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#tt_intermediate Postpositions Governing the Nominative and the Genitive The following postpositions require the nominative (N) if the governed word is a noun and the genitive (G) if the governed word is a personal pronoun (except the 3rd person plural!). As a rule, demonstrative pronouns in the singular are also in the genitive. However, bu, ul, şul may stand in the nominative. 📍 All of the following postpositions describe location and can have the suffixes of locative (in,at), dative (to), or ablative (from): östendə (östenə, östennən) - on, upon, on top of (onto, from) astında - under töbendə - at the bottom başında - at the beginning yağında - on the side tarafında - on the side yanında - beside, near qırıyında - beside, next to, near östəl (N) östenə quydı - placed on the table but: minem (G) östemә utırdı - sat on me aldında / qarşısında - before, in front of arasında - between, among urtasında - in the middle eçendə - inside artında - behind tirəsendə - around tərəzə (N) aldında tora - stands in front of the window but: sineñ (G) aldıñda tora - stands in front of you 🕐 Postpositions meaning while, during: waqıtında, waqıtta çaqta bala (N) çaqta işettem - I heard when I was a child 👯 Postpositions meaning as, like: kebek sıman şikelle işe rəweşendə tösle, tösendə bularaq bulıp itep kileş köye, köyençə, köyenə xəlendə at (N) kebek eşli - works like a horse but: sineñ (G) kebek aqıllı - smart like you ➡️ Postpositions meaning because of, due to, as a result of: arqasında səbəple nəticəsendə tığınlıq (N) arqasında soñardı - came late because of traffic but: minem (G) arqamda buldı - happened because of me Postpositions meaning through, over, across, via, along: arqılı aşa buyı (buyına, buyında, buyınnan, buyınça) buylap ütə sınawlar (N) aşa üttek - we went through the challenges but: anıñ (G) aşa bara - goes through it ⚠️ And other important postpositions: belən - with öçen - for urınına - instead of nigezendə - on the basis of sineñ (G) öçen señlem (N) belən bülək yasadım - I made a present for you with my sister turında, xaqında - about aralaş - every other sayın - every, each kön (N) sayın anıñ (G) turında uylıym - I think about him/her/it every day

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#tt_beginner Genitive The genitive is formed by joining -nıñ/-neñ to the stem: yortnıñ - of the house yortlarnıñ - of the houses öyneñ - of the home öylәrneñ - of the homes bülmәgezneñ - of your (pl./form.) room bülmәlәregezneñ - of your (pl./form.) rooms 🔷 The genitive is used to describe: Ownership or possession: әniyemneñ qulları - my mom’s hands 🔹 Possessive relation in time, place, quality, quantity, measure, extent, purpose: ütkən ğasırnıñ urtası - the middle of the past century şәhәrneñ binaları - the city’s buildings keşelәrneñ öçtәn bere - one third of the people tawnıñ biyeklege - the height of the mountain 🔹 If a genitive relation exists between three nouns in a sentence, the first noun is in the genitive, the second noun takes the appropriate possessive suffix (-ı, -e, -sı, -se, -ları, -lәre) to which in turn the genitive suffix -nıñ/-neñ is joined, and the third noun, governing the second, takes the possessive suffix only: tutaşnıñ keçkenә genә awızınıñ yılmayuwı - the smile of the young lady’s little mouth 🔹 The genitive suffix may sometimes be omitted: Tuqay şiğerlәre - Tuqay’s poems il başqalası - country’s capital 🔹 The genitive suffix is always omitted: · When the second noun qualifies the first one: Qazan şәhәre - the city of Kazan · When two or more nouns together form a compound noun: İrek mәydanı - Liberty Square 🔷 Let's look at the genitive suffixes in the dialog: A: "Minem abıyımnıñ yaña tuğan bəbisen kürdeñme?" B: "Əye, min anı ğəilə aşında abıyıñnıñ qoçağında kürdem." A: "Ә, yaxşı! Alarnıñ öy baqçasın oşatasıñmı?" B: "Baqça çınnan da matur, ayıruça böten ul tösle çəçəklər belən. Süz uñayınnan, minem apamnıñ et köçekləre turında işetteñme?" A: "Әye, işettem, apañnıñ eteneñ matur köçekləre tuğan ikәn." B: "Bezneñ ğəilələr törle yaqlardan üsə axrısı!" A: "Şulay şul! Ğəilələrebezdə bu yaña tuğan bәbilәrne kürü bik rəxət." _____________________ A: "Have you seen my brother's new baby?" B: "Yeah, I saw her in your brother's arms during the family dinner." A: "Oh, great! How do you like their house's garden?" B: "The garden's really beautiful, especially with all those colorful flowers. By the way, have you heard about my sister's dog's puppies?" A: "Yeah, I heard that your sister's dog had adorable puppies." B: "Sounds like our families are growing in all sorts of ways!" A: "Definitely! It's lovely to see these new additions in our families."

