★⽆忧考英语听⼒频道为⼤家整理的VOA慢速英语: ⽕鸡：错误的定义。更多阅读请查看本站频道。 Turkey: A Case of Mistaken Identity ⽕鸡：错误的定义
And now another edition of Words and Their Stories, a VOA Learning English program about American expressions.
这⾥是词语掌故的另⼀个节⽬，美国之⾳英语学习的美语表达。
Thanksgiving is one of the biggest American holidays. And Thanksgiving dinner is the center of the holiday.
感恩节是美国⼀个盛⼤的节⽇，感恩节⼤餐是这个节⽇的重中之重。
And at the center of Thanksgiving dinner is the turkey.
感恩节⼤餐的关键是⽕鸡。
Our listeners may be wondering why the word “turkey” describes both a country and a bird that Americans eat for Thanksgiving dinner.
我们的听众也许好奇为什么“turkey”既是⼟⽿其——⼀个国家名字，⼜是⼀种鸟类——美国⼈感恩节⼤餐的⾷物。
Many think the bird comes from the nation of Turkey. But turkey is not from Turkey.
许多⼈认为这种鸟来⾃⼟⽿其，但是⽕鸡不是来⾃⼟⽿其。
In fact, the fact that the turkey bird is called by that name is one big mistake. We could say it is a case of mistaken identity.
实际上，⽕鸡这个名字是个错误的叫法。我们可以说这是个错误的定义。
Since Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving, it is time to set the record straight.
因为美国⼈庆祝感恩节，所以是时候可以解释⼀下错误的来源了。
First of all, “Turkey” has meant the “land of the Turks” since ancient times. The word turkey, referring to the bird, first appears in the English language around 1540. And the misunderstanding over the word turkey happened because of birds that look similar.
⾸先，在古代，“Turkey”是“⼟⽿其⼈的⼟地。”单词“⽕鸡”是⼀种鸟，第⼀次出现在英语中是在1540年，对单词turkey的误解是因为这类鸟的称呼跟另⼀种鸟相似。
This is the case of mistaken identity that we spoke of before.
这就是先前我们说的错误的定义。
First, there is an African bird called the guinea fowl. It has dark feathers with white spots and a patch of brown on the back of its neck. Portuguese traders brought the guinea fowl to Europe through North Africa.
⾸先，⾮洲有⼀种叫珍珠鸡的鸟，这种鸟长着⿊⾊的⽻⽑，⾝上有⽩⾊斑点，脖⼦后有⼀块棕⾊⽑。葡萄⽛的商⼈把这种珍珠鸡从北⾮带到欧洲。
This foreign bird came to Europe through Turkish lands. So, the English thought of the bird as a “Turkish chicken.”
这种外国鸟通过⼟⽿其来到欧洲，因此，英国⼈认为这种鸟是“⼟⽿其鸡”。
They mistakenly called the male bird the “turkey cock.” They called the female bird the “turkey hen.” It became popular to eat the bird for Christmas dinner.
他们错误地称雄性鸟叫“⽕公鸡”，称雌性鸟是“⽕母鸡”。后来⽇渐流⾏成为圣诞⼀道菜。
When the Europeans moved to North America, they saw a bird that looked like the guinea fowl. Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer, someone who writes dictionaries. Mr. Hargraves explains what happened:
当欧洲⼈搬迁到北美的时候，他们看到⼀种跟珍珠鸡相似的鸟，欧琳·哈格瑞福斯是个词典编纂⼈，他解释了⼀下当初的情况：
“Some Europeans saw an American turkey, thought that it was the guine a fowl, which at that time was called the “turkey cock” and so gave it the same name."
“⼀些欧洲⼈看到美国的⽕鸡，认为那就是珍珠鸡，他们那时候称之为‘⽕公鸡’所以也就称这种鸡叫‘⽕鸡’了。”
And so now we call this North American bird turkey even though it has no connection at all with the country Turkey … or even with Europe, for that matter.
wrong是什么意思
尽管与⼟⽿其国家或者欧洲没有什么关系，但是现在我们称这种北美的鸟叫⽕鸡。
Now we call that bird turkey because somebody misnamed it. They thought it looked like this bird of African origin -- a bird that came at first from Africa.
现在我们称呼这种鸟叫⽕鸡因为有⼈当初错误的命名。他们认为⽕鸡跟来源于⾮洲的鸡相像——⾸先被⼈所知是因为来⾃⾮洲的这种鸟。
And there is another piece to the puzzle. The case of mistaken identity crosses land and language borders.
还有⼀个令⼈不解的地⽅，⽽这个错误的称谓跨越国界，传到不同国家。
The Turkish, for their part, call the North American bird “hindi,” the Turkish name for India. The reference to India probably comes from the old, wrong idea that the New World was in Eastern Asia.
⽽⼟⽿其⼈他们称北美的这种鸟叫“hindi”这个词语来⾃印度。这个来⾃印度引⽤源于东亚新世界的古⽼的、错误的认识。
Sometimes, that is how language changes over time – by mistakes.
有时侯，语⾔就是这样随着时间被错误的流传。
Another interesting fact about the turkey is that it almost became the national bird of the United States. Some people thought it should be the symbol of the U.S.
另⼀个有意思的情况是⽕鸡⼏乎成为美国的国鸟了，⼀些⼈认为⽕鸡应该成为美国的象征。
But today, of course, you will see the bald eagle on the Presidential Seal of the United States. Founding father Benjamin Franklin did not think the eagle was a good symbol for the new country. He thought the eagle was “lazy” and “of bad moral character” because it stole food from other birds. He thought that the turkey was a “more respectable bird” and a “true original native of America.”
但是今天，你可以看到美国总统的秃头鹰印章。富兰克林并没有想到秃头鹰成为新国家的象征。他认为鹰“懒散”⽽且“品德不良”，因为鹰从别的鸟类那盗取⾷物。他认为⽕鸡是个“⼈们更容易接受的鸟”⽽且“是美国本⼟真正的起源”。
And that’s it for this episode of Words and Their Stories. Join us again next week, when we explore the story behind American English.
这是词语掌故的⼀些⽚段，下周继续加⼊我们，我们会探索美语背后⽕鸡的故事。

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