# career soldier



## burkuu

Hello

Can somebody help me in translating 'career soldier' into Turkish? Or what does it mean actually?


thanks in advance
burcu


----------



## Spectre scolaire

That’s a good question! I am not sure whether such a word exists in Turkish. Either you are a soldier, _asker_, with a distinctive “grade”, _rütbe_ – excluding those who just quit the military after compulsory service – or you are a civilian. 

In the Ottoman Empire there were many different types of soldiers, some of them practically for life-time – if that is what you mean by “career soldier”. Some would get land after finished service – as in Byzantine times. 

Even a word like “mercenary” is difficult to translate into Turkish because the institution never really existed among Turks. (It did among the Byzantines!) I am sure there have been Turks in the French _Légion étrangère_ as _yabanc__ı lejyon askeri_, but this is hardly what you mean.

I think we need some more specifications to your question.
​


----------



## Chazzwozzer

Well, that would be *"muvazzaf asker"

*For the definition, type *"define: career soldier"* and google it.


----------



## Spectre scolaire

You’re right, _Chazzwozzer_ – I didn’t think of that word; mu*v*a*zz*a*f* has the same Arabic root as *v*a*z*i*f*e, “duty”. A muvazzaf asker would then be “a soldier [or rather “an officer”] on duty, on the active list”.

This word is also used outside a military context, f.ex. muvazzaf gazeteci, muvazzaf öğretmen, muvazzaf doktor, “journalist, teacher, physician on duty”.

I wonder how far you can go here. I’d love to see the combination muvazzaf budala, “a fool on duty”..., “an inveterate idiot” - or perhaps “a buffoon”...? When we “test” combinations like these, we’ll realize that _muvazzaf_ is a non-productive word. The above professions preceded by _muvazzaf_ may indeed be relics from Ottoman Turkish.

Today we’d rather say görev yapan doktor, etc., lit.: “duty performing physician”, “the doc on duty” - _görev_ being a neologism.
​


----------



## slhtn

*I *don*'*t think an average person would understand this "muvazzaf".


----------



## Chazzwozzer

slhtn said:


> *I *don*'*t think an average person would understand this "muvazzaf".


OK.

What is your suggestion then?


----------



## slhtn

*H*i, *I* googled the word "muvazzaf" and   got 103.000 hits*.* 
*W*ell*,* maybe *I* made a wrong supposition.

*B*ut *I* think that career soldier has  another meaning. *H*ow about "kariyer askerliği"*? *


----------

