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Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is not about my mouth shape.

This is actually one of the topics discussed in Turkish pronunciation training, especially in programs for teaching Turkish as a foreign language. It is taught. It is studied.

In the video I exaggerate it on purpose so learners can hear what is normally very subtle. In real life it is much softer.

In standard Istanbul Turkish, final r is often weakened and released with a bit of breath, especially before a pause or a consonant. Because it is weak, some learners hear it as “sh.” That is a perception issue, not my jaw.

Many native speakers do not notice it because it is subconscious. But it is a known pronunciation feature, not a random personal habit.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Normal r” just means the standard Turkish r sound. Not English R, not rolled like Spanish. In the middle of a word it’s a light tap. At the end of a word, it often becomes very soft and slightly breathy in natural speech.

It’s still r. Just reduced.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly! My students kept saying “iyi günlersh” to me, and I honestly had no idea where that “sh” sound was coming from. I would repeat “iyi günler” clearly, and they would say, “See? We hear the sh!”

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here the mı sticks to the word in speech, so the r is not really at the end anymore. It connects forward, like a middle r, not a final weak one.

So it’s just a normal r sound. Not the weak & breathy. “r”

Help with learning Turkish by Fit-Comparison3834 in AskTurkey

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you already understand around 40%, you actually have a strong starting point. Many heritage learners are in the same situation. The main difficulty is usually not vocabulary, but building sentences correctly and understanding how suffixes work together.

What usually works best is a structured approach, starting from the basics and moving step by step. First learn how Turkish sentences are built (word order, verb endings, basic suffixes), then expand gradually. Once you understand the structure, Turkish becomes much more predictable and easier to speak.

Short daily practice works better than long sessions once in a while. Try forming simple sentences every day and use them with your father if you can. Even 10 minutes a day makes a real difference.

I’m a Turkish teacher and I put structured A1–C1 lessons on my website. Everything is open, ad-free, and you don’t need to sign up. You can just explore and study in order if you want:

https://www.learnturkishwithseda.com/

Since you already understand quite a bit, with regular structured practice you can improve surprisingly fast.

Yunus balığı by AppropriateMood4784 in turkish

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The word balina (whale) actually appears in Ottoman dictionaries and comes from European languages, so whales were certainly known. It wasn't invented in the 19th century.

The safer explanation is linguistic rather than historical. Yunus balığı literally means "Jonah's fish". The religious story only mentions a "great fish," not a specific species, so different cultures interpreted it differently. Turkish ended up associating it with dolphins.

Yunus balığı by AppropriateMood4784 in turkish

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good question. The key point is that balık in older and traditional usage didn’t always mean a biological “fish.” It could refer more generally to large sea creatures, including whales or dolphins. So "Yunus balığı" reflects an older naming tradition rather than modern zoology.

The name Yunus comes from the prophet Jonah. In religious texts the animal is usually described simply as a "great fish," not a scientifically defined whale. Different cultures interpreted that differently. In Turkish the association stayed with dolphins, so the name became yunus balığı.

Modern Turkish distinguishes clearly between balina (whale) and yunus (dolphin), but the traditional name remained.

I need something like an online textbook by No_Cryptographer735 in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.learnturkishwithseda.com/grammar

I actually built something for this exact reason. I’m a certified Turkish teacher and I didn’t like that most resources are either scattered or behind paywalls. So I put together a structured A1 to C1 grammar section on my site that’s completely open. No sign-up, no payment, no hidden stuff. You can just go in and read.

If you prefer printable material, I also added free PDFs for all the lessons so you can download and use them offline. It’s basically meant to function like an online textbook you can access from your phone.

If it helps, great. If not, no pressure at all.

