Learn how to talk about special offers and discounts
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to TurkishClass101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 11 - What's a Good Price for a Computer in Turkey? Eric here. |
| Elif: Merhaba. I'm Elif. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to understand advertising expressions and inquire about a discount. The conversation takes place at an electronics store. |
| Elif: It's between Ahmet and a shop assistant. |
| Eric: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll use formal Turkish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Merhaba, bugün Android telefon ve tabletlerimizde yüzde otuz indirim var. |
| Ahmet: Evet, televizyonda reklamınızı gördüm ama henüz karar veremedim. Yarın bir daha geleceğim. |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Yalnız indirimimiz sadece bugüne özel. Kuruluşumuzun beşinci yılı bugün. |
| Ahmet: Peki, laptoplarınızda indirim var mı? |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Maalesef yok. İndirim sadece telefon ve tablette geçerli. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Merhaba, bugün Android telefon ve tabletlerimizde yüzde otuz indirim var. |
| Ahmet: Evet, televizyonda reklamınızı gördüm ama henüz karar veremedim. Yarın bir daha geleceğim. |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Yalnız indirimimiz sadece bugüne özel. Kuruluşumuzun beşinci yılı bugün. |
| Ahmet: Peki, laptoplarınızda indirim var mı? |
| Mağaza görevlisi: Maalesef yok. İndirim sadece telefon ve tablette geçerli. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Shop assistant: Hello, we have a thirty percent sale on our Android phones and tablets today. |
| Ahmet: Yes, I saw your advertisement on TV but I can’t decide yet. I’ll come back again tomorrow. |
| Shop assistant: But our discount is exclusive to today. Today's the five-year anniversary of our establishment. |
| Ahmet: Okay, do you have a discount on your laptops? |
| Shop assistant: Unfortunately, no. The discount is valid only for phones and tablets. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Elif, could you tell us something about Internet and Wi-Fi usage in Turkey? When did it become widespread? |
| Elif: After the dial-up era ended in the early 2000s, internet usage finally became widespread in Turkey. Today, more than half of the total population uses the internet, and most households in the urban areas have an internet connection. |
| Eric: If someone happens to not have access, do they have any options? |
| Elif: Internet cafes provide internet to those who don't have a connection at home. Wi-fi is also common in cafes, hotels, malls, and restaurants. |
| Eric: What about electronic devices? |
| Elif: Electronic gadgets like tablets and smartphones are extremely popular, especially with the younger crowd. Chain electronics stores hold annual, semi-annual, and monthly sales in addition to the surprise sales each store holds separately. |
| Eric: Is it easy to buy electronics in Turkey? |
| Elif: The prices of most electronics are indexed to the dollar-TL exchange rate, so you should watch out for fluctuations in the exchange rate. Also, keep in mind that the laptops sold in Turkey all have the Turkish Q-keyboard, which has a couple of extra letters. |
| Eric: To complete this quick cultural insight, what’s the Turkish for “to get internet”? |
| Elif: ...internet bağlatmak. This phrase is a must for anyone who's moving into a new house in Turkey. |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Elif: telefon [natural native speed] |
| Eric: telephone |
| Elif: telefon [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: telefon [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: tablet [natural native speed] |
| Eric: tablet |
| Elif: tablet [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: tablet [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: indirim [natural native speed] |
| Eric: sale, discount |
| Elif: indirim [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: indirim [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: reklam [natural native speed] |
| Eric: advertisement |
| Elif: reklam [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: reklam [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: karar [natural native speed] |
| Eric: decision |
| Elif: karar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: karar [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: özel [natural native speed] |
| Eric: exclusive |
| Elif: özel [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: özel [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: kuruluş [natural native speed] |
| Eric: founding |
| Elif: kuruluş [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: kuruluş [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: laptop [natural native speed] |
| Eric: laptop |
| Elif: laptop [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: laptop [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Elif: maalesef [natural native speed] |
| Eric: unfortunately |
| Elif: maalesef[ slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: maalesef [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Elif: geçerli [natural native speed] |
| Eric: valid |
| Elif: geçerli [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Elif: geçerli [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Elif: karar vermek |
| Eric: ...meaning "to decide." |
| Elif: Karar vermek is made up of karar meaning "decision," and vermek which is "to give." Karar vermek may take personalization suffixes depending on the subject. |
| Eric: It can be used in almost any situation where a decision is made or in a plan-making context, although not that often. |
| Elif: If the decision is one made by an authority like a court, company executive board, city administration, or parliament, karar almak is used instead of karar vermek. The meaning doesn't change but the verb phrase sounds more formal with almak... |
