Turkish Rules of Conversation.
In Turkey there are certain forms or canons of conversation, the violation of which is considered an outrage on society. Thinking they might be a benefit to Americans as well as Turks, we give them as follows:— 1. Never to interrupt the speaker while he is talking. You are not under any obligations to enter into conversation with him at all; but if you do, it is an understood condition of your conversation treaty that you should let him have his way. 2. Never to diverge in the middle of a conversation from the main thread of a discourse into a collateral issue. The breach of this rule is considered by a Turk as an unpardonable rudeness. This will, in his opinion, confound all thought, and render all profitable consecutive conversation impossible. This leads, as a corollary, to 3. To allow a short but sufficient pause between the conclusion of a discussion on one subject, and the entering on a new subject. 4. Never to tell a person a thing he knows already. 5. Not to excuse one's self when convicted of being in the wrong. How very seldom you hear in Europe, “Yes, I was in the wrong. I am sorry for it.” But in Turkey it is considered a violation of principle and a breach of politeness to refuse to be convicted of error. The cause of this difference lies deep in the character of the two races; in the absence on the part of the Turk of petty vanity and distracting self-esteem. The proudest race in the world, they are entirely exempt from vanity. 6. When you have nothing to say to hold your tongue. They never talk for the sake of talking. Empty, idle jabbering is a Frank but not an Ottoman practice. In Europe it is considered de rigueur to “say something,” whether that something is worth saying or not. Not so in Turkey; to say something when you have nothing to say worth saying, is considered there a degradation to yourself and a rudeness to your neighbor.