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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renamed Turkey as ‘Türkiye’, with the umlaut and extra e expected to help fellow citizens rediscover their national heritage. Does changing names of places help improve things?
‘Türkiye’ is how the people of the country refer to their homeland. Here’s how to pronounce it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5bnNBMoDiA ‘Turkey’, as the country was called since independence in 1923, was a western label (unfortunately also associated with a bird), coming from Medieval Latin ‘Turchia’ or ‘Turquia’, meaning the Land of Turks.
After Erdogan’s announcement in December, the foreign ministry is planning to change the name officially at the UN. However, the UN registry system follows the nominal Latin alphabet, which does not have ‘ü’. Türkiye’s officials hope some way could be found: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-turkiye-new-name-register-un-weeks Meanwhile, manufacturers have been asked to use the label ‘Made in Türkiye’ instead of the earlier one.
The nationalist government’s intention is to reclaim the nation’s rightful identity. Erdogan had said, “The phrase ‘Türkiye’ represents and expresses the culture, civilization and values of the nation in the best way”: https://www.afar.com/magazine/why-turkey-is-now-turkiye
But will a boost of nationalist pride help citizens struggling against high levels of inflation? In December, it reached 36 percent annualized as Turks struggled with price rise in goods and services, especially food and fuel: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/20/turkeys-central-bank-hits-pause-leaves-interest-rates-unchanged The Turkish lira slid about 8 percent against the US dollar that month.
In Turkey (that is, Türkiye), some government officials welcomed the announcement, while cynics saw little more than a symbolic push (or distraction) ahead of national elections next year. Some said this was Erdogan’s only move recently that won’t affect the currency.
‘Turkey’s ‘New Nationalism’ Amid Shifting Politics’:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/turkeys-new-nationalism-amid-shifting-politics/
Jokes apart, reclaiming the authentic nomenclature and reconnecting with national pride may have its pluses too. In 2018, Swaziland became ‘Eswatini’, which was its name in the Swazi language: https://www.dw.com/en/from-swaziland-to-eswatini-whats-in-a-name-change/a-45372631 The Netherlands dropped the alternative name, Holland, in 2020: https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/holland-no-more-dutch-government-officially-drops-nickname-20191227-p53n2p.html
In India, three of the four metros (Bombay, Calcutta and Madras) were renamed years ago to do away with the colonial naming. The current the nationalist government is renaming places and cities to highlight their Hindu origins. Allahabad, for example, is now Prayagraj: https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/the-politics-of-naming-and-renaming-public-spaces-in-india-101614520459026.html Also: https://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/decoded-how-is-a-place-or-city-renamed-and-what-are-the-costs-involved-118120401304_1.html