| Eric:... which means “to take.” Can you give us an example using the most common version? |
| Elif: Sure. For example, you can say - Babaları karar vermiş; tatile çıkmayacaklar. |
| Eric: ..which means "Their father has decided; they won't be going on vacation." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Elif: özel |
| Eric: In the dialogue the meaning was "exclusive." |
| Elif: The adjective özel can also mean "private," "special," and "exclusive," but in a store context it means "exclusive.” |
| Eric: It’s a good word to draw in customers. |
| Elif: Right, for example: Size özel indirim, |
| Eric: which means "an exclusive discount for you." |
| Elif: Here’s a sample sentence: Anneler Günü'ne özel kampanyamız başladı. |
| Eric: .. which means "Our exclusive sale for Mother's' Day has begun." In what kind of expression can the same adjective mean “private”? |
| Elif: For example, in özel bilgi, or "private information." |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word?. |
| Elif: peki |
| Eric: ...meaning "alright." |
| Elif: Peki is formed out of two words, pek meaning "very" and iyi, meaning "good." |
| Eric: This is a general affirmative phrase, so it can be used to express agreement when discussing or making plans, sharing opinions, explaining details, and so on. |
| Elif: Tamam is synonymous with peki and often replaces it in informal situations. Also, peki has a more submissive tone than tamam, so using it to express agreement with a friend's suggestion may sound as if you don't really want to go along with that suggestion. On the other hand, repeating peki slowly a couple of times is a common way to calm down the other party in a heated argument. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Elif: Sure. For example, you can say: Peki, toplantıyı iptal edelim. |
| Eric: .. which means "Alright, let's cancel the meeting." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to understand advertising expressions and inquire about a discount. Let’s start by learning how to ask if something is on sale. During sale seasons there are various discounts and offers in shops and department stores, so the prices might be a little bit confusing sometimes. |
| Elif: In such cases, the sentence used in the dialogue can be very useful: Laptoplarınızda indirim var mı? |
| Eric: “Do you have a discount on your laptops?” |
| Elif: Another straight request is Pardon, bu ne kadar? |
| Eric: "Excuse me, how much is this?" |
| Elif: Alternatively, you can ask Pardon, bunun fiyatı nedir? |
| Eric: "Excuse me, what is the price of this?" |
| Elif: If it's the sale season, you can say Bunun indirimli fiyatı ne kadar? or İndirimle kaça gelir? |
| Eric: ...which both mean "What is the sale price for this?" |
| Elif: Although "sale” or “discount" in Turkish is indirim, you might hear kampanya, which also means “sale.” But kampanya is primarily used in sentences like Kampanyamız var. |
| Eric: … meaning “We’re having a sale.” What’s the Turkish for "Is this on sale?" |
| Elif: Bunda indirim var mı? |
| Eric: In the dialogue the shop assistant says “We have a thirty percent sale.” |
| Elif: In Turkish, this is Yüzde otuz indirim var. You can change the numbers and use the expression for any discount expressed with a percentage. For 50% discounts, a shop assistant might tell you Bu ürün yarı fiyatına |
| Eric: “This product is half price,” |
| Elif: ...or simply: Bu ürün yüzde elli indirimli. |
| Eric: “This product is 50% off.” Ok, now let’s review how to make an object plural. |
| Elif: All you need to do is to attach either -ler or -lar to that object. The one you choose depends on the vowel harmony rule. |
| Eric: What are some examples? |
| Elif: tabletler and laptoplar |
| Eric: “tablets” and “laptops.” |
| Elif: If the last vowel in the last syllable is either e, i, ö or ü; then -ler is attached. If the last vowel is either a, ı, o or u; then -lar is chosen. |
| Eric: In Turkish, the subject gets the plural suffix in all cases. In some plural cases, the verb also needs a plural suffix. But there are specific conditions that determine whether the verb of the sentence should get a plural suffix or not. |
| Elif: There are two basic rules. The first states that you may use the verb plural form if the plural subject of the sentence is human. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Elif: Öğrenciler geldiler. |
| Eric: "The students came." |
| Elif: As you can see, “student” is öğrenci. To make it plural we added ler, Öğrenciler. and also the verb gelmek meaning "to come" is in the plural form, geldiler. |
| Eric: Keep in mind that when the plural third-person subject is human, only the plural form of the verb is grammatically correct, even though many people mistakenly use the singular form in written or spoken language. What’s the second rule? |
| Elif: Always use the verb in singular when the subject isn’t human, so if it’s an animal or an object. For example: Filler su içiyor. |
| Eric: "The elephants are drinking water." |
| Elif: "Elephants" is fil followed by ler, "water" is su and “drink” is the verb içmek in the singular form içiyor. |
| Eric: So using the plural form of the verb in this case is a mistake? |
| Elif: Right, that would be grammatically wrong both in written and spoken Turkish. |
| Eric: To wrap up this lesson, let’s give some common vocabulary found in advertisements. |
| Elif: Sure thing! Etiket |
| Eric: “price tag” |
| Elif: 2 al, 1 öde. |
| Eric: “Buy two for the price of one.” |
| Elif: indirime girmek |
| Eric: “to be discounted” |
| Elif: Here is a useful sentence: Etiketinde 50 (elli) TL yazıyordu |
| Eric: "The price was written as 50 TL on the tag." |
| Elif:Akıllı telefonlarda yüzde otuz indirimimiz var. |
| Eric: "We have a 30% sale on our smart phones." |
| Elif: İki elektronik ürün alana üçüncüsü hediye. |
| Eric: "For those customers that buy two electronics, the third product is free." |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Elif: Hoşçakalın. |
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