B727-200 POSITIONING TO CROSS RWY 17R ON TXWY F IS RECOGNIZED BY SDF GND CTL AS INCORRECT. FLT CREW POSITIONED FACING RWY 11. RPTR QUESTIONS CHART AND ARPT SIGNAGE.

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AT SDF; WE BRIEFED A TAXI RTE TO RWY 17R VIA TXWY F; TO HOLD SHORT OF RWYS 29 AND 17R; THEN VIA TXWYS G AND B TO RWY 17R. (WE WERE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO TXWY F AND THE INTXN OF RWYS 17R AND 29. TXWY F RUNS PARALLEL TO RWY 29; EXCEPT AT WHERE IT APPEARS TO ALSO TURN 90 DEGS AND RUN PERPENDICULAR TO RWY 29.) THE BUSY GND CTLR ISSUED US INSTRUCTIONS TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 17R ON TXWY F. WE EXITED THE RAMP AND TURNED 45 DEGS R ONTO TXWY F; AND STOPPED WELL BEFORE THE RWYS. WE WERE THEN CLRED TO CROSS RWY 17R 'WITHOUT DELAY;' WHICH THE FO READ BACK. BEFORE WE WERE ABLE TO GET UNDERWAY; THE CTLR SAID; 'OH; YOU ARE NOT ON TXWY F;' AND TOLD US TO ALSO CROSS RWY 29 WITHOUT DELAY AND CONTINUE TAXI TO RWY 17R. WE DO NOT BELIEVE A RWY INCURSION OCCURRED IN THIS CASE; BUT THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY A DIFFERENCE IN WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE THE GND CTLR EXPECTED US TO BE. FORTUNATELY; HE RECOGNIZED THIS BEFORE IT COULD BECOME A PROB AND ISSUED US ANOTHER CLRNC. ALTHOUGH WE MAINTAIN THAT WE WERE ON TXWY F; IT APPEARS THAT THE CTLR EXPECTED US TO BE ON TXWY F HDG SE HOLDING SHORT OF RWY 17R. FROM OUR PREBRIEF; WE EXPECTED TO CROSS THE RWY INTXNS OF RWYS 17R AND 29 AT TXWY F HDG NE. THERE WAS SOME DOUBT AS TO WHICH TXWY F HE WANTED US ON; WHICH IS WHY WE HELD WELL SHORT OF THE RWYS ON TXWY F TO ALLOW US TO GO EITHER WAY ON TXWY F. FREQ CONGESTION AND TKOF PREPARATIONS COMPLICATED CLARIFICATION. THIS AREA SHOULD BE DEPICTED AS A RWY INCURSION 'HOT SPOT.' THE AREA CAN BE CONFUSING; AND THE TAXI DIAGRAM IS NOT MUCH HELP. FOR EXAMPLE; THERE IS NO LETTER TO DESIGNATE THE TXWY NAME AT THE APCH END OF RWY 11. IT SEEMS THAT TXWY F WRAPS AROUND THE CORNER TO CROSS AT THE RWY INTXN. AT MOST OTHER ARPTS; PARALLEL TXWY NAMES ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE 90 DEG XING TXWY NAMES. NOT SO AT SDF. THIS NON-STANDARD NOMENCLATURE ADDS CONFUSION. DEPICTION OF TXWY LETTERING FURTHER COMPLICATES THIS ISSUE. FREQUENTLY; IT IS NOT CLR WHICH TXWY IS WHICH; WITHOUT USING THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION. FOR EXAMPLE; THE 'B' JUST S OF RWY 11 AND E OF RWY 17R APPEARS TO REFER TO THE E/W TXWY. HOWEVER; IT EVIDENTLY IS REFERRING TO THE N/S TXWY. THERE IS NO OTHER 'B' ASSOCIATED WITH THIS N/S TXWY. THERE ARE 2 OTHER 'B'S;' BUT THEY REFER TO THE E/W 90 DEG RWY XING TXWYS AT EITHER END OF THE PARALLEL. THIS LENDS TO CONFUSION. IS THERE NOT A BETTER WAY TO DEPICT TXWY NAMES ON A CHART? ALTHOUGH IN THIS SIT; I DONT' BELIEVE WE HAD A RWY INCURSION; IT WAS DUE TO THE CTLR'S HEADS UP CALL THAT MAY HAVE PREVENTED ONE. A MORE COMPLETE BRIEFING OF THE CREW; TO INCLUDE POSSIBLE ALTERNATE TAXI RTES; AND WHAT INSTRUCTIONS COULD BE EXPECTED TO DIFFERENTIATE BTWN THE USE OF WHICH TXWY F; COULD ALSO HAVE HELPED PREVENT THIS OCCURRENCE. IMPROVED TAXI DIAGRAMS WOULD BE A GREAT AID IN MINIMIZING CONFUSION TO HELP PREVENT RWY INCURSIONS.