The Phrase book - Turkish pronunciation

Turkish is a very phonetic language, so pronunciation is very easy.  Most words are pronounced exactly as they are spelled.

ü is exactly pronounced like “u” in French, like “tu”.

ğ is in most cases a silent letter. It has a unique sound to it when pronounced separately

(The closest would be the “r” sound in French, but ğ is not a guttural letter).

Today, ğ is used;

·         as a vowel lengthener, that is, it lengthens the vowel that precedes it.

Dağ (“daa”) “mountain”

Ağlamak (“aalamak”) “to cry”

Ağaç (“aaç”) “tree”

·         in the middle of two vowels to connect them.

Eğilmek “to stoop”, eğitim “education”.

ı is pronounced like the “e” sound of “kommen” in German. It is an undotted i in appearance.

kâ is pronounced like the “qua” sound in “quatre” in French.

gâ is pronounced in a similar way, similar to “gare” in French.

lâ is pronounced like the “la” sound in French.