Turkey Presses Countries To Use Its Preferred Name

November 27, 2022 Diplomacy, Politics

The Wall Street Journal reports:

In April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked the international community to recognize his nation by its traditional name, spelled “Türkiye” and pronounced Tour-key-yeh. His government promoted the shift as an effort to instill national pride—and silence associations with the Thanksgiving bird and pejorative uses of the word “turkey.” An article published by the website of the state television channel cited “not flattering” comparisons to the bird.

It added: “Flip through the Cambridge Dictionary and ‘turkey’ is defined as ‘something that fails badly’ or a ‘stupid or silly person.’” The move by Mr. Erdogan’s government is unusual. It involves the difference between what linguists call the “exonym”—the name for a place or thing in other languages, and the “endonym”—the local name. His government is demanding countries use the Turkish spelling and pronunciation rather than render the name in their own languages.

Read the full article. The piece (no paywall) goes on to recount various moments involving US diplomats using the requested name and how some countries seeking to curry favor with Turkey have complied in official statements. My first report on the issue is here.



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