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Mar. 27, 2005 “Üsküdara”, or more fully “Üsküdara Gider Iken” (While Going to Üsküdar), is a very famous Turkish song, also known as “Kâtibim” (My Secretary). It was composed by Muzaffer Sarýsözen (1899-1963) and Nuri Halil Poyraz (1885-1950). It was sung in the US by Eartha Kitt in the 1950’s. I personally knew this song throughout the 1980’s, but then forgot the melody and the lyrics, until about 2 years ago, when I found them online, along with the notes (sheet music). I have reproduced the Turkish lyrics below, with my amateurish attempt to translate them, which may have errors, but I couldn’t find a translation on Internet. An interesting feature of the Turkish language, in its pristine form, was vowel harmony. Thus all the vowels in a word had to be formed in the same part of the mouth. There were twofold and fourfold harmony. Thus the verbal ending ‘omoz’ might become ‘ömöz’, ‘umuz’ or ‘ümüz’, depending on the verb it was attached to. Vowel harmony is a feature of many Asiatic languages. The intrusion of Arabic words into Turkish upset the pattern of vowel harmony. Thus, ‘kâtip’ (secretary) is an Arabic word; in pure Turkish ‘a’ and ‘i’ could not occur in the same word. Although Turkish uses a modified Roman (English) alphabet, there are three letters that I don’t think I could have sent by e-mail. One is ‘s’ with a cedilla (a cedilla is the little hook in ‘ç’). I have changed it to ‘sh’, with has the same pronunciation. Another is the undotted ‘i’, which denotes a central vowel between ‘i’ and ‘u’, like Russian ‘jerý’, and I have used ‘ý’ instead. The third is ‘g’ with a superscript caron (inverted ^), which I have rendered as ‘gh’. Before a consonant, ‘gh’ is silent but doubles the length of the preceding vowel compensatorily. Between front vowels, as in ‘eteghi’, it is pronounced like English ‘y’. Between back vowels, like ‘a’ and ‘o’, it is silent. ‘Ü’ and ‘ö’ are pronounced as in German. ‘Ç’ is like English ‘ch’. ‘Â’ is pronounced ‘ya’, so that the combination ‘kâ’ sounds like Italian ‘chia’. Generally, in Turkish, the accent falls on the last syllable, though in ‘Üsküdara’, it seems to be on the next-to-the-last syllable. ‘Üsküdar’ is the name of a town in Turkey, and ‘Üsküdara’ means ‘to Üsküdar’. The sheet music and the properly printed Turkish lyrics can be seen at the following URL: http://www.karagoz.net/midinota/katibim.htm An instrumental version can be heard at the following URL: http://www.karagoz.net/midinota/katibim.midi Safiye Ayla, a real Turkish songstress, sings the first stanza at this URL: http://research.umbc.edu/eol/3/signell/audio/safiye.au At the following URL, Eartha Kitt sings it very well, with an impressive Turkish pronunciation. Unfortunately she interjects a lot of unnecessary comments. Just scroll down to ‘Turkish Music’, and click on the icon to the right of this legend: Download the Eartha Kitt version of Üsküdara Gideriken. http://www.tkachenko.de/teachingresources.htm ÜSKÜDARA (Turkish lyrics) Üsküdara gider iken, aldýda bir yaghmur. Üsküdara gider iken, aldýda bir yaghmur. Kâtibimin setresi uzun eteghi çamur. Kâtibimin setresi uzun eteghi çamur. Kâtip uykudan uyanmush gözleri mahmur. Kâtip uykudan uyanmush gözleri mahmur. Kâtip benim ben kâtibin el ne karýshýr. Kâtibime setereti balto ne güzel yarashýr. Üsküdara gider iken, bir mendil buldum. Üsküdara gider iken, bir mendil buldum. Mendilimin içine de lokum doldurdum. Mendilimin içine de lokum doldurdum. Kâtibimi arar iken, yanýmda buldum. Kâtibimi arar iken, yanýmda buldum. Kâtip benim ben kâtibin el ne karýshýr. Kâtibime kolalý da gömlek ne güzel yarashýr. ÜSKÜDARA (Tentative English Translation) As I was going to Üsküdar, it started raining. As I was going to Üsküdar, it started raining. My secretary’s long skirt trailed in the mud. My secretary’s long skirt trailed in the mud. The secretary was tired and her eyes were sleepy. The secretary was tired and her eyes were sleepy. My secretary and I were not holding hands. My secretary’s coat was not very comely. As I was going to Üsküdar, I found a handkerchief. As I was going to Üsküdar, I found a handkerchief. There was Turkish delight (kind of candy) inside my handkerchief. There was Turkish delight inside my handkerchief. Looking for my secretary, I found her at my side. Looking for my secretary, I found her at my side. My secretary and I were not holding hands. My secretary’s starched blouse was not very comely. If I have made any errors in my translation, feel free to let me know. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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