course Website
This seminar investigates the rich tradition of Ottoman biographical dictionaries from the beginning to the end of 19th century. Biographical dictionaries listing scholars, masters of religious orders, poets, and others will be read from primary sources and explored.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Ottoman Turkish.

Evaluation
• A presentation in class. 15 %
• A term paper of 20 pages. Due on May 20, 2005. 50 %
• Participation and preperation for the readings. 35 %

I took the liberty of borrowing some of the explanations from the former Modern Turkish webpage, which was prepared by Prof. Engin Sezer (Bilkent University). I also want to express my gratitude to Prof. Selim Kuru (University of Washington) for his many ideas which I made great use of. --Hakan Karateke.

Ottoman Summer School
For more information about the Harvard-Koç University Intensive Ottoman & Turkish Summer School in Turkey, Cunda / Ayvalik - Turkey, please click here.

Affiliated Faculty:
Cemal Kafadar, Vehbi Koc Professor of Turkish Studies