Editing Turkish language (section)

== Writing system ==
{{main|Turkish alphabet|Turkish Braille}}
[[File:Ataturk-September 20, 1928.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] introducing the new [[Turkish alphabet]] to the people of [[Kayseri]]. September 20, 1928. (Cover of the French ''L'Illustration'' magazine)]]

Turkish is written using [[Turkish alphabet|a version]] of [[Latin script]] introduced in 1928 by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] to replace the [[Ottoman Turkish alphabet]], a version of [[Perso-Arabic script]]. The Ottoman alphabet marked only three different vowels—long ''ā, ū'' and ''ī''—and included several redundant consonants, such as variants of ''z'' (which were distinguished in Arabic but not in Turkish). The omission of short vowels in the Arabic script was claimed to make it particularly unsuitable for Turkish, which has [[#Vowel harmony|eight vowels]].<ref name=zimmerorgun/>

The reform of the script was an important step in the [[Atatürk's reforms|cultural reforms]] of the period. The task of preparing the new alphabet and selecting the necessary modifications for sounds specific to Turkish was entrusted to a [[Turkish alphabet#Modern Turkish alphabet|Language Commission]] composed of prominent linguists, academics, and writers. The introduction of the new Turkish alphabet was supported by public education centers opened throughout the country, cooperation with publishing companies, and encouragement by Atatürk himself, who toured the country teaching the new letters to the public.<ref name="Dilacar">{{cite journal|last=Dilaçar|first=Agop|author-link=Agop Dilaçar|title=Atatürk ve Yazım|journal=Türk Dili|issn=1301-465X|volume=35|issue=307|url=http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFC3C6D81741DBEB05|access-date=2007-03-19|year=1977|language=tr|archive-date=2007-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214015221/http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFC3C6D81741DBEB05|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, there was a dramatic increase in literacy from its original, pre-modern levels.<ref>{{cite book|last=Coulmas|first=Florian|title=Writing Systems of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/writingsystemsof0000coul|url-access=registration|publisher=Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford|year=1989|isbn=0-631-18028-1|pages=243–244}}</ref>{{request quotation|date=July 2022|reason=Source may lack any mention literacy rates.}}

The Latin alphabet was applied to the Turkish language for educational purposes even before the 20th-century reform. Instances include a 1635 Latin-Albanian dictionary by [[Frang Bardhi]], who also incorporated several sayings in the Turkish language, as an appendix to his work (e.g. ''alma agatsdan irak duschamas''{{efn|In modern Turkish spelling: {{lang|tr|elma ağaçtan ırak düşmez}}.}}—"An apple does not fall far from its tree").

Turkish now has an alphabet suited to the sounds of the language: the spelling is largely [[Phonemic spelling|phonemic]], with one letter corresponding to each [[phoneme]].<ref name="KerslakeGoksel2014">{{cite book|author1=Celia Kerslake|author2=Asli Goksel|title=Turkish: An Essential Grammar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DbJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|date=11 June 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-04218-0|page=12|access-date=11 June 2018|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115123307/https://books.google.com/books?id=-DbJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the letters are used approximately as in English, the main exceptions being {{angbr|c}}, which denotes {{IPA|[dʒ]}} ({{angbr|j}} being used for the {{IPA|[ʒ]}} found in Persian and European loans); and the undotted {{angbr|ı}}, representing {{IPA|[ɯ]}}. As in German, {{angbr|ö}} and {{angbr|ü}} represent {{IPA|[ø]}} and {{IPA|[y]}}. The letter {{angbr|ğ}}, in principle, denotes {{IPA|[ɣ]}} but has the property of lengthening the preceding vowel and assimilating any subsequent vowel. The letters {{angbr|ş}} and {{angbr|ç}} represent {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[tʃ]}}, respectively. A [[circumflex]] is written over [[back vowel]]s following {{angbr|k}} and {{angbr|g}} when these consonants represent {{IPA|[c]}} and {{IPA|[ɟ]}}—almost exclusively in Arabic and Persian [[loanword|loans]].{{efn|In these cases the circumflex conveys information about the preceding consonant rather than the vowel over which it is written.}}<ref name=lewis2001/>{{rp|3–7}}

The Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters (q, w, x omitted and ç, ş, ğ, ı, ö, ü added); the complete list is:
:''a, b, c, ç, d, e, f, g, ğ, h, ı, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, r, s, ş, t, u, ü, v, y'', and ''z'' (Capital of ''i'' is ''İ'' and lowercase ''I'' is ''ı''.)

The specifically Turkish letters and spellings described above are illustrated in this table:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Turkish spelling
!Pronunciation
!Meaning
|-
|{{lang|tr|[[Cağaloğlu]]}}
|{{IPA|ˈdʒaːɫoːɫu}}
|[İstanbul district]
|-
|{{lang|tr|çalıştığı}}
|{{IPA|tʃaɫɯʃtɯː}}
|where/that (s)he works/worked
|-
|{{lang|tr|müjde}}
|{{IPA|myʒˈde}}
|good news
|-
|{{lang|tr|lazım}}
|{{IPA|laːˈzɯm}}
|necessary
|-
|{{lang|tr|mahkûm}}
|{{IPA|mahˈcum}}
|condemned
|}