A Conversation in a Turkish Music Shop.

[MineralMan]

Another lifetime ago, back in the late 1960s, I was in the USAF, stationed in Samsun, Turkey, a Black Sea port. The USAF thought well enough of me to send me off to a total immersion Russian language school at Syracuse University for a year, which was why I found myself in Samsun.

I learned a modest amount of Turkish while in Turkey, but not enough, really, to be fluent. Still, I was able to explore the city there and be polite and find out the prices of things and where the nearest toilet was. I spent a lot of time in the city, visiting shops, etc., and was impressed by the retail business culture there. As an example, the moment you stepped into a shop, the shopkeeper stepped outside and signaled for tea to be brought. Within a minute or two, a young lad would show up with a neat tea service, and the actual conversation could begin, haltingly, in my case.

One day, I was in downtown Samsun, and stepped into a store that dealt in musical instruments and other musical merchandise. I had my eye on an Oud that was hanging high on the wall in the shop, and had been negotiating its price for a couple of weeks over tea. Anyhow, that day, there was a group of Turkish musicians holding a Turkish music jam session in the shop, so I took a seat on the floor to listen for a while. Tea was served after a bit, and all of the musicians took a break.

During that break, a Russian merchant seaman, from the Russian ship you could see through the shop window, stopped in at the store. He spoke no Turkish, but was looking for a clarinet reed, and was having great difficulty being understood. Here is what happened:

1. I noticed that he was not making any headway, so I asked him, in Russian, what he wanted to buy. He told me.
2. I had no words in Turkish to use to describe a clarinet reed to the shopkeeper.
3. Thinking a moment, I asked if anyone spoke English, and then French. One man from the group of musicians did know French.
4. I told the French-speaking musician that the man wanted a clarinet reed, using my high school French.
5. I learned from the musician that he was actually a Bulgarian, who did not know the Turkish words for clarinet reed.
6. He turned to one of the other musicians, and explained to that man what was wanted, in German, a fairly common second language for Turks.
7. The German-speaking musician told the shopkeeper what the Russian guy was looking for in Turkish, and the shopkeeper produced a selection of clarinet reeds.
8. The Russian merchant seaman chose a couple of reeds and the shopkeeper wrote the price down on a piece of paper. Money was exchanged and the transaction was completed.
9. The shopkeeper ordered more tea from the kid outside the door and we all had some, and had more four-way conversation.
10. The shopkeeper and I agreed on the price for the Oud a bit later, which I took with me. It still hangs on my living room wall.

Learning a language or two other than your native language is a very useful thing. Not only does it allow a Russian seaman to buy a clarinet reed in Turkey, but it also sets up a very interesting conversation with people you did not know before, and helps you buy an Oud in Samsun. I highly recommend it.

[Wilms]

1. That is a great story!

Now, how is your oud playing coming along???

[MineralMan]

2. I can't play it. It's decorative only.

It had some issues when I bought it, and I've never repaired it. It's quite beautiful, though, which is why I bought it. I'm a woodwind player. I did buy several Turkish wind instruments, though, and can play them. In fact, I sat in with that group of musicians a few times, slowly learning Turkish music. Much laughter often ensued.

I did play 5-string banjo, though, back then. I brought it to the music shop on one of the days the local musicians gathered. I played a little bluegrass music for them, to their great amusement. Musicians are the same everywhere - always ready for a laugh.

[Warpy]

3. I've had round robin language translations in hospitals

with families of patients who didn't speak English but who had studied another European language. Younger people from Saudi Arabia could speak French or Italian if they didn't speak any English, for example.

Yes, learning another language is always a huge advantage. I've also found it teaches you another way to think. That helps you understand why people with that native language might behave differently from the way you expect.

It's kind of a shame to have that instrument on the wall. Rahim Al-Haj lives here in town and his recording for the Smithsonian shows you some of the range of that instrument:

[MineralMan]

4. Lovely! Mine has a cracked soundboard, sadly, and

I'm no kind of stringed instrument player these days. So, it will stay on the wall, reminding me of my younger years.

[Ghost Dog]

6. Yes. Fine instrument. Fine Mediterranean sound. n/t

[MrScorpio]

5. My crappy German skills once came in handy when I worked at a hotel in Virginia.

I know what you mean and I wholeheartedly agree with you.