Turkish F-keyboard

The 1956 Turkish F keyboard layout was designed specifically with the linguistic features and letter frequencies of the Turkish language and the ergonomic requirements of the human hand in mind. This layout emphasizes balanced typing between the right and left hands, promoting a rhythm that leverages alternating hands for smoother, more efficient typing. The placement of letters reflects both the frequency of use in Turkish and an understanding of hand anatomy, ensuring that the most frequently used letters are placed in the most accessible positions.^{[citation needed]}

In the F keyboard, letters are distributed across the top, middle, and bottom rows with a focus on balancing load distribution:

• Top Row Frequency Weight Total: ~24.04% Calculated based on the designated letters in the top row.
• Middle Row Frequency Weight Total: ~63.77% Calculated with primary letters located in the middle row, providing maximum accessibility.
• Bottom Row Frequency Weight Total: ~12.21% Letters in the bottom row, adjusted for lower frequency but accessible as needed.

The distribution also considers each hand's typing load:

• Left Hand Frequency Weight Total: ~48.97% The sum of letter frequencies assigned to the left hand.
• Right Hand Frequency Weight Total: ~51.05% The sum of letter frequencies assigned to the right hand.

Based on the analysis of the Turkish Language Association's 1956 orthographic guide, we present the letter frequencies in Turkish words of the time. Below, the tables show the vowel and consonant frequencies from high to low.

General Total Count: 183596 ^[3]

With this scientific preparation, Turkey has broken 14 world records in typewriting championships between 1957 and 1995.^[4] In 2009, Recep Ertaş and in 2011, Hakan Kurt from Turkey came in first in the text production event of the 47th (Beijing) and 48th (Paris) Intersteno congresses respectively.^[5][6]

Despite the greater efficiency of the Turkish F-keyboard however, the modified QWERTY keyboard ("Q-keyboard") is the one that is used on most computers in Turkey. The reason for the prevalence of the Turkish QWERTY keyboard over the F-keyboard was rooted in changes starting in the late 1980s. Until the 1990s, it was legally required that all typewriters imported into Turkey used the standard F-keyboard layout, and customs regulations strictly enforced this standard. However, as personal computers (PCs) began to proliferate and manufacturers sold their products equipped with the American QWERTY keyboard, obtaining a Turkish F-keyboard layout for these new computers was nearly impossible. To accommodate the influx of PCs, authorities eventually interpreted the existing F-keyboard regulation as applying only to typewriters, thus exempting computers from the mandate. This interpretation, while erroneous and aimed at facilitating imports, led to widespread adoption of the American QWERTY layout in Turkey.

In fact, the first imported keyboards lacked the unique Turkish letters (Ğ, Ş, Ç, İ, ı, Ü, Ö), and users could only type these characters through software solutions, often adding stickers on the keys to reflect the modified characters.

Interestingly, at that time, Apple was the only manufacturer adhering to Turkish regulations by providing F-keyboards on computers sold in Turkey. However, as Turkish PC users grew accustomed to the QWERTY layout, Apple later adjusted its offerings, importing devices with the Turkish QWERTY layout as the default while offering the F-keyboard as an option for those who preferred it.^[7]