*Not* Sponsored by the Letters Q and W

[weskeag]

An amusing (or scary?) item from Reuters via the Austin Area Translators Association

Turkish law bans Q and W
REUTERS REPORTED RECENTLY that a Turkish court
fined 20 people for using the letters Q and W on
placards at a Kurdish new year celebration, under a
law that bans use of characters not in the Turkish
alphabet.
Since Q and W do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet, the court in the southeastern city of Siirt
fined each of the 20 people 100 new lira ($75.53) for
holding up the placards, written in Kurdish, at the
event last year.
The 1928 Law on the Adoption and Application
of Turkish Letters replaced the traditional Arabic
script by a modified Latin alphabet and required all
signs, advertising, newspapers, and official documents
to use only Turkish letters.
Under pressure from the European Union, Turkey
has improved language and human rights for its
Kurdish minority, but the EU says implementation
has been patchy and loopholes remain.

Comments

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

!!! he exists! I thought of you the other day... reminiscing about helping red_lynx move.