VOA文化艺术2023--How Did Thanksgiving 'Turkey' Get Its Name?

How Did Thanksgiving 'Turkey' Get Its Name?

The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is symbolized² by its traditional food, a large bird we call a turkey. But turkey is certainly not from Turkey.

In fact, its English name is based on one big mistake. We could say it is a case of mistaken identity.

Let's set the record straight.

The word "Turkey" has meant "the land of the Turks" since ancient times. The word "turkey" as it refers to the bird first appeared in the English language in the mid-1500s.

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

There is an African bird called the guinea fowl³. It has dark feathers with white spots and a patch of brown on the back of its neck. Portuguese⁴ traders brought the guinea fowl to Europe through North Africa.

This foreign bird came to Europe through Turkish lands. So, the English thought of the bird as a "Turkish chicken."

When Europeans came to North America, they saw a bird that looked like the guinea fowl. This bird was native to the North American continent.

Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer⁵, someone who writes dictionaries. Hargraves explains what happened.

"Some Europeans saw an American turkey, thought that it was the guinea fowl, which at that time was called the ‘turkey cock,' and so gave it the same name."

Hundreds of years later, we continue to call this North American bird "turkey," even though it has no connection at all with the country Turkey, or even with Europe.

But English is not the only language with interesting -- and even questionable⁶ -- names for this North American bird.

The Turkish, for their part, call turkey "hindi," the Turkish name for India. The reference⁷ to India probably comes from the old, wrong idea that the New World was in Eastern Asia.

The French call it "dinde," a name that also connects the bird to India. "D'Inde" means "from India" in the French language. "Turkey" has similar names in several other languages.

So, what do they call this North American bird in India? Well, in the Hindi language, "turkey" is "tarki."

But wait, there's more. In Portuguese, the same bird is called "Peru," after the South American nation.

Thanks to our VOA Learning English Facebook friends, we have a few more names for "turkey" to share with you.

The Vietnamese word for the bird is "gà tây" or western chicken. Our Facebook friend Nguyen Duc explains that "local chicken is smaller than western chicken."

A Facebook friend in Myanmar explained that the Burmese word for "turkey" is "kyat sin." The name translates to "elephant chicken" in English.

"That animal looks like a big chicken," Zaw Myo Win explained.

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

Abdulla Kawer explained to us that "here in Afghanistan this name represents the size of this delicious meal." He adds that he thinks the descriptive name "elephant chicken" is "better than a country name."

Words in This Story

symbolize¹ - v. to represent or express a particular idea or quality

translate - v. to change words from one language into another language

1 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

2 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

3 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

4 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

5 lexicographer   

n.辞典编纂人

参考例句：

• A lexicographer's job is to describe the language.词典编纂者的工作就是对语言加以描述。
• The lexicographer knew that the English lexis was changing. 字典编纂者知道英语词汇在不断变化。

6 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

7 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。