[Originally posted on 03/30/16 on the Duolingo Turkish for English speakers forum by MeteUlku]
Diacritical letters were removed by the TDK (Turkish Language Association) but it has added them back after a while. You can find words with diacritical letters in the TDK’s dictionary now.
They are used for Turkish words with Arabic, Kurdish or Persian roots to signify their correct pronunciations in written Turkish. They are needed when two words are written as the same, like “kar” (means “snow”) and “kâr” (means “profit”).
HOW TO USE THEM ON A KEYBOARD?
Hold SHIFT+3 and press “A”, and you’ll get “â”.
EXAMPLES:
- Kar = snow / Kâr = profit
- Hala = aunt / Hâlâ = still
Most of Turkish people don’t use these letters, but some of them use these. Therefore if you know what they are, you won’t lose anything.
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