# Is it racist to call someone from Turkey a Turk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358 "2022-07-03T22:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/1 "2022-07-03T22:31:20Z")
My mom and a neighborhood group are writing a song for a July 4th celebration and in it they refer to Dr. Oz as “the Turk.” It sounds a little off or racist to me, but perhaps I’m seeing something that isn’t there? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/2 "2022-07-03T22:39:08Z")
I’m gonna say no. > Article 66 of the [Turkish Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Constitution) defines a “Turk” as: “Anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship.” From here: > **[Turkish people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_people)** > > Turkish people or Turks (Turkish: Türkler) are the largest Turkic people who speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as: "Anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship." While the legal use of the term "Turkish" as it pertains to a citiz... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/3 "2022-07-03T22:40:09Z")
Note that the country announced recently that it prefers to be called Türkiye. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/4 "2022-07-03T22:40:12Z")
Who is Dr. Oz? If the song is all about illiterate bloodthirsty degenerate Ottoman rednecks or something then it might be racist, not the mere fact of mentioning Turkey (in a July 4th song???) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/5 "2022-07-03T22:43:27Z")
Doctor Oz is the NJ resident running for a Senate seat in PA. He also promotes medical quackery on TV (He does have a legitimate medical degree). “Turk” is a neutral term AFAIK, but can be used in a racist way, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/6 "2022-07-03T22:44:37Z")
I doubt that the song in question suggests that all Turks are [pseudoscience-promoting political hacks.](https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/dr-ozs-sad-trip-down-rabbit-hole) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/7 "2022-07-03T22:46:37Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > If the song is all about illiterate bloodthirsty degenerate Ottoman rednecks or something then it might be racist, not the mere fact of mentioning Turkey (in a July 4th song???) I’ll amend my previous post to include this. It doesn’t appear (based on 10 seconds of looking at wiki) that calling someone from Turkey a Turk is racist. But if it’s deliberately being used in a racist way, that’s different. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/8 "2022-07-03T22:49:30Z")
It’s like calling a Jew a Jew. It has been used disparagingly often enough that it looks like it might be a slur, but most of the time, it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/9 "2022-07-03T22:50:58Z")
No it’s mostly about how they think he’s being parachuted in as a celebrity candidate and they’d like Fetterman to kick his ass (politically speaking, of course). All to the tune of “The Merry Old Land Of Oz. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/10 "2022-07-03T22:57:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Note that the country announced recently that it prefers to be called Türkiye. Are you saying that they object to Turkey, when writing in English? Did they say why? It’s not like we’re calling it Rhodesia instead of Zimbabwe. I mean, it’s just like when you’re writing in Turkish, it’s İngiltere for England, Fransa for France. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/11 "2022-07-03T22:57:56Z")
Using “Turk” to mean someone of Turkish descent is not racist. However, using it as an epithet for someone who has many other far more relevant traits might be. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/12 "2022-07-03T23:01:25Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Note that the country announced recently that it prefers to be called Türkiye. > > Are you saying that they object to Turkey, when writing in English? Did they say why? It’s not like we’re calling it Rhodesia instead of Zimbabwe. From what I’ve read, part of it is the association with the same-named bird, part is the use of the word to mean an utter failure and partly it’s that Türkiye is what it’s called in the country itself. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/13 "2022-07-03T23:24:35Z")
I would say that simply describing a Turkish person as “a Turk” in many circumstances would not be a problem. But in a satirical political piece describing a Turkish-American poitical candidate as “the Turk,” that sounds a bit iffy. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/14 "2022-07-03T23:48:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From what I’ve read, part of it is the association with the same-named bird And part of _this_ is a complaint that the nation comes after the bird in Google searches. Guess the bird hired a better SEO guy. For a real flex move, the nation should have demanded that the bird change its name. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/15 "2022-07-03T23:51:30Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > For a real flex move, the nation should have demanded that the bird change its name. I suggest a campaign to rename the bird “Russia”. ETA, or “Putin”. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/16 "2022-07-03T23:57:46Z")
“Turk” seems to be a-OK in Turkey. On the other hand, “Turkification” and “Young Turks” have darker significance, at least to much of the outside world. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/17 "2022-07-03T23:58:40Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > It’s like calling a Jew a Jew. And if someone referred to a particular celebrity or public figure as “The Jew,” I’d at least suspect some antisemitism. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/18 "2022-07-04T00:04:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > … if someone referred to a particular celebrity or public figure as “The Jew,” I’d at least suspect some antisemitism Yep, agree. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/19 "2022-07-04T00:06:56Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Are you saying that they object to Turkey, when writing in English? Did they say why? It’s not like we’re calling it Rhodesia instead of Zimbabwe. I mean, it’s just like when you’re writing in Turkish, it’s İngiltere for England, Fransa for France. In Wikipedia: > **[Turkey | Name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#Name)** > > The name Turkey appears in Western sources after the late 11th century, referring to the Seljuk-controlled lands in Anatolia and the Near East. The English name Turkey (from Medieval Latin Turchia/Turquia) means "land of the Turks". Middle English usage of Turkye is evidenced in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess (c. 1369). The modern spelling Turkey dates back to at least 1719. The name Turkey has been used in the texts of numerous international treaties to define the Ottoman In Byzantin... > In December 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a circular calling for exports to be labelled “Made in Türkiye”. The circular also stated that in relation to other governmental communications “necessary sensitivity will be shown on the use of the phrase ‘Türkiye’ instead of phrases such as ‘Turkey’, ‘Türkei’, ‘Turquie’ etc.”[[35]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-36)[[36]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-37) The reason given in the circular for preferring _Türkiye_ was that it “represents and expresses the culture, civilisation, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way”. According to Turkish state broadcaster [TRT World](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRT_World), it was also to avoid a pejorative association with [turkey, the bird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)).[[34]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-:5-35) It was reported in January 2022 that the government planned to register _Türkiye_ with the [United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations).[[37]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-38) Minister of Foreign Affairs [Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mevl%C3%BCt_%C3%87avu%C5%9Fo%C4%9Flu) sent letters to the UN and other international organisations on 31 May 2022 requesting that they use _Türkiye_. The UN agreed and implemented the request immediately.[[38]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-39)[[39]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-40) Erdoğan also announced that [Turkish Airlines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Airlines) would commence international operations under its Turkish name _Türk Hava Yolları_, based on the name change of the country.[[40]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey#cite_note-41) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358/20 "2022-07-04T01:29:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Using “Turk” to mean someone of Turkish descent is not racist. > > However, using it as an epithet for someone who has many other far more relevant traits might be. Co-sign. US politics (along with a lot of other politics) already has too much baggage when it comes to using “othering” racial and ethnic epithets to tap into voter xenophobia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-call-someone-from-turkey-a-turk/967358.md?page=2)