Will the alphabet change in Turkey?

The 3rd meeting of the Common Turkic Alphabet Commission was held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from September 9-11, in cooperation with the Turkic Academy and the Turkish Language Association (TDK).

The commission, established by the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), reached a consensus on the proposal for a Common Turkic Alphabet consisting of 34 letters and decided to adopt this alphabet.

Following the meeting, TDK President Prof. Dr. Osman Mert explained the details of the alphabet and the possible changes to be made in Turkey to TRT Haber.

Prof. Dr. Mert stated that the Common Turkic Alphabet is a project that has been in the collective memory since 1926, and emphasized that the differences between all dialects were taken into account while creating the alphabet.

THE COMMON TURKIC ALPHABET IS NOT A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Prof. Dr. Mert said, "The Common Turkic Alphabet is the result of the Turkic World's historical efforts regarding alphabet unity. After the 1st Turcology Congress held in Baku in 1926, a consensus was reached on 34 letters at a workshop held at Marmara University in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union." He also stated that the 34-letter proposal would include letters for sounds that do not exist in Turkish Turkish but are present in other dialects.

The commission developed a framework alphabet based on three fundamental principles: marking meaning-distinguishing sounds, representing the same sounds with the same signs, and taking into account the phonetic differences of each dialect. Prof. Dr. Mert noted that these principles were guiding and that a significant stage had been reached in the common alphabet.

Prof. Dr. Mert said that the Common Turkic Alphabet would encourage mutual understanding and cooperation among Turkic peoples, and that this development would contribute to the convergence of the Turkic geography and increase the ability to act together in many fields from education to economy, and from politics to literature.

NO CHANGES

There will be no changes to the current alphabet in Turkey and Azerbaijan; both countries will continue to use the 29 common letters.

Prof. Dr. Mert stated that the 34-letter list includes the sum of the letters in the alphabets of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, but that this list forms a framework alphabet for the common use of all dialects. A new alphabet will not be implemented for Turkish Turkish; only the letters necessary for sounds in other dialects have been included in the list.