The Constantinople correspondent of the Manchester Guardian says that the
movement for adopting Latin characters in_ the writing of Turkish is gaining strength so fast that the reform will probably be introduced fairly soon. Already Latin characters are being used on the new postage stamps, and they will also appear on the forthcoming Republican bank notes which will replace the Imperial paper money. The Government are con- sidering whether a Latinized Turkish alphabet shall be taught in the schools. Turkish educationists used to oppose such changes, but apparently they are giving way. The Turkish alphabet nominally has 33 characters,. but the number really rises to 118, as the writing of a character varies according to its position at the beginning, middle or end of a word. The result, of course, is that ability to read and write' is much less common than it should be. No doubt some of the old-fashioned Turks will object strongly and perhaps we shall hear of some of them being condemned to death for their belief in one of the most complicated alphabets in the world and on behalf of their right to spell chaotically.
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