What might play a role in the decision is the fact that Turkey English means “Turkey”. TRT World explains that association with the bird could damage the country’s reputation. The Cambridge Dictionary says that the name of the bird can also refer to “something hopelessly unsuccessful” or “a stupid or insane person”.
The name change proposal was made in December by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He argued that “Turkey,” as the Turks themselves call their country, “better represents our culture, our population, and our values.”
It was not immediately clear what the status of this announcement was, but it now appears that Erdogan has a wide following. For example, the Turkish Foreign Ministry uses the Turkish name in English, as do some embassies.
According to its own website, the Turkish Embassy in Paris now calls itself “Ambassade de Türkiye à Paris”, not Ambassade de Turquie, as it used to be. The embassy in Berlin calls itself “Botschaft der Republik Türkiye”, and is no longer from Turkey. However, the embassy in Rome is still the “Ambasciata della Repubblica di Turchia”. The embassy in The Hague does not have a Dutch website, everything is in English (and Turkish).
made in Turkey
President Erdoğan called on Turkish export-goods manufacturers to put “Made in Turkey” on their products from now on. The Turkish Exporters Association said it would follow up on the matter. The Turkish government has informed the United Nations that it wants to change the name there as well. This may have practical problems with the “ü”.
The President’s Information Service launched a public campaign last week to introduce the new international brand. In one of the films, tourists from different parts of the world say the greeting “Hello Türkiye”.
The English name of the turkey, which is about six hundred years old, is probably due to the supposed Turkish origin of the animal. By the way, Turkey means “Indian” in Turkish, while India is called “Hindistan” in Turkish, meaning “the country of Turkey”.
