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DFW

(59,926 posts)
21. Though I've never been there myself
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 02:43 AM
Jan 21

I had several Turkish friends while in college, and there are several million “Turks” in Germany. Not all those of Turkish nationality are ethnic Turks, of course. My best “Turkish” pal in my town outside Düsseldorf is an Alawite Kurd, whose language is related to Kurdish, sort of like German and Dutch, but is not so close as to be mutually intelligible, such as Swedish and Norwegian. He is fluent in Turkish because there were no schools in Alawite Kurdish where he grew up. He has taught me a few phrases in his language, but it is not a written language as far as I know, so I have no reference to fall back on. My friends in college taught me enough Turkish to pass for one for about 15 seconds. Then my vocabulary runs out. But apparently my accent is convincing. I once met a Turk at the cashier at a Cape Cod supermarket. He was speaking in English with some other guys from around the Middle East. I spoke my few words if Turkish to him, and he asked me where I was from. I said right here, USA. He said, “oh sure you are. I think you’re another Turk who speaks really good English.” It took me another minute to convince him I wasn’t.

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