If you're a long-time Turkish learner, you've probably noticed that there are two distinct ways of pronouncing the letter E – either [e] (kapalı E) or [ɛ]~[æ] (açık E). After asking some natives about it and not getting an adequate answer, you might've thought that the pronunciation is random or that it must be memorized.
But fear not, learner! There are rules for this phonological phenomenon.
How to Pronounce Open and Closed E?
Open E is pronounced as the a in "cat". In the examples below, only the E's in bold are open. You may click on the words to hear a video example!
Closed E does not have an English equivalent, but you can imagine it as a narrower version of the E in "belt". Again, some examples:
"That's all cool and dandy, but how do I decide which E to use?" Let me answer that for you!
Determining Open and Closed E
There are two ways to determine whether an E is open or closed. The first method is simple — just look the word up in a dictionary. I specifically recommend Kubbealtı Lugati for this, but you can also use the Turkish Language Association Dictionary.
The second method uses syllable parsing (splitting a word into its constituent syllables) and checking the consonant after E. Here is the algorithm.
Parse the word while avoiding closed syllables (syllables ending in a consonant) as much as possible.
Emek is parsed as e-mek (1 closed syllable), not em-ek (2 closed syllables). Araba is a-ra-ba, not ar-ab-a.
If an E is followed by L/M/N/R in the same syllable, that E is open.
The N in the -ng- consonant cluster will not make an E open up.
The E in the negative aorist suffix (-mEz) is always open.
All other E's are closed.
Monosyllabic Turkic words and loanwords may not follow these rules (at which point you can use a dictionary).
Now, let's apply what we've learned — open E's are in bold, and closed ones are normal. Click on a highlighted word (like this) to hear its pronunciation.
sergi (exhibition) → ser-gi → sergi (according to [2])
belge (document) → bel-ge → belge [2/4]
ben (I) → ben → ben [2]
bence (in my opinion) → ben-ce → bence [2]
benim (my) → be-nim → benim (n is not in the same syllable as E, therefore the E is closed according to [4])
değer (worth, value) → değ-er → değer [2/4]
değeri (his/her/its value) → değ-e-ri → değeri [4]
mendil (tissue, handkerchief, from Arabic) → mendil (the E is closed despite [2] because of [5])
endişe (worry, from Persian) → endişe [5]
yenge (sister-in-law) → yen-ge → yenge [2a]
yengen (your sister-in-law) → yen-gen → yengen [2/2a]
bengi (eternal) → ben-gi → bengi [2a]
varyemez (scrooge, someone who never spends money even for themself) → var-ye-mez → varyemez [3]
bitmez (doesn't end) → bit-mez → bitmez [3]
A quick disclaimer: I recommend you learn Open/Closed E only if you're an advanced speaker. The topic is not crucial, and all Turks will understand what you mean even if you don't use the correct one. But if you're confident enough in your abilities, learning this distinction will make you sound even more native than actual Turks (yes, even Turks struggle with this).
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