Because Turkish and Tatar are both Turkic languages, I understand a lot of the things I see written in Tatar. (I haven't heard much spoken Tatar yet, but I did understand that a guy in the grocery store last night was asking someone on the phone a yes or no question!) Or, I sort of understand. Here's an illustration:
This sign (sorry for the tree – there was no better angle) is all in Russian, except for the big blue words in the middle – Ак чечеклер. In Latin script this would be "ak çeçekler," which is almost the same as Turkish "ak çiçekler," which would mean "white flowers." The sign gives clues that this is what the Tatar means, too – the flowers the woman is holding, and the stylized flowers in the background.
What I have no context for is why the sign says "White Flowers." The rest of the sign says "Health Ministry of Tatarstan" and "Doctor of the Year – 2010." Is that doctor's (you can't see it, but he's wearing a lab coat and stethoscope) name White Flowers? Is that a possible Tatar name? "Flowers" sounds ridiculous as a Turkish surname – I've never seen one with a plural ending on it before. But I suppose it's possible. If that is his name, why is there a woman holding white flowers on the sign as well? Or is the prize for Doctor of the Year called the White Flowers prize? If that's the case, why? And why isn't the Doctor of the Year's name given? Has he/she not been chosen yet, and the guy on the sign is just a generic doctor?
SO MANY QUESTIONS. Health Ministry of Tatarstan gets a D- for signage.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Ministry of Tatarstan gets an A+ for enormous, monstrously gaudy buildings with 50-foot tall trees-of-life in the middle of them situated right on the riverfront, but I'll show you that some other time.
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