How Did Thanksgiving 'Turkey' Get Its Name?

The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is symbolized by its traditional food, a large bird we call a turkey.

美國感恩節的象徵是它的傳統食物——一種我們稱為火雞（turkey）的大鳥。

But turkey is certainly not from Turkey.

但火雞（turkey）肯定不是來自土耳其（Turkey）。

In fact, its English name is based on one big mistake.

事實上，它的英文名字源於一個大錯誤。

We could say it is a case of mistaken identity.

可以說這是一場「認錯身分」的誤會。

Let's set the record straight.

讓我們來澄清事實。

The word “Turkey” has meant “the land of the Turks” since ancient times.

自古以來，「Turkey」一詞就表示「突厥人的土地」。

The word “turkey” as it refers to the bird first appeared in the English language in the mid-1500s.

指這種鳥的「turkey」一詞最早出現在16世紀中葉的英語中。

The misunderstanding over the word happened because of two similar-looking kinds of birds.

這個詞的誤會源於兩種外形相似的鳥。

There is an African bird called the guinea fowl.

有一種非洲鳥叫珠雞。

It has dark feathers with white spots and a patch of brown on the back of its neck.

牠的羽毛顏色深，帶有白色斑點，脖子後面有一塊棕色。

Portuguese traders brought the guinea fowl to Europe through North Africa.

葡萄牙商人經由北非把珠雞帶到了歐洲。

This foreign bird came to Europe through Turkish lands.

這種外來的鳥是經由土耳其人的地盤傳入歐洲的。

So, the English thought of the bird as a “Turkish chicken.”

於是，英國人就把這種鳥當成了「土耳其雞」。

When Europeans came to North America, they saw a bird that looked like the guinea fowl.

歐洲人來到北美時，看到了一種長得像珠雞的鳥。

This bird was native to the North American continent.

這種鳥原產於北美大陸。

Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer, someone who writes dictionaries.

奧林·哈格雷夫斯是一位辭典編纂者，也就是編寫辭典的人。

Hargraves explains what happened.

哈格雷夫斯解釋了事情的經過。

But English is not the only language with interesting -- and even questionable -- names for this North American bird.

但給這種北美鳥取了有趣甚至令人存疑的名字的語言，並不只有英語。

The Turkish, for their part, call turkey “hindi,” the Turkish name for India.

土耳其人則把火雞叫作「hindi」，這是土耳其語中對印度的稱呼。

The reference to India probably comes from the old, wrong idea that the New World was in Eastern Asia.

提到印度，可能源於過去認為新大陸位於東亞的錯誤觀念。

The French call it “dinde,” a name that also connects the bird to India.

法國人叫它「dinde」，這個名字同樣把這種鳥和印度聯繫在一起。

“D'Inde” means “from India” in the French language.

「D’Inde」在法語中的意思是「來自印度」。

“Turkey” has similar names in several other languages.

火雞在其他幾種語言裡也有類似的名字。

So, what do they call this North American bird in India?

那麼，在印度人們怎麼稱呼這種北美鳥呢？

But wait, there's more.

等等，還有呢。

In Portuguese, the same bird is called “Peru,” after the South American nation.

在葡萄牙語裡，這種鳥被稱為「Peru」，與那個南美國家同名。

Our Facebook friend Nguyen Duc explains that “local chicken is smaller than western chicken.”

我們的臉書朋友阮德解釋說：「本地雞比西洋雞小。」

A Facebook friend in Myanmar explained that the Burmese word for “turkey” is “kyat sin.”

緬甸的一位臉書朋友解釋說，緬甸語中的「火雞」一詞是「kyat sin」。

The name translates to “elephant chicken” in English.

這個名字譯成英語就是「大象雞」。

The Dari language name for the bird, "fel murgh" also translates to “elephant chicken.”

達利語中這種鳥的名字「fel murgh」也意為「大象雞」。

Abdulla Kawer explained to us that “here in Afghanistan this name represents the size of this delicious meal.”

阿卜杜拉·卡韋爾向我們解釋說：「在阿富汗，這個名字體現了這道美食的分量。」

He adds that he thinks the descriptive name “elephant chicken” is “better than a country name.”

他還說，他認為「大象雞」這個形象的名字「比用國家命名更好」。