The Turkish government has sent a letter to the United Nations formally requesting that she be referred to as Türkiye, the state news agency reported.
The move is seen as part of Ankara’s push to rename the country, distancing it from the bird of the same name and the negative connotations associated with it.
Anadolu Agency said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, confirmed receipt of the letter from Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s foreign minister. The agency quoted Dujarric as saying the name change took effect “from the moment” the letter was received. Dujarric told the Washington Post, “It’s not uncommon for us to receive such requests.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has been pushing for the internationally recognized name of Turkey to be changed to Türkiye (Turkey-YAY), as it is written and pronounced in Turkish. The country called itself Türkiye after its declaration of independence in 1923.
In December 2021, Erdoğan ordered the use of Türkiye to better represent Turkish culture and values, including requiring that “Made in Türkiye” be used instead of “Made in Turkey” for exported products. Turkish ministries also started using Türkiye in official documents.
The government released a promotional video this year as part of its attempts to change its name to English. The video shows tourists from all over the world saying “Hello Türkiye” at famous travel destinations.
The Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency said it launched the campaign “to more effectively promote the use of ‘Turkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms”.
It was unclear whether the name with a letter that does not appear in the English alphabet will catch on abroad. In 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its short name Czechia, and while some international institutions use it, many still refer to the country by its longer name.
English-language Turkish state broadcaster TRT World has switched to Türkiye, although the word Turkey, used by journalists still adjusting to the change, is creeping in.
TRT World explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying that Googling “Turkey” brings up a “jumbled array of images, articles and dictionary definitions merging the country with Meleagris — aka the turkey, a large bird which is native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners.”
The network continued, “Flip through the Cambridge Dictionary and ‘turkey’ is defined as ‘something that fails badly’ or ‘a stupid or stupid person’.”
TRT World argued that Turks prefer their country to be called Türkiye “in line with the country’s goals of determining how others should identify it.”
With Associated Press