No more Turkey: Country in push to be known as Türkiye
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has sent a letter to the United Nations formally requesting that his country be referred to as Türkiye, the state-run news agency reported. The move is seen as part of a push by Ankara to rebrand the country and dissociate its name from the bird, turkey, and some negative connotations that are associated with it.
Anadolu Agency said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, confirmed receipt of the letter late on Wednesday. The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that the name change had become effective from the moment the letter was received.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government has been pressing for the internationally recognised name Turkey to be changed to Türkiye (tur-key-YAY) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish. The country called itself Türkiye in 1923 after its declaration of independence. In December, Erdogan ordered the use of Türkiye to better represent Turkish culture and values, including demanding that Made in Türkiye be used instead of Made in Turkey on exported products. Turkish ministries began using Türkiye in official documents.
Earlier this year, the government also released a promotional video as part of its attempts to change its name in English. The video shows tourists from across the world saying Hello Türkiye at famous destinations.
The Turkish presidencys Directorate of Communications said it launched the campaign to promote more effectively the use of Türkiye as the countrys national and international name on international platforms.
It was not clear whether the name, with a letter that doesnt exist in the English alphabet, will catch on widely abroad. In 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its short-form name, Czechia, and while some international institutions use it, many still refer to the country by its longer name. Turkeys English-language state broadcaster TRT World has switched to using Türkiye although the word Turkey slips in by journalists still trying to get used to the change. TRT World explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying Googling Turkey brings up a a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird 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 silly person.
TRT World argued that Turks prefer their country to be called Türkiye, in keeping with the countrys aims of determining how others should identify it.
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