Turkey changes name at UN to avoid confusion with turkey in English

Turkey, a country of 84 million people in the Middle East, no longer wants to be called “Turkey” in English, but “Türkiye”. The change, which may seem small but has great social and political significance for Ankara, was formalized at the UN.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, informed several international media on Thursday (2) that the exchange, requested through a letter from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, has already taken effect. “Countries are free to choose how they want to be nominated,” he told CNN.

The change has been on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agenda for a few years now and was driven by the anglicized version of the country’s name. “Turkey”, in English, designates not only the Middle Eastern nation, but also the turkey bird.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on social media that the move was intended to “increase the country’s brand value”. “Türkiye” —pronounced “turkiê”—is already the way Turkish people have used to refer to the country since the nation’s formation in 1923, after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

The term had also been used in international trade. Erdogan signed a memorandum last year to have the phrase “made in Turkey” coined “made in Türkiye”. “It symbolizes and conveys the culture, civilization and values ​​of the Turkish nation in the best possible way,” the president said in the document.

Public institutions and the national press began to adopt this form. Public broadcaster TRT World published a statement explaining the change: “Type ‘Turkey’ into Google and you will see a set of images and definitions that confuse the country with Meleagris, also known as turkey in North America, famous for be served at Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners.”

“Or else leaf through the dictionaries; ‘turkey’ is defined as ‘something that fails badly’ or ‘a foolish person,'” he continued.

For Georgetown University history professor Mustafa Aksakal, introducing change at the UN is a way for Erdogan to demonstrate that he has the power to assert his will across national political boundaries. “The change may seem silly to some, but it puts Erdogan in the role of protector of international respect for the country,” he told The New York Times.

Government communication has released an institutional video that shows several citizens pronouncing the name “Türkiye” and spreading the hashtag #HelloTürkiye” on social networks.