Why Learn Turkish?
The idea of learning Turkish is strange for most American students;
but that rapidly changes to a sense of excitement as soon as the career opportunities and adventure of Turkey are
discovered. Its central connections to Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East make doing business in
Turkey a necessity.
Since pre-historic times, Turkey has been the vital bridge between Europe
and the Middle East. Its mighty Ottoman Empire consolidated much of Eastern Europe and the Middle East into one
great civilization until the early 20th century. The flavor of Turkish culture is richly cosmopolitan, a sophisticated
mix of ancient traditions in a contemporary Geist.
For Americans, Turkey's liberal political and intellectual climate bridging
East and West, traditional and modern, is a comforting environment. Learning Turkish gives access to many new opportunities
for business, scientific and technological research, and for scholarship and journalism. Currently, students in
Turkey are learning English at a record rate, while few Americans learn Turkish: to offset that imbalance of skill
and opportunity, there is great need for Americans to meet the creative challenge of learning Turkish.
Here is a listing of very practical reasons for undertaking the Turkish
adventure in learning:
- Turkey is a major power in the Middle East with a population of more than
63 million. Uniquely positioned between Europe and Asia geographically, culturally and politically, Turkey was
invited to become a member nation of the European Union in 1999. Turkey is also a long time member of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
- Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Turkey continues forming close
cultural and business ties within the emerging Turkic states of the Caucus and Central Asia. Turkey is looked up
to as successful inspiration to other other Turkic peoples.
- Turkish is a key for accessing Turkic languages spoken by tens of millions
of people in the Near East, the former Soviet Union, China, and the Balkans — all regions of vital strategic importance
in the world today, including Uzbek, Tatar, Kazakh, Azeri and Turkmen.
- Modern Turkish is extremely helpful as a foundation skill if you are interested
in learning the classical Ottoman Turkish.
- According to The Wall Street Journal (March 1, 1995), "the U.S. Commerce
Department has identified Turkey as one of the 10 emerging markets that will drive global growth in the next 15
years." Few are prepared to take advantage of that opportunity; learning Turkish positions you for successes
others let pass them by.
- Business partnerships with Turkey and the USA are steadily growing, creating
an ever increasing demand for educated Americans fluent in Turkish and with knowledge and understanding of both
cultures. If you plan to enter government service or to do business in Turkey, fluency in Turkish is indispensable
to your success. Business opportunities are rapidly opening in Turkey, and its pending membership in the European
Union will only enhance its global business importance.
- Numberous career opportunities already exist in technology, archaeology,
computer science, ecological and environmental studies, and will grow with Turkey's ever increasing emergence as
a central economic power.
- For students of political science and history specializing in Eastern European,
Ottoman or modern Turkey, Turkish language skills open seldom entered research opportunities.
- Anatolia, the territory of modern Turkey, has been the heartland of human
civilization since 7,000 BCE. In Turkey, you can explore pre-historic Çatal Hoyuk, walk the routes travelled
by Saint Paul, storm the city of Troy, visit the village of the last home of Mary (mother of Jesus), behold the
sanctuary of Saint Nicholas, stroll on the shores where Homer visited and Cleopatra swam, and experience the alluring
mystery of the whirling Dervishes.
- Studying Turkish immerses you in Turkish cultural heritages - fine and
performing arts, music, the Muslim religion - and gives you a depth of understanding far surpassing the shallow
stereotypes of popular journalism. Such understanding makes you a valuable assett to corporations, government and
other organizations promoting productive alliances with the Middle East.
- Turkish is FUN! With a Web of their own, Turkish students learn great jokes
heightening cross-cultural understanding, play games, and gain cultural understanding through cybermedia bringing
them into the music, events and youth culture of modern Turkey.
|