提起土耳其，我们想到的是一个充满人文气息，遍布历史遗迹的地方。在古都伊斯坦布尔，更有作为欧亚两洲分界线的博斯普鲁斯海峡从城中穿过，将这座古城一分为二，让它成为了唯一一个横跨欧洲和亚洲的城市。这个国家实在有太多的历史和文化可以让我们遐想，但我们一般都不会将它和在感恩节及圣诞节食用的“火鸡”联系在一起。但“土耳其”和“火鸡”的英文名都是“Turkey”。难道两者有什么联系，你知道“火鸡”与“土耳其”的关系么？华尔街英语告诉你：

http://www.worldenglish.com.cn/images/infoTurkey.jpg十六世纪之前的欧洲没有火鸡存在。当年西班牙船员把火鸡带往欧洲大陆的时候，欧洲国家才算是和这只花哨的大鸟初相见，并发现它的美味而让它成为餐桌上不可或缺的美食。与此同时另一种被称为珍珠鸡的禽鸟也大规模地输入整个欧洲。这种珍珠鸡原产于土耳其，从马达加斯加岛进口。当时的商人们为了区别来自不同国家的相似商品，往往会在商品前加上原产国的国名，所以珍珠鸡也被欧洲人称为“土耳其鸡”。巧合的是，英格兰人初到北美殖民地，看见丛林中一只身形巨大的怪鸡，外形和“土耳其鸡”相似，就误将火鸡当作了“土耳其鸡”，并为其冠其以伪原产地的名字──turkey。从此以后“土耳其”在英文中就和“火鸡”重名了。

更有趣的是，火鸡的原产国其实是印度，所以在土耳其本国，人们称火鸡为“hindi”（土耳其语里“印度”的意思）。

Words from Wall Street English

Turkey (What's the connection between turkey the bird and Turkey the country?)

The word Turkey immediately brings to mind a country brimming with rich culture and historical antiquity. The ancient capital Istanbul is the only city in all of Europe and Asia with “The Bosphorous”, a strait which actually divides the two continents. We could get lost in the lavish history and culture of Turkey, but few would relate the country to turkey eaten on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The identical spelling implies that the two are related, but what is the exact nature of the relationship between turkey the bird, and Turkey the country? Wall Street English will tell you.

Turkeys had not been introduced to Europe prior to the 16th Century. The large and colourful birds were first introduced to Europe by Spanish sailors and they became an important delicacy for their fine flavour. Meanwhile another variety of bird named “Guinea Fowl” was being shipped to Europe in large numbers from Turkey via Madagascar. Merchants at the time were used to adding the name of the country of origin to similar goods from other countries to differentiate them. Hence the “Guinea Fowl” became named the “Turkish Chicken” by the Europeans.

Coincidentally the British first arrived in the North American colonies and discovered strange chickens that were similar to Turkish chickens but much larger and inhabiting the jungle. They confused turkey with the “Turkish Chicken” and the misjudgment was never corrected. Thereafter turkey the bird and Turkey the country have borne the same name till this day