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Learning Turkish Language Difficulties Am I to infer that you doubt me? Have we had a miş-understanding...? Related pages: Translating Turkish, the basics Translating Turkish, advanced Essential Turkish Vocabulary Turkish Verbs Essential Idioms, Index Essential Suffixes, Index Sentence Structure, Standard Sentence Structure Variations Turkish Pronunciation Turkish Accenting Numbers in Turkish Other Turkish Language Difficulties Ben mişlere muşlara pek kulak vermem; I don't pay much heed to gossip (I don't much give my ear to mişes and muşes). Special Turkish Language Verb for Inference and Doubt Turkish has an unusual verb form that is hard to give a name to. It denotes an uncertainty about the truth of the sentence that it appears in, for example, I heard he was good in bed. You can identify it by the presence of the three character suffix miş (and its spelling variations...). Unfortunately, miş also appears in other circumstances, so it's not a unique identifier. Some linguists have called it a Dubitative tense, others an Inferential tense, and the travel writer Mary Lee Settle has referred to it as "a verb tense for rumor and innuendo"! Well, they may all be right... Let's illustrate it and then discuss it. Compare the following sentences... The Turkish The English The comments... 1) Geliyor. She is coming. You (the speaker) know it first hand... 2) Geldi. She came. You know it first hand... 3) Gelmişti. She had come. You know it first hand... 4) Geliyormuş. I heard that she is coming. Was your source any good? Who told you? 5) Gelmiş. Reportedly, she has come. Reportedly, huh? That sounds pretty official. I guess I should believe you... 6) Gelmişmiş. She had supposedly come. Are you being sarcastic with me? What you say sounds like a baseless rumor... The differences are... In sentences 1, 2, and 3 above, either the miş is not present at all or it is present -- but doesn't convey uncertainty. In those sentences, their isn't an inkling of doubt, inference, or rumor. In each case the speaker speaks from first hand, factual knowledge. But in sentences at 4, 5, and 6, the miş form is present and does denote uncertainty -- and more. In those sentences, doubt begins to creep in, inferences are being made, and rumors are cropping up... Click following for a specific example of a verb conjugation featuring the -miş- verbal suffix. Or click following for an index containing links to all the -miş- verb tenses. Truisms... The miş suffix form is one of the most difficult to use correctly in Turkish Language, but it is used so much -- that it's hard to avoid. Are there any general rules to help understand the correct usage of this form? Well, yes, there are a few -- but they are better described as "truisms" than rules... For example: Truisms of miş 1) The miş suffix in Turkish Language is not always used to express doubt -- sometimes it just infers something. For example, a sentence which begins... John mutlu imiş John is said to be pleased... could continue... (a) and he should be -- since he won the National Lottery! or... (b) but I think he's hiding his real feelings. Thus, depending on the "direction" the sentence takes after the use of imiş, there is an expression of doubt -- only in case (b). In case (a), there is an expression of inference... 2) The miş (when used to convey doubt or inference) always refers to actions which are outside the first-hand experience of the speaker -- that is, they are reported, alleged, or inferred. 3) There are cases in which the use of miş has nothing to do with either inference or doubt. [For example, miş can simply mean had as in... Saygılarını arzetmek için, umumhaneye gitmişti; He had gone to the brothel to pay his respects. No doubt about it! Do these truisms help much? Well, they helped us so we've passed them on... BTW, since we couldn't think of a better name on our own, we decided to join those who call this 'thing' the Dubitative Tense. Our decision probably won't satisfy anyone -- least of all, us. But we had to give it a name so we could pick it up, look at it, and work with it -- while we try to figure out how it functions. We needed to call it something, so...we did. The Turks call it the Belirsiz Tense -- the Indefinite or Indistinct Tense. We think that's pretty good too...and maybe, after all is said and done, we'll adopt that one. Decisions, decisions... (Ahm tard...All this hard thinkin' about such BIG subjects is takin' it's toll!) You know... this miş business needs more mulling over... (So there will be more dubitative [say it 5 times fast] thoughts to come!) Spelling variations of miş Used in accordance with the rule of vowel harmony, the forms of miş are: miş itself, mış, müş, and muş. Related pages: Translating Turkish, the basics Translating Turkish, advanced Essential Turkish Vocabulary Turkish Verbs Essential Idioms, Index Essential Suffixes, Index Sentence Structure, Standard Sentence Structure Variations Turkish Pronunciation Turkish Accenting Numbers in Turkish Other Turkish Language Difficulties Also Related: Saying 'if' in Turkish A Turkish Language-Learning Fable Towards Better, Kinder Turkish Language Usage A Collision Between Turkish Language and Political Correctness Unrelated fun: Habibullah and The Great Cannon Caper Turkish Tongue Twisters Turkish Belly Dancers Turkish Terms Of Endearment Turkish Personal Names Politically Incorrect Turkish Humor Off-Color Turkish Gossipy Turkish Who's Who Turkish Kinsey Report #1 - Turkey opens up about its seks Turkish Kinsey Report #2 - Did they hear it through the grapevine? Turkish Kinsey Report #3 - Was it good for you? Turkish Kinsey Report #4 - The first time, by age group... Turkish Kinsey Report #5 - Who's gotta have it? He? Or she? Hülya Avşar -- in a league of her own Translating Danielle Steele Post a comment...»

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