France wants AZERTY keyboards to be grammatically correct

Paris: France's government is putting out a call for a standardized computer keyboard to replace the multitude of AZERTY models now on the market, saying current options make it "nearly impossible to write French correctly with a keyboard sold in France."

The French Culture Ministry noted that there are no standardized keys for accents, quote marks or certain letters — like those that form the correct beginning of the word "oeuvre" needed to create a masterpiece.

The AZERTY keyboard, whose name derives from the first five letters on the top, is a variation on the standard English-language keyboard used by many countries with Latin alphabets.

The French organization in charge of norms said its conclusions will be presented this summer.