# I am (a) Greek



## shawnee

Merhaba friends. I've been meaning to ask the following for some time:
The first; I am (a) Greek, Google gives me: Ben bir Yunan duyuyorum
and with added information ..... from Australia I get,
Ben Avustralya'da bir Yunan duyuyorum
How good are these for quick fire repartee at the Grand Bazar.


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## Rallino

_Ben bir Yunan duyuyorum_ means 'I hear a Greek'. 
I don't know where that comes from 

I'm Greek = _Ben Yunan'ım.
_
"I'm a Greek from Australia" in the sense that you're Australian but have Greek origins would be: _Ben Yunan asıllı (bir) Avustralyalıyım._


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## shawnee

Ah! güzel Rallino. Actually, _Yunan'ım_ is how  responded last time I was İstanbul'da, which always brought the response _Giorgi baçanaki_ to much amusement. I just thought I'd check (Google?). On my next vısıt I want to try and be a bıt more detailed, and I can now wıth your help, çok teşekkür ederim.


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## Guner

Hey Shawnee,
I had to try it too and it did give the same response 
Google Translation really is a piece of garbage. If you have to use one online usually these ones give still weird but better results.
http://translation.babylon.com/english/to-turkish/
http://www.ingilizceturkce.gen.tr/
And try to give as much detail as possible and try to search for a full sentence like : 
"I am a Greek man coming from/living in Australia.", 
"I am a Greek Australian man."


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## shawnee

Thanks Guner I will be more mindful in future. I am currently getting my togue around the challenging _Avustralyalıyım. 
_


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## sonerk

I'm a Greek from Australia = Ben Avustralya' dan bir Yunanım.

In Turkish when you specifying your nationality, you shouldn't use the apostrophe. => Yunan' ım (wrong) / Yunanım (right)


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## Rallino

sonerk said:


> I'm a Greek from Australia = Ben Avustralya' dan bir Yunanım.
> 
> In Turkish when you specifying your nationality, you shouldn't use the apostrophe. => Yunan' ım (wrong) / Yunanım (right)



Yes, you should.

From TDK:

*Kesme İşareti ( ’ )* *1.* Özel adlara getirilen iyelik, durum ve bildirme ekleri kesme işaretiyle ayrılır: _Kurtuluş Savaşı’nı,_ _Atatürk’üm,  Türkiye’mizin, Fatih Sultan Mehmet’e, Muhibbi’nin, Gül Baba’ya, Sultan  Ana’nın, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul’dan, Kâzım Karabekir’i, Yunus Emre’yi,  Ziya Gökalp’tan, Refik Halit Karay’mış, Ahmet Cevat Emre’dir, Namık  Kemal’se, Şinasi’yle, *Alman’sınız, Kırgız’ım,* Karakeçili’nin, Osmanlı  Devleti’ndeki, Cebrail’den, Çanakkale Boğazı’nın, Samanyolu’nda, Sait  Halim Paşa Yalısı’ndan, Resmî Gazete’de, Millî Eğitim Temel Kanunu’na,  Telif Hakkı Yayın ve Satış Yönetmeliği’ni, Eski Çağ’ın, Yükselme  Dönemi’nin, Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türk Edebiyatı’na_ vb.

As you see, the correct spelling is: _Yunan'ım_.
The apostrophe isn't used only if the word has received a _yapım eki_, like: _Brezilyalı --> Brezilyalıyım._


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## sonerk

Pardon çok haklısın, sanırım karıştırdım. Düzeltme için çok teşekkürler..
(** Sorry you're completely right, my bad. Thanks for the correction..)



Rallino said:


> Yes, you should.
> 
> From TDK:
> 
> *Kesme İşareti ( ’ )* *1.* Özel adlara getirilen iyelik, durum ve bildirme ekleri kesme işaretiyle ayrılır: _Kurtuluş Savaşı’nı,_ _Atatürk’üm,  Türkiye’mizin, Fatih Sultan Mehmet’e, Muhibbi’nin, Gül Baba’ya, Sultan  Ana’nın, Mehmet Emin Yurdakul’dan, Kâzım Karabekir’i, Yunus Emre’yi,  Ziya Gökalp’tan, Refik Halit Karay’mış, Ahmet Cevat Emre’dir, Namık  Kemal’se, Şinasi’yle, *Alman’sınız, Kırgız’ım,* Karakeçili’nin, Osmanlı  Devleti’ndeki, Cebrail’den, Çanakkale Boğazı’nın, Samanyolu’nda, Sait  Halim Paşa Yalısı’ndan, Resmî Gazete’de, Millî Eğitim Temel Kanunu’na,  Telif Hakkı Yayın ve Satış Yönetmeliği’ni, Eski Çağ’ın, Yükselme  Dönemi’nin, Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türk Edebiyatı’na_ vb.
> 
> As you see, the correct spelling is: _Yunan'ım_.
> The apostrophe isn't used only if the word has received a _yapım eki_, like: _Brezilyalı --> Brezilyalıyım._


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## ecdadihifzeylerdi

A lot of people also say Yunanlı even though its incorrect. Ben Avustralyalı bir Yunanlıyım / Ben Yunan asıllı bir Avustralyalıyım.

That sentence bugs my ear though since it is very textbookish and simple. I would rather say (as an example in order to converge more to a natural way to speak): 

1. Ben Yunan'ım, ancak hayatım boyunca Avustralya'da yaşadım. (I am Greek, however I spent all my life in Australia)
2. Ben Yunan'ım, ama Avustralya'da yaşıyorum. (I am Greek, but I live in Australia)
3. Ben aslında (or aslen) Yunan'ım, ancak Avustralya'da doğdum, büyüdüm. (I am originally Greek, but I was born and raised in Australia)

Hope it helps.


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## shawnee

Well when I'm in the bazar its probably best I just say _yunan'm yok para_ But elsewhere I'd like to be able to be more specific, because if I say either one, Greek, or Australian, alone, people make a whole set of assumptions, which can be way off the mark, The interpretation that best expresses what I'm looking for was given by Rallino in the second post, ["I'm a Greek from Australia" in the sense that you're Australian but have Greek origins would be: _Ben Yunan asıllı (bir) Avustralyalıyım.] _The nuance of the third example above_: _[Ben aslında (or aslen) Yunan'ım, ancak Avustralya'da doğdum, büyüdüm. (I  am originally Greek, but I was born and raised in Australia)] does not quite catch my intention, and more relevant to my speaking ability, it is much longer and harder to say. But its been a great exercise, I'm glad I asked.


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## Guner

Well, unless you know some Greek I wouldn't recommend your exit clause as "_yunan'm yok para"_ . You'd be surprised how many languages the people in the Grand Bazaar know ! So they may catch you off guard uttering a few Greek words  As for "getting your tongue around the challenging _Avustralyalıyım" _ Turkish people are quite good to understand what you are trying to say. So even if you said something like : "Australia-Liam" (like the actor Liam Nesson's firstname ) you should be fine  If you want to pronounce it more correctly maybe "Avos-Tralia-Liam" is a bit better...Hope this helps


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## shawnee

Thanks again Guner. I thought it was obvious from my inquiry, and most of my time on the Greek forum that I am a competent Greek speaker. The boys at the bazar are every bit as quick witted as you say and a pleasure to exchange broken languages with. That part I enjoy; my wife's spending is another matter


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