The Turkish government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has decided to change the name of the nation from Turkey to ‘Turkiye.’ The name is being changed to rectify the image of the country and make it more attached to the cultural roots etched in Turkish history. As per the statement by President Erdogan, the name ‘Turkiye’ represents the culture and civilisation and expresses the values of the Turkish nation in the aptest way, reported TRT World.
The new name for the nation will be used in all economic activities and international interactions and correspondences. This will ensure that the name ‘Turkiye’ is further strengthened. Furthermore, if it is used in international trade activities, the name will become more of a brand that will represent the country’s experience in various fields.
Turkey is known as Turkiye in the Turkish language. During colonial rule, the country was monikered in the Latin tongue and began its identity with ‘Turquia’ before finally settling for Turkey. The name Turkey also sparks thoughts of other things, with the Guinea Fowl known as Turkey being the most prevalent.
To dust off such confusing terminology and to better represent the country’s rich history and culture, the national government decided to change the name of the country. A tweet honoring the communique released by the President was shared by the head of media and communications in the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun.
The caption tagged along the communique read, “With the circular signed by our President, the name ‘Turkiye’ will be used in all kinds of activities and correspondence with all international institutions and organizations, especially other states.”
Although the transformation is going as smoothly as expected, there are some barriers about the language that may hinder the complete change of names. For instance, the letter ‘Ü’ creates an issue as it isn’t the nominal Latin alphabet.