Translations and Other Language Solutions in Turkish Language

More than 63 million people around the world know Turkish, which makes it the biggest language in the Turkic family. Turkish language speakers mainly live in Turkey and Cyprus, as well as in small communities in Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and Uzbekistan. A few million Turkish speakers live in western European countries as well, especially in Germany. More than two million people who know Turkish live in Germany. The Turkish language is the official language of Turkey, and it is one of the official languages of Cyprus. It also has an official language status in some municipalities of North Macedonia, depending on the number of Turkish speakers in the area, and in the district of Prizren in Kosovo. Turkish is used by inhabitants of Turkey and by minorities in 35 countries. The Turkish language is spread in those countries or areas that used to belong to the Ottoman Empire, for example, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Syria, Greece, and Israel. A noticeable number of Turkish language speakers also live in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Because of the influence of integration, most immigrants of Turkish origin living abroad do not know the Turkish language as well as Turks living in Turkey. Almost all permanent residents of Turkey know Turkish, the rest are dominantly Kurds. The Turkish language is a second language for the majority of people of other nationalities in Turkey, however, their level of Turkish is the same as their native language.

TURKISH LANGUAGE INTERPRETER AND TRANSLATOR

Turkish is the 12^th most spoken language in the world. Turkey quickly developed an economy that helps itself play an important role in international business. That is why learning the Turkish language is useful, especially for private individuals and companies that are interested in entrepreneurship in Turkey. Carrier opportunities in Turkey are wide in various fields too, starting with politics, technologies, the financial sector, and ending with tourism. If you surprise your cooperative partner in Turkey with knowledge of their native language, you can be assured that the cooperation agreement is already signed. How do business discussions with a Turkish businessman happen? Official meetings in the office environment alternate with informal discussions in cafés and hotel lounges. In both cases, it is vague without a concrete plan. In business-like discussions, Turks joke little and unnoticeable. They tend to speak straightforwardly and are unwilling say “no”. Being polite and seeking an agreement or a compromise is much more important than informing or explaining and justifying the differences of opinions. That is why the atmosphere during conversations is usually positive, though its result is often unclear. Moreover, oral communication dominates in Turkish culture, which is why the said and heard carries more weight than written. The majority of deals happen during an oral agreement and it is difficult to get a written affirmation. It is not easy to learn Turkish for those who know European languages, especially because the formation of adjectives and sentence order for is outlandish for the European mindset. Educated inhabitants of Turkey can speak English, older people know French. There is a bigger possibility to communicate in German with the rest, especially outside the bigger cities. The Turkish language, unfortunately, does not have a big role in business outside Turkey.

Ethnic minorities and their culture are an integral and important part of Latvian society. Turkish Latvians are one of the numerically small minorities of Latvia. According to the portal of official statistics of Latvia, in 2021, 253 Turks were living in Latvia. In the 19^th century, the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire would often be at war. The last war between these two large empires started in 1877. It lasted for two years and is notable for the fact that general martial law was introduced in the Russian Empire at that time. More than one Latvian would appear in the warzone of Russians and Turks. Later, hundreds of Turks came to the banks of the Gauja as war prisoners. The first Turks came to Latvia in winter of 1877 when they were brought to regions of Cēsis and Līvāni as war prisoners. Some of the war prisoners eventually died due to the unsuitable weather conditions and various diseases but others were in the end set free and stayed to live in the city of Cēsis. Turkish cemeteries found in Cēsis are recognised as one of the 100 extraordinary culture heritages of Latvia. The diplomatic relations between Latvia and Turkey were founded in January of 1925. Turkey never recognised Latvia’s annexation and incorporation to USSR. Since 1994, various agreements have been made in fields of tourism, military teaching, defence, education, science, culture, and sport. In 2005, a contract was made between governments of both countries about collaboration in education, science, culture and sport – it provided scholarships to study Latvian language and literature. Students and teaching staff from Turkey can apply for a scholarship provided by the Ministry of Education and Science for study or research in Latvia’s higher education institutions or for participating in summer schools organised by the higher institutions. There is a collaboration in some cultural fields, for example, literature, cinema, music, and dance, cultural education, and art. The Latvian Academy of Culture has a subprogram “Connections between cultures Latvia-Turkey”. The program has been supported by the Turkish embassy and Yunus Emre Institute for several years now. The Latvian Academy of Culture also cooperates within the Erasmus+ program. There are agreements with 14 higher education institutions. There is a positive dynamic in the bilateral relations of both countries. Latvia and Turkey have shown a will to continue the political dialogue, higher level of exchange visits, and promote a more active economical collaboration. The Turkish embassy in Latvia looks after its citizens in Latvia. It is possible to learn Turkish in Latvia in some language schools and also at the University of Latvia.