Why Turkey has now become Türkiye

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Turkey will now be known as Türkiye with the United Nations accepting the formal request from Ankara for switching to the new name.</p>
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"Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people's culture, civilization, and values," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December.</p>
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State broadcaster TRT was quick to make the change as soon as it was announced last year, explaining that among the reasons for the image rebrand was the association with the bird traditionally associated with Christmas, New Year or Thanksgiving.</p>
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It also pointed out the Cambridge English Dictionary's definition of one of the meanings of the word as "something that fails badly" or "a stupid or silly person".</p>
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Most Turks already know their country as Türkiye. However, the anglicised form Turkey is widely used, even within the country.</p>
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President Erdogan was pushing for this move for years, arguing that the country would be better represented with the Turkish name instead of sharing the same word with a bird.</p>
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Several international bodies will be asked to make the name change as part of a rebranding campaign launched by the Turkish president late last year.</p>
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The UN says it made the change as soon as it received the request this week.</p>
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Other countries have also changed their names in the past. The Netherlands dropped Holland in a rebranding move in 2020. Macedonia had also changed its name to North Macedonia due to a political dispute with Greece.</p>
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Further back in years, Siam was changed to  Thailand, and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.</p>