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When people start learning Turkish, they are often surprised by how phonetic it is.
What you see is almost always what you say. Once learners understand the basic sound system, reading becomes much easier than they expect.
This wasn’t always the case.
Until the early 20th century, Turkish was written using the Arabic script. While this system worked well for Arabic and Persian, it did not fully reflect the sound structure of Turkish. Vowels were often unclear, and learning to read and write required significant effort and prior knowledge.
In 1928, Turkey adopted a Latin-based alphabet designed specifically for the sounds of Turkish.
This reform was initiated under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as part of a broader literacy campaign.
The goal was not simply to replace one script with another, but to create a writing system that matched how the language is actually spoken. Each sound was given a clear and consistent letter, making reading and pronunciation more accessible.
For learners today, this reform has very practical consequences. Turkish spelling is highly regular, pronunciation rules are consistent, and once you learn them, you can confidently read new words. Many students say that Turkish “starts to make sense” at this stage — not because it is simple, but because its structure is transparent.
This is a reminder that writing systems are not just technical tools. They shape how a language is learned, how it is taught, and how accessible it feels to newcomers. Learning Turkish also means understanding some of the choices that shaped it into the language we use today.
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