#tt_newbie Vowel harmony In accordance with a phonetic law called vowel harmony, the vowel contained in the first syllable of a native Tatar stem determines the quality of the vowels in the succeeding syllables. That means that, as a rule, all vowels in a native Tatar word are either back vowels or front vowels. With a few exceptions, the rule of vowel harmony applies also to Tatar suffixes. ⚡️ The vowel phonemes o, ö in the first syllable of a word affect the quality of the vowels ı and e respectively in succeeding syllables, causing them to be rounded towards o or ö. However, the labialization (rounding) of these phonemes is increasingly weakened (particularly in suffixes) the farther they are positioned from the first syllable until it ceases entirely: bötenebez (all of us) ⚡️ The vowel phonemes u, ü do not usually occur in non-first syllables or in the final position of native Tatar words, but they do in the Tatar infinitive verb and its derivations. For example: bulu (to be, to become) kölü (to laugh) ⚡️ The vowel phoneme i usually occurs only in the first syllables of native Tatar stems. A few exceptions are: əti (father), əni (mother), əbi (grandmother), ipi (bread) The vowel i does not appear in suffixes, but it does in verb inflection. For example: eşləw (to work) - ul eşli (he works) ⚡️ Thus, with the above exceptions, the following rules of vowel harmony are applied: · Any of the back vowels a, ı, u, o in the first syllable may be followed by either a or ı: barabız (we go), pıçaq (knife), borın (nose) · Any of the front vowels ə, e, i, ü, ö in the first syllable may be followed by either ə or e: tübətəy, sötle (with milk), bülək (gift) ⚡️ In native Turkic words there are very few exceptions to the principle of vowel harmony. Words in which such exceptions occur are for example: miña 'to me' siña 'to you' içmasa 'at least' zəñgərsu 'bluish' · compound words components of which belong to different vowel harmony groups: könçığış (east) = kön (day) + çığış (rising) öçpoçmaq (triangle) = öç (three) + poçmaq (corner, angle) ⚡️ With a few exceptions, the principle of vowel harmony does not apply to Arabic and Persian loanwords, nor does it apply to words borrowed more recently from Russian or from other European languages. In these words back and front vowels may occur together in the same word. ⚡️ With Arabic and Persian loanwords, the vowels in the Tatar suffixes tend to correspond to the vowel of the last syllable of the loanword: kitap (book) - kitabım (my book) xatirə (recollection) - xatirələr (recollections) şəhər (city) - şəhərlərebez (our cities) ⚡️ Some loanwords deviate from the above rule (more often than not these are bisyllabic words with the pattern a-i): tarix (history) - tarixnıñ (of the history) səlam (hi) - səlamnər (greetings)

