Turkey has applied to the United Nations asking to be formally known as Turkiye, in a move which its leadership says will better represent Turkish culture and values. A letter has been sent by foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and it is being reported that the UN has accepted the country's request.
It is understood to be part of ongoing efforts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government in Ankara to rebrand the nation on the international stage. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency has said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, confirmed receipt of the letter on Wednesday (June 1).
The agency added that the UN spokesman had said that the change had become effective "from the moment" the letter was received. It means that Turkey will now be officially be referred to as Turkiye - pronounced tur-key-YAY - which is how it its spelled and pronounced in Turkish.
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Turkey is traditionally one of the most popular countries for British holidaymakers, with the Statista.com website reporting that 2.29 million trips were made from the UK in 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic struck and international travel was halted. The reasons behind the name change is understood to be a desire from the Turkish government to dissociate its name from the bird, turkey, and any negative connotations around it.
The 'new' name reflects how the country referred to itself on its declaration of independence in 1923. President Erdogan ordered the use of “Turkiye” back in December, last year. It was part of a call for 'Made in Turkiye' to replace 'Made in Turkey' on products exported from the country.
Turkish government departments have been using the new name in official documents since the start of this year. A promotional video was also released announcing the change. It included footage of overseas tourists saying "Hello Turkiye" when visiting famous tourist destinations in the country.
According to the Turkish presidency's directorate of communications, the campaign was "to promote more effectively the use of ‘Turkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms". Even if the UN has reportedly adopted the change, it is not clear whether the new name will end up being commonly used around the world.
There is a recent precedent, accoding to PA News. Back in 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its short-form name of Czechia. But while the change was adopted by some international institutions, mosts people still refer to the country as the Czech Republic.
TRT World, Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster now uses Turkiye, however, some journalists still occasionally use Turkey instead. According to PA News, in an article published earlier this year, TRT World explained that entering 'Turkey' in Google or other search engines brings up a "muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions".
It added: "Flip through the Cambridge Dictionary and ‘turkey’ is defined as 'something that fails badly’ or ‘a stupid or silly person'." The network explained that Turks themselves prefer their country to be known as Turkiye, adding it was the country's right to determine how others identify it.
