Customer Reviews

Just Enough Turkish (Just Enough Phrasebook Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...if you are going to Turkey, and you're only going to get one book about the language, this is the one I'd recommend.

My oldest son is marrying a Turkish girl in Istanbul, and while we're all going to join them there for the wedding, I'm trying to learn enough of the language to be able to talk a little, and understand a bit. My second son just wants to get by, my third son is somewhere in between. We are all using this book!

For me, it has been a starter book (though In Flight Turkish was my first and best, since it had a CD to help me comprehend the spoken word). For my two younger sons, it has been a way to learn the essentials for it seems if you are going to another country, you should be able to say some basic things in the language of the country. Each of them has their own, to stick in a pocket or backpack and carry around, stateside and in Turkey.

This book is small (maybe 1/2 inch thick, 6" x 4" in size (or so) and structured in a way even a (brilliant) ten year old finds easy.

A great beginner's book, a getting by book, a getting around book.

My husband (who is Turkish) and I agree that this is the perfect little phrase book to use when I get stuck trying to remember just the right question. With this little book I will be able to ride the bus, go to market, and do other everyday tasks when we move to Turkey in a few monthes without having to carry around several dictionaries all the time. Not only does it have a very easy to use layout and many vocabulary words, but it also has many questions and (most importantly!) several common answers. A really great book for anyone traveling to Turkey!

This book is probably fine if you are seriously planning to learn to speak Turkish, but if you just want a phrase book for your vacation in Turkey it has a fatal flaw - it doesn't have an English/Turkish dictionary! So if you're looking at a menu in Turkish, and want to know what an item is, what do you do? Yes, you can browse through the book looking for the word, but that's hardly convenient. Luckily the tour book I brought did have an English/Turkish dictionary - not a big one, but enough to get by.

I have this book, and it's the best purchase I ever made! It's very simple and direct in its format, and has a really excellent explanation of how to pronounce the words and letters. In fact, of all the Turkish language books I've tried out, this one explains the pronounciation the best.
It focuses on only what is needed to know, if you plan to visit Turkey. If you need a book that will get you started, but don't want something that makes the language more in-depth than you need for your preliminary study -- this is the book to have! Plus, it's really small, so you'll be able to carry it with you in your purse or backpack or briefcase with ease.

I have this book, and it's the best purchase I ever made! It's very simple and direct in its format, and has a really excellent explanation of how to pronounce the words and letters. In fact, of all the Turkish language books I've tried out, this one explains the pronounciation the best.
It focuses on only what is needed to know, if you plan to visit Turkey. If you need a book that will get you started, but don't want something that makes the language more in-depth than you need for your preliminary study -- this is the book to have! Plus, it's really small, so you'll be able to carry it with you in your purse or backpack or briefcase with ease.

The guide did not have anything about using or asking for the location of ATM machines, or how to explain a minor problem using the machine (ie, the machine took my ATM card, how can I get it back?).
It did have extraneous information that I wouldn't think the casual traveler would need (ie, all the cuts of meat from beef and lamb were identified).
Some updating is needed: there are references to film camera (buying supplies for, getting film developed, etc), to Super 8 cameras, etc, but nothing for digital cameras.
On the plus side, the pronunciation guide was helpful.

This book helped out a lot on a recent trip to Istanbul, sometimes it seemed a little mixed up but overall we found the book quite good at basic Turkish phrases and words, used it daily.

I used this book with Rick Steve's Istanbul and they made a great pairing. I found this the most useful for eating out. We liked going to non touristy restaurants - many of which did not have English menus or English speaking staff. I was able to use this book on many occasions to both read menus but also request something that I wanted. it also helped me with a list of local foods to make sure I was trying local things. I was able to mark different words in the book and use them as I kept my travel journal to describe the event or experience.

This book was very inexpensive and I used it so much. I would recommend it to anyone going to Turkey.

This little book has been very helpful. It is small so it will be easy to put in my purse and carry with me. My friend that I will be traveling with that knows Turkish said this is the book that will help me the most.
Thanks

I found this book to not be very useful. It was lacking in providing many words and phrases that would have been helpful during my visit to Turkey.