Say “Turkey”, not “Turkey”: Turkey changes its international name

“Di Türkiye” makes a recurring announcement on social media to raise awareness about Turkey’s international name change, which has so far been in English: “Turkey”. The new name in Turkish avoids annoying confusions because “turkey” in English also means “turkey”.

The Republic of Turkey, “Türkei” in German, “Turquie” in French or “Turkey” in English, was formed in 1923 from the Ottoman Empire. Nearly a century later, its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, decided that his country’s international name was only its version in Turkish: “Turkish”.

Presidential Decree of December 3, 2021 confirms that Turkey “best represents and expresses the culture, civilization and values ​​of Turkey.”

The Islamic State of Turkey wants to announce in the coming weeks the formalization of this decision and the change of its international name to the United Nations.

International name changes are not uncommon, as the Netherlands has recently become the Netherlands, while northern Macedonia dropped its Byzantine dispute with Greece over its former long official name, “The Old Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

Problem with

However, some in Turkey warn that the letter “ü” is not found in the alphabet of many languages, which could lead to problems of change.

Although Ankara has not yet discussed the matter with the UN, the Turkish administration is optimistic that it could be resolved by using “u” instead of “ü”, meaning “Turkiye” instead of “Türkiye”. .

At the same time, Erdogan seeks to strengthen the country’s brand in international relations, companies and trade.

“Made in Turkey”

Thus, Turkish products will abandon the traditional ‘Made in Turkey’ and move to ‘Made in Turkey’, which, according to Erdogan, is a sign of “the country’s pride in international trade”.

The name change scheme is not new, and in 2000 the Turkish Exporters’ Council asked its members to sell products under “Türkiye”, but the request was not granted.

For now, the only users of the new name following the public broadcast in English are TRT and the official Anadolu news agency, as well as various services of embassies and official organizations.

The TRT, which represents the official position of the government, points out that the Cambridge dictionary itself defines the word ‘turkey’ as “something that seriously fails” or “a fool or a fool”.

Also a Google search for ‘Turkey’ brings up TRT highlights, confusing images, articles and definitions that connect the country with the turkey served at American Thanksgiving dinners.

Shocking Turkey

But there is another, more psychological explanation: the Turkish government hopes to put an end to the confusion and ridicule about the English name for turkey.

“There is a psychological disturbance in Turkey or even a kind of trauma caused by the word ‘turkey’ in English,” explains Chelsuk Condenser, professor of psychology at Khasi University Hospital in Ankara.

As a reminder to Condenser Efe, British tabloid newspapers played a part in this shock coverage of their game coverage, especially in 1984 when the Turkish team won 0-8 against England.

The tabloids, titled “Stuff the Turkey” (Spanish for “Stuff the Turkey”), hurt us the most, “says the expert, recalling that he used to make fun of the Turks.

Any Turkish student of the English language is well versed in the meaning of “turkey” in English, and at a time when this language is becoming more and more widely known and used internationally.

The jokes, jokes and racist attacks against Turkey are often based on comparing the United States to a large bird, the turkey.

Condenser also believes that the Turkish government, above all, wanted to use the issue of the new name for “domestic propaganda” in nationalist circles.

However, “high inflation” – almost 50% in January of each year – has now had a “small impact”.