Questions & Answers about Ben kendime Türkçe öğretiyorum.
Why does the word for "myself" have an -e at the end to make kendime?
Kendi means "self". First, we add the possessive -m to make kendim (myself). Then, we add the dative case suffix -e (to) because the verb öğretmek (to teach) directs the action to someone. Literally, you are saying "I am teaching Turkish to myself."
Do I need to include Ben at the beginning of the sentence?
No, you can drop it! Kendime Türkçe öğretiyorum is perfectly natural. In Turkish, the endings on kendime (myself) and öğretiyorum (I am teaching) already make it clear who is doing the action. Adding Ben just gives a little extra emphasis.
I remember that öğreniyorum means "I am learning". Why is this spelled öğretiyorum?
They are related but different verbs! Öğrenmek means "to learn", while öğretmek means "to teach". Here, we use the root öğret-, add the present continuous -iyor, and the "I" suffix -um to get öğretiyorum (I am teaching).
Why doesn't Türkçe have an accusative case ending here?
In this sentence, "Turkish" is a general direct object. Because you are talking about the language in general, rather than a specific definite object, it doesn't need the accusative suffix. General objects like this stay in their plain form and sit right before the verb.