On Wednesday, the United Nations announced that it had registered “Türkiye” as the official name for Turkey.
Turkey has officially changed its name to Türkiye to make the country’s brand more valuable and to stop people from confusing it with the famous American ThanksGiving bird.
The bird was dubbed “Turkey” because traders in the 14th and 15th centuries from Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, introduced it to European markets. This misconception has occasionally made Turkey a target of ridicule.
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According to veriuse websites, the turkey’s reputation for idiocy inspired other interpretations. In 1927, the famed gossip journalist, Walter Winchell, informed the readers of Vanity Fair about new entertainment jargon. “‘A turkey’ is a third-rate product,” he reported.
Since then, films that fail to impress reviewers or audiences are known as turkeys.
In the 1950s, turkey became a derogatory term, meaning “a foolish, lazy, incompetent, or generally useless individual.” This likely contributed to the birth of the term “jive turkey,” which first appeared in the African-American vernacular in the early 1970s and is described by slang lexicographer Jonathan Green as “a dishonest, insincere, and dishonest individual.”
Foreigners have used the word Turkey for centuries to refer to the core territory of the Ottoman Empire and, later, to its successor state, the Republic of Turkey.
The government has started a strategy to change the country’s name since January. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN, announced that the organization had received the official letter from the Turkish government asking for a name change. He also said that the name change went into effect as soon as they got the letter.
“Türkiye” will now be used in all foreign languages. “The Republic of Türkiye” will be the country’s full official name.
Turkish state media have been using “Türkiye” for months, and a state advertising campaign advocating the usage of “Türkiye” to foreigners has been airing on Turkish Airlines flights and other tourist promotional movies.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
The Latin word eventually became “Türkiye” in Turkish, “Turkey” in English, “Turkei” in German, and “Turquie” in French.
When Mustafa Kemal Ataturk started the Turkish War of Independence after World War I, he chose the name “Türkiye” to set his new government apart from the Sultan’s kingdom based in Constantinople.
After the Ottoman Empire fell apart in 1922 and a secular republic was set up, the name “Türkiye” was chosen as the official name.
