Watching World Cup coverage introduced me to two new to me countries: Czechia and Türkiye. To be truthful, they were not new. It was just a rebrand.
The country I previously referred to as the Czech Republic is using a shorter, but still official name. The unflattering Turkey was dropped to better align with the local pronunciation and strong heritage (and not a Thanksgiving bird).
Truthfully, I have not problem with learning to pronounce countries’ (and people’s) names in a way that aligns with what they would say. My question is, “How come they get to do that?”
In the same broadcast where Türkiye and Czechia are said without issue, the commentators will turn the conversation to the Ivory Coast. The African nation previously moved to the official French name, Côte D’Ivoire, decades before. And yet, it still hasn’t caught on.
Why is it that some country rebrands have taken hold but others haven’t? What does that say about us as a public?
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A Wren Says 
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