“Memnun oldum, ben Elif,” dedi kadın; çocuklar da memnun olduklarını söylediler.

Because that is basically how Turkish expresses this idea.

• memnun = pleased / glad
• olmak = to become / to be
• oldum = I became / I was

So Memnun oldum literally means something like I became pleased or I was pleased, but in natural use it often means:

• Nice to meet you
• Pleased to meet you

Turkish often uses olmak with adjectives in places where English might simply use to be.

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.

• Memnunum = I am pleased / I’m satisfied
• Memnun oldum = I was pleased / I became pleased

In introductions, Memnun oldum is the standard fixed expression for Nice to meet you.
So in this sentence, it is not just a literal statement of emotion; it is also a social formula.

Because Turkish often omits the verb to be in the present tense.

• ben Elif = literally I Elif
• natural English: I’m Elif or My name is Elif

In Turkish, sentences like these are very common:

• Ben öğretmenim. = I’m a teacher.
• O mutlu. = He/She is happy.
• Ben Elif. = I’m Elif.

So the copula is understood.

Both are correct, but ben Elif is shorter and more conversational.

Compare:

• Ben Elif. = I’m Elif.
• Benim adım Elif. = My name is Elif.

The first one is especially common in direct speech and introductions.

Turkish word order is flexible, especially in narration.

Both of these can work:

• Kadın dedi. = The woman said.
• Dedi kadın. = said the woman

Putting the verb first can sound more narrative or literary, especially after quoted speech. It is similar to English styles like:

• “..., ” said the woman.

So dedi kadın is a very natural storytelling order.

kadın means the woman or woman, depending on context.

Here, after the quoted speech, it refers to a specific woman in the scene, so English usually translates it as the woman.

Turkish does not always need an article like a or the. Context tells you whether it is definite or indefinite.

• bir kadın = a woman / one woman
• kadın = the woman / woman

Here, since the speaker is already being identified, kadın works naturally.

Here da means also / too.

So:

• çocuklar da = the children too / the children also

It shows that the children did the same kind of thing as the woman: they also said they were pleased.

Be careful: this da is a separate word, not the locative suffix -da/-de meaning in/on/at.

Examples:

• Ben de geldim. = I came too.
• Evdeyim. = I’m at home.
  Here -de is a suffix, not the separate word de/da.

Because the subject is çocuklar = the children.

• çocuk = child
• çocuklar = children
• söylediler = they said

So the verb is marked for third person plural.

This is the most complex part of the sentence. It means something like:

• that they were pleased
• literally: their being pleased

It is an embedded clause used as the object of söylediler (they said).

A rough breakdown:

• memnun = pleased
• ol- = become / be
• -duk = a nominalizing form, turning the verb into something like the fact that ...
• -ları = marks a third person plural subject inside that embedded clause
• -nı = accusative case, because the whole clause is the object of söylediler

So:

• memnun olduklarını söylediler = they said that they were pleased

This is a very common Turkish pattern after verbs like:

• söylemek = to say
• bilmek = to know
• duymak = to hear
• görmek = to see

Yes. A learner-friendly breakdown is:

• ol- = be/become
• -duk = turns the verb into a noun-like clause
• -ları = shows the understood subject is they
• -nı = accusative, because the whole clause is what they said

So olduklarını is part of:

• memnun olduklarını = that they were pleased

You may also see this kind of structure with an explicit subject:

• Çocukların memnun olduklarını söylediler.
  = They said that the children were pleased.

Here çocukların would be the genitive subject of the embedded clause.

Because memnun oldular is a complete main clause:

• Memnun oldular. = They were pleased.

But in the original sentence, that idea is not standing alone. It is the content of what they said:

• They said [that they were pleased].

Turkish usually turns that embedded statement into a noun-like clause, which is why you get:

• memnun olduklarını söylediler

instead of two separate main clauses.

Because Turkish often does not use a separate word equivalent to English that in these embedded clauses. Instead, the verb itself is changed into a nominalized form.

So English says:

• They said that they were pleased.

Turkish says something more like:

• They said their being pleased.

That sounds strange in English, but it is a normal Turkish structure.

Söylediler is simple past, third person plural.

Breakdown:

• söyle- = say
• -di- = past tense
• -ler = third person plural

So it means:

• they said

The base verb is olmak. When suffixes are added, the form changes naturally:

• ol + dum → oldum
• ol + duk → olduk

The d is part of the suffix, not a new root. So you are still looking at the same verb: olmak.

The semicolon separates two closely related parts of the sentence:

1. what the woman said
2. what the children said

It is stronger than a comma but not as final as a period.

So it helps show:

• first clause: “Memnun oldum, ben Elif,” dedi kadın
• second clause: çocuklar da memnun olduklarını söylediler

A comma or full stop might also be possible in some contexts, but the semicolon neatly links the two related actions.

Because only the woman’s exact words are quoted directly:

• Memnun oldum, ben Elif

The children’s speech is reported indirectly:

• çocuklar da memnun olduklarını söylediler
• the children also said that they were pleased

So the sentence mixes:

• direct speech for the woman
• reported speech for the children

It is understandable and acceptable in literary dialogue, but in real life people might more often say:

• Memnun oldum. Ben Elif.
• Memnun oldum, ben Elif’im.
• Ben Elif, memnun oldum.

The original version is a compact dialogue style. It is not wrong; it just sounds like written narrative rather than the most careful everyday phrasing.

No. It has a broader meaning.

memnun olmak can mean:

• to be pleased
• to be glad
• to be satisfied

Examples:

• Seni gördüğüme memnun oldum. = I’m glad I saw you.
• Sonuçtan memnun oldum. = I was pleased with the result.
• Memnun oldum. = Nice to meet you. / I’m pleased.

So in introductions it becomes a set phrase, but outside that context it keeps its ordinary meaning too.