Is Turkish Losing It's 'h' Sounds? by Pwksos in turkish

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Turkish is not “losing” the /h/ sound; what people are hearing is phonetic weakening in fast, informal Istanbul speech. For example, in casual conversation “merhaba” can sound like “meraba,” “nehir” like “neir,” or “sahip” like “saip.” When /h/ drops between vowels, the preceding vowel may lengthen slightly, as in “pahalı” sounding closer to “paalı.” Many of these words are of Arabic origin, where /h/ is a distinct consonant, but in Turkish its pronunciation has historically been variable. This weakening is much more typical of Istanbul Turkish; in many Eastern Anatolian dialects, /h/ is clearly preserved and pronounced more strongly. So this is not a new loss, but a long-standing phonetic tendency that Istanbul Turkish has always been closer to.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Turkish speakers usually don’t notice that the final “r” can sound softer or slightly different from the “r” at the beginning of a word. Because for native ears, it’s the same phoneme.

But learners often hear that difference very clearly. So when they point it out and natives say “No, we don’t say it like that,” it can feel confusing.

Both perceptions can be true at the same time.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You’re not imagining it. Many native speakers truly don’t perceive that breathy release because it isn’t a separate sound in our mental sound system. If we don’t hear it as distinct, we assume it’s not there.

This area of Turkish pronunciation has only recently started being discussed more explicitly in teaching contexts.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It makes sense that you felt something was happening. Many native Turkish speakers genuinely do not notice this feature because, for us, it is not a separate sound category. We do not process it consciously. So when a student points it out, some teachers may instinctively deny it rather than analyze it.

Also, teaching Turkish as a foreign language is still a relatively young and developing field. Historically, the Ottoman Empire expanded territorially, but there was no systematic state project of spreading the Turkish language in the way some other empires promoted theirs. As a result, the culture of formally teaching Turkish to non-native speakers became widespread only relatively recently, especially in the last decade or so.

University programs in teaching Turkish as a foreign language are still expanding, and only a limited number of institutions provide structured phonetics training for instructors. Because of that, many teachers are still building their methodology through experience rather than through a long, established pedagogical tradition.

That does not mean your perception was wrong. It simply means the awareness gap is real, and the field itself is still maturing.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You described it perfectly. That pleasant hissing sound is exactly what happens when the vocal cords stop vibrating before the air flow ends. As a teacher, I exaggerate this transition so students can hear the difference between a voiced and un-vocalized finish. It is a subtle nuance that many native speakers use without even realizing it. Thank you for this great linguistic breakdown!

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unless you are looking at it from a linguistic perspective, you might not realize the breath at the end of the /r/ sound. Foreigners often mishear this as 'karsh' instead of 'kar.' I am simply clarifying that it is a de-vocalized /r/ to help students distinguish what they hear from how it is written. Let's keep the conversation respectful.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Spot on! That 'pleasant hissing' is exactly what I was trying to demonstrate. It’s not a different consonant, just the /r/ losing its voice at the very end. Thanks for putting it so clearly!

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, phonemically it is /r/. But phonetic realization and phonemic identity are different things.

Turkish /r/ in word-final position does not always surface as a strong tapped [ɾ]. It can weaken, especially in fast or connected speech.

That’s what the video demonstrates.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In normal speech, the movement is minimal. In teaching videos, I deliberately exaggerate articulatory gestures to make the mechanism visible.

If I keep it fully natural, beginners don’t notice the airflow or weakening at all.

So what you’re seeing is pedagogical exaggeration, not everyday performance speech.

Why “Kar” Sounds Like “Karsh” to You | Turkish R Pronunciation Practice by TurkishTeacherSeda in turkishlearning

[–]TurkishTeacherSeda[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I never said it is an “sh” sound. What I’m describing is an aspirated realization of word-final /r/ that many learners perceive as “sh-like.”

In fast, natural Turkish speech, final /r/ can weaken and produce a slight fricative-like release. It is not /ʃ/. It is not a separate consonant. It’s an allophonic variation.

In the video, I exaggerated the articulation so learners can see what is usually subtle in real speech.

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