'We Are A Nation And Not A Bird' - Turkish Says As They Change Name

As part of a rebranding drive begun by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late last year, several international groups will be urged to change the name.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan remarked in December that "Türkiye is the best reflection and expression of the Turkish people's culture, civilisation, and values."

According to the UN, the adjustment was made as soon as the request was received this week.

The majority of Turks refer to their country as Türkiye. However, even within the country, the anglicized term Turkey is often used.

TRT, the state broadcaster, was fast to make the move after it was announced last year, citing the relationship with the bird generally associated with Christmas, New Year, or Thanksgiving as one of the grounds for the rebranding.

It also mentioned that one of the definitions of the word is "something that fails badly" or "a stupid or silly person," according to the Cambridge English Dictionary.

"Made in Türkiye" will appear on all exported items as part of the rebranding, and a tourist campaign with the catchphrase "Hello Türkiye" was launched in January.

The move has elicited a mixed response online. While some government officials support it, others argue that it is a waste of time as the president prepares for elections next year in the midst of an economic crisis.

It is usual for countries to rename themselves.

The Netherlands will drop the name Holland in 2020 as part of a rebranding effort. Due to a political issue with Greece, Macedonia was renamed North Macedonia, and Swaziland was renamed Eswatini in 2018.

Iran was previously known as Persia, Siam was known as Thailand, and Rhodesia was renamed Zimbabwe.

The Ü may be tricky for most of the international audience who don’t have that letter in their alphabet but it’s the same as the German Ü, like the U in pure or cue. So for an English-speaker, changing the first vowel of Turkey to a Ü and adding an E to the end (as in pet) is enough to pronounce the new name perfectly.

But why was this necessary? President Erdogan was pushing for this move for years, arguing that the country would be better represented with the Turkish name instead of sharing the same word with a bird.

Turkey the bird is called by a different name in many languages, such as “peru” in Portuguese, while in Turkish it is “hindi”.

Many social media users refer to this fact to criticise the Turkish government’s move as absurd, while others agree that it was a necessary rebranding.

We have to wait and see if people around the world will accept Türkiye instead of Turkey, Turquie or Twrci.