#tt_culture Tatar mythological creatures 💧 In Tatar mythology, there are water spirits associated with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and springs. The most famous out of all of them is Su Anası. The name translates to "Mother Water" in English. She has long hair, big black eyes and no eyebrows. Su Anası usually lives underwater, but she comes out from time to time to brush her hair at a shore. She is considered a menacing, but a protective and nurturing figure, a guardian of water sources and is believed to have the power to influence the waters' fertility, purity, and overall well-being. 💧Su Anası's blessings are vital for the fertility of the land and the success of crops. To honor Su Anası and seek her favor, people would offer prayers, rituals, and sometimes sacrifices to appease her and ensure a good harvest. These offerings could include various items, such as food, coins, or symbolic objects. Rituals often involved chanting, singing, and reciting prayers to establish a connection with the water spirit. 💧 At the beginning on the 20th century Ğabdulla Tuqay turned Su Anası into a character of a children's book. In his story, a boy stole Su Anası's golden comb and ran to his village. He told his mother that he had found it on his way, but when Su Anası came at night and started banging on his window, the mother found out the truth. She returned the comb to Su Anası and scolded the boy for the theft. 💧 Su Babası, depicted as an old man, lives in deep waters. One of the beautiful mythologic creatures associated with the Underwater Kingdom is Su Qızı. She lives in her father's magnificent palace. When an earthly man falls in love with her, according to some legends, his life ends tragically. It's a reminder, that Su Qızı is not from this world, but belongs to another world, foreign to us human beings. 💧 The reverence for water sources and nature spirits like Su Anası is deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of Turkic and Tatar communities. These beliefs reflect the close relationship between people and the natural environment in these regions. 🏠 Kazan Tatars also have various spirits associated with places people live in. For example, Abzar iyәse lives in a yard or a barn and can assume a human or an animal form. Being the barn spirit, he protects domestic animals, especially horses, from all kinds of troubles. Siberian Tatars have similar deities, called Mal iyәse or Cәnki baba. 🏠 Another character in Tatar mythology is Biçura. She is a short woman wearing an örpәk - a traditional cloth covering her head. She is believed to live in the basements or bathrooms. She does not cause any significant harm to people, but disturbs them at night in various ways: she screams, plays, laughs, jokes, drags the sleeping person from place to place; hides things from one place to another. The Tatars have a saying about her: “Where did this thing go; hasn’t Biçura stolen it?” Let me know if you want to learn about more Tatar deities and spirits 👇🏼

“Su Anası” by Baynazar Almenov #tt_culture

#tt_advanced One of Tatar folk art's most ancient examples is about two twins. They were cursed, turned into fantastic birds, and doomed to eternal separation. Here is the text in the original with the translation of key phrases. The text and the picture are taken from Əydə Online. Compared with my usual posts, my job with this one was solely transliterating and translating the key phrases into English. It would offer those who already know Tatar well a reading practice in Latin script. Please let me know in the comments, if you are interested in such a format, as I wasn't sure if this would be helpful for anyone. https://telegra.ph/Saq-soq-b%C9%99yete-08-27

#tt_intermediate Let’s look at the dialog: A: Sәlam, Marat! Köneñ niçek bara? B: Sәlam, Güzәl! Beraz mәşәqәtle. Bügen öydә töşke aşımnı onıttım. A: Uf Allam. Üzeñneñ töşke aşıñnı alıp kilergә onıtmasqa kirək. B: Әye, döres әytәseñ. Süz uñayınnan, sezneñ yaña proyekt niçek bara? A: Min anı berüzem eşlim. Yaxşı bara, sorağanıñ öçen rәxmәt. Zölfiyə şulay uq üz proyektın әzerli. B: Bik yaxşı. Ә Niyaz nişli? Ul üz eşlәren başqaramı? A: Әlbәttә. Niyaz üz wazifaların qayğırta hәm yaxşı uñışlarğa ireşә. B: Yaxşı. Liliyәdәn işettem, ul sezneñ proyektığızlarnı tәmamlağaç, bәyrәmgә tort peşerergә uylıy. A: Şulay. Ul tortnı üze peşerergә hәm bәyrәmgә kiterergә cıyına. B: İskitkeç! Min anı tüzemsezlek belәn kötәm. Ә bәyrәmgә nindi kostüm kiyərgə uylıysıñ? A: Belmim əle. Haman uylıym. Sin üzeñneken sayladıñmı? B: Әye, min bıyıl üz kostümımnı yasarğa buldım. A: Qızıq! Allah boyırsa, barıbız da kiçәdә rәxәtlәnep yal itәrbez dip ışanam. B: Әlbәttә! Şəp bulaçaq. _____________________ A: Hi, Marat! How's your day going? B: Hey, Güzəl! It's been a bit hectic. I forgot my lunch at home today. A: Oh no. You should always remember to bring your own lunch. B: Yeah, you're right. By the way, how's your new project coming along? A: I'm working on it myself, and it's progressing well, thanks for asking. Zölfiyə is also working on her own project. B: That's great. And what about Niyaz? Is he handling his own tasks? A: Absolutely. Niyaz is focused on his own responsibilities and making good progress. B: Good to know. I heard from Liliyə that she's planning to bake a cake for the celebration after you finish your projects. A: That's right. She's going to bake the cake herself and bring it to the party. B: Awesome! I'm looking forward to it. And what costume are you thinking of wearing? A: I don't know yet. I'm still thinking. Have you chosen yours? B: Yeah, I decided to make my own costume this year. A: That sounds like fun! Well, I hope we all have a great time at the party. B: Definitely! It's going to be great. That’s it! Now you üzegez can create üzegezneñ sentences with üz.

