At least at the United Nations, Turkey now has a new name: aEUR. After a request by the government of Turkey, the organization agreed to recognize it at TA 1/4 Rkiye. This was after the government had been trying to rebrand the nation’s identity since last winter.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister, requested the change in writing to the U.N. this week.
According to Balkan Insight translation, Cavusoglu tweeted Tuesday that “The process we began under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdan in order to increase our country’s brand value was to be completed.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N., told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that the name change was effective from the time the letter was received.
The country’s rebranding campaign started in December aEUR”, during a period when inflation was at its highest and economic crisis was worsening aEUR”. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a memorandum requesting other countries to use the name TA 1/4 rkiye.
According to Al Jazeera, he also directed that export products be marked “Made In TA 1/4 Rkiye” and that state agencies use this name in official documents.
Erdogan stated that TA 1/4 rkiye was the best expression and representation of the culture, civilization, and values of the Turkish people at that time.
According to The Associated Press, the country was called TA 1/4 rkiye aEUR after it declared independence in 1923. The name is well-known in Turkey, although it is also used frequently inside the country.
The country launched a tourism campaign entitled “Hello TA 1/4 rkiye” in January. It featured a video of tourists uttering the phrase at different locations across the country. TRT World, the state broadcaster, stated that the campaign was meant to “announce” and increase global awareness about the country’s original name.
Turkish officials and state media report that there are many reasons for Turkey being internationally recognized as TA 1/4 Rkiye AEUR.” These include strengthening the country’s identity and distancing from less flattering associations (and search engines).
TRT World listed them both in December. They pointed out that the Cambridge Dictionary defined Turkey as “something that fails badly” and “a stupid or foolish person.”
Google added that if you type the word in, “you’ll get a muddled collection of images, articles and dictionary definitions that conflates the country with Meleagris aEUR”, also known as the turkey (a large North American bird) aEUR” and is well-known for its appearance on Thanksgiving dinners or Christmas menus.
Although the homonym problem in Turkey may seem unique, it is not uncommon for countries to change their name.
There are many historical examples of this, such as Siam becoming Thailand and Iran becoming Persia. In 2020, the Dutch government rebranded the country as the Netherlands, rather than Holland.
