The Observer view on Turkey’s name change

What’s in a name? An excellent deal, if Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is to be believed. His years-long quest to change his nation’s moniker to Türkiye (pronounced Tur-key-yay) reached a profitable conclusion final week when the UN gave its official blessing. “Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilisation and values,” Erdoğan declared. Maybe so, though in sometimes high-handed style, Erdoğan doesn’t seem to have requested the Turkish individuals for his or her views.

Nor has he consulted Welsh and French audio system, for instance, who’ve their very own methods of speaking turkey. Trying to ebook a flight from Caerdydd (Cardiff) to Twrci this summer time may trigger confusion. The French, being French, will possible persist with Turquie.

The change to Türkiye has a sound historic foundation. Land areas occupied by present-day Turks had been identified by numerous names over the centuries, together with Asia Minor, Anatolia and japanese Thrace. But Turkey formally turned the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) after independence in 1923, following the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate. Its centenary will fall subsequent 12 months.

Erdoğan is claimed to have needed rid of a westernised, anglicised name that jarred together with his neo-Islamist, nationalist-populist model. In Ankara, as elsewhere, id is every thing. More prosaically, it’s steered the phrase turkey conjured up unwelcome photographs of Thanksgiving dinners and the Christian feast of Christmas. Worse, in American slang, a turkey is a foolish, silly particular person.

Changing a rustic’s name is just not a brand new concept. Shifting political landscapes are sometimes the trigger. In 1707, the Acts of Union created the novel idea of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. In 2019, Macedonia, previously a republic inside Yugoslavia, itself a Twentieth-century invention, turned North Macedonia after a vexatious dispute with Greece.

What turned the United States was beforehand identified, by indigenous peoples no less than, as Turtle Island. Before the revolution of 1776, it gloried within the name of United Colonies. Some now name it Great Satan or Global Hegemon. Russia turned a part of the USSR, then had second ideas. War additionally turned East Pakistan, initially East Bengal, into Bangladesh. Less dramatically, Swaziland turned Eswatini in 2018 in order not be confused with Switzerland.

Colonial hangovers impressed many nationwide makeovers. Shrugging off the yoke, Bechuanaland turned Botswana, Rhodesia turned Zimbabwe and Nyasaland turned Malawi. Likewise, Siam turned Thailand. Until 1972, Queen Elizabeth II was additionally Queen of Ceylon. When it turned Sri Lanka, it deposed her by mutual consent. In distinction, Burma’s 1989 transformation into Myanmar was contentious. Opponents rightly complained the brand new name had been imposed by fiat by an unelected navy junta.

Geography is one other figuring out issue, as with the comparatively new creations of North Korea and East Timor. When Sudan’s southern areas gained independence from the north in 2011, they selected, a tad unimaginatively, to develop into South Sudan. Like Mesopotamia and Palestine, Persia was as a lot a location and a civilisation as a rustic. Now it’s named Iran.

Many main world cities have rebranded, too, reflecting outdated roots and shifting identities. New York was as soon as New Amsterdam and, briefly, New Orange, a stunning name for the Big Apple. St Petersburg was Petrograd and Leningrad in between. Bombay is Mumbai. Constantinople, previously Byzantium, now goes by the much less unique name of Istanbul, which brings us again to Tur-key-yah.

Should the United Kingdom observe Erdoğan’s instance? If Scotland secedes, it can now not be united. And the best way the youthful royals carry on, it may quickly be a republic. As Great Britain inexorably shrinks and shrivels into Little England, a brand new name could also be required. How about Brexitannia?

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