#tt_intermediate Me, myself and I We had a lesson on possessive pronouns and personal suffixes. Today, we continue that lesson, adding some nuaces for our intermediate learners. 👤 If an object belongs to a subject appearing in the third person singular or plural, üz (self, own) in its possessive case - üzeneñ, üzlәreneñ - must be used instead of the possessive pronouns anıñ, alarnıñ. The word denoting the object takes the respective possessive suffix. For example: Ul üzeneñ dustın kürde. He/she saw his/her friend. “Ul anıñ dustın kürde” would mean "He saw his (someone else's) friend". 👤 Üz in its possessive form may also function as the possessive pronoun of the first and second persons singular and plural: Min üzemneñ kilәçәgem turında uylıym. I am thinking about my future. Sin üzeñneñ dustıñnı kürdeñme? Did you see your friend? 👤 The reflexive pronouns are formed from the noun üz with the addition of the possessive suffixes: üzem - myself üzeñ - yourself üze - himself, herself, itself üzebez - ourselves üzegez - yourselves üzlәre - themselves ❕ In the declension, the various case suffixes are added to the possessive stem: üzebezne, üzenә, etc. 👤 The reflexive pronouns are primarily used with verbs which in Tatar cannot be made into true reflexive verbs. For example: · sanaw - to count / to consider min üzemne bәxetle dip sanıym - I consider myself happy · xis itü - to feel ul üzen yaxşı xis itə - he feels good · kürsətü - to show uzegezne dönyağa kürsətegez - show yourselves to the world · tanıtu - to show, to prove ul üzen osta körəşçe itep tanıttı - he proved himself a skillful fighter 👤 The reflexive pronoun agrees in person and number with the subject of the same sentence. min üzemə kitap satıp aldım - I bought myself a book üzegez turında söyləgez - talk about yourselves 👤 Üz is prefixed to the reflexive pronouns (in writing joined by a hyphen). Üz always remains in its basic form. The reflexive pronoun takes the case endings required by the verb: üz-üzemə ğәcəplənəm - i am amazed at myself üz-üzennən sorağan kebek - as if he asked himself 👤 Üz may be used to emphasize the subject. If the acting person is expressed by a personal pronoun or by a noun, üzem, üzeñ, üze etc. follow immediately. ul üze bu turıda miña əytməde - he himself hasn’t told me about this 👤 Üzem, üzeñ, üze etc. immediately followed by genə mean "I by myself", "you by yourself", "he (she, it) by himself (herself, itself)", etc., or I alone, you alone, he (she, it) alone, etc. in the sense of apart from others, all by oneself. Üzem, üzeñ, üze etc. preceded by the cardinal number ber (e.g. berüzem) have the same meaning. üzeñ genə / berüzeñ bar- you go alone üzegez genə / berüzegez uynağız - you play by yourselves üze genə / berüze östəl yanında utıra - he is sitting all alone at the table 👤 Üz preceding nouns with possessive suffixes means "own": üz yortım - my own house üz akçañ - your own money üz cire - his own land Ul miña ... üz telendə nərsəder söyli başlıy. (Mirğazıyan Yunıs, Süwəyeş kanalı) - ... he starts telling me something in his own language.

#tt_beginner It's my book! Is that one yours? 👐🏼 Independent possessive pronouns mineke - mine sineke - yours anıqı - his/hers bezneke - ours sezneke - yours (plural/formal) alarnıqı - theirs -nıqı/-neke can also be joined to other pronouns and nouns to express possession: kemneke? - whose? balanıqı - the child's balalarnıqı - the children's The plural is formed by adding -lar/-lər to the suffix -nıqı/-neke: minekelər - ones belonging to me kürşenekelər - ones belonging to the neighbor This was your short easy lesson on the independent possessive pronouns and suffixes for today. And mine. And theirs.