HAMILTON, Canada
Turkish parliamentarian Selman Ozboyaci corrected an official on the pronunciation of the country’s official name at a UN parliamentary hearing,
The correction came after moderator Dan Dunsky gave the floor to Ozboyaci and said, “The delegate from Turkey, please.”
The Turkish MP thanked Dunsky but said, “Firstly, it’s not ‘Turkey’ anymore. It’s ‘Türkiye’ right now.”
“I beg your pardon,” said Dunsky, and corrected himself by calling the country “Türkiye.”
In 2022, Türkiye addressed an official letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to request the use of “Türkiye” instead of “Turkey.”
According to Turkish officials, the move is meant to cement Türkiye’s brand name on the international stage, and more accurately reflect its heritage.
“Pronunciation of our country’s name is not a new matter,” Ozboyaci said in a video statement after the parliamentary hearing that was titled, “Scaling up action for the Sustainable Development Goals: Finance, Institutions, and Politics” at UN headquarters Thursday in New York.
Recalling that the decision on the name change has been conveyed to all international interlocutors, he said, “Türkiye has sensitivity regarding this matter.
“Out of habit, we sometimes still see the use of the term ‘Turkey’ in international meetings as an old usage. However, we politely express that we have changed it to ‘Türkiye,'” Ozboyaci added.
