The official Anadolu news agency reported that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu sent a letter to the UN asking him to officially name his country “Turkey” (as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish), meaning “Türkiye” instead of “Türkiye”. Turkey”, which was considered part of Ankara’s efforts to rename the state and separate its name from some of the negative connotations associated with it.
Anadolu reported that Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, confirmed receipt of the letter late Wednesday evening. The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that “the change in the name of the country from one format to another took effect from the moment the letter was received.” The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to change the internationally recognized name to “Türkiye” as it is written and pronounced in Turkish. She named herself “Turkey” in 1923 after independence.
In December, Erdogan ordered the use of the Turkish pronunciation of the word “Turkey” to better represent Turkish culture and values, including the requirement to use “Made in Turkey” (in Turkish letters) instead of “Made in Turkey” (in English) on exported products. Turkish ministries began to use the word “Turkey” (as it is written in Turkish) in official documents.
Earlier this year, the government also released a promotional video as part of its efforts to change its name in English, showing tourists from all over the world saying “Welcome to Turkey” (in the local language) at popular locations. The Turkish Presidential Communications Department said it launched a campaign to “better promote the use of the word ‘Turkey’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms.”
Turkey’s official English-language station TRT World also switched to using the word “Turkey”. TRT World justified its decision in an article earlier this year, saying that a Google search for “Turkey” turns up “a confusing array of images, articles and dictionary definitions that confuse the country with a turkey.”
She added that the Cambridge English Dictionary defines “Turkey” as “an extremely unlucky person” or “a foolish or stupid person”. TRT World has confirmed that Turks prefer to call their country “Turks”, “in line with the state’s goals in defining how others define it”.
