大象传媒

Chan eil e follaiseach gun t脿inig am facal ptarmigan bhon Gh脿idhlig. Ach th脿inig 鈥� bhon fhacal 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍. Tha e m矛-fhortanach gu bheil am 鈥減鈥� ann aig an toiseach. Tha am facal a鈥� coimhead Gr猫igeach, seach Albann-ach.

Tha 脿ite s貌nraichte aig an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍 ann an Alasga. 鈥橲 e an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍 an t-eun-st脿ite aca. Chaidh a thaghadh mar sin ann an naoi ceud deug, caogad 鈥檚 a c貌ig (1955). Tha t脿rmachain uabhasach pailt ann an Alasga. Tha m貌ran daoine gan sealg is gan ithe.

Chan eil an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍 ann an Alasga co-ionnan ris an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍 againne. Tha e nas coltaiche ris a鈥� chirc-fhraoich againne. Ach tha e a鈥� dol geal anns a鈥� gheamhradh mar a tha an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍 againne. Cha bhi a鈥� chearc-fhraoich ag atharrachadh a dath anns a鈥� gheamhradh ann an Alba.

Tha baile beag ann an Alasga air a bheil Chicken mar ainm. Seadh, Chicken. Chicken, Alasga. Sluagh 鈥� seachd duine deug. Uill, thuirt mi gur e baile beag a tha ann. Ach ciamar a fhuair e ainm ne貌nach mar sin? Uill, tha e co-cheangailte ris an 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍. Agus am 鈥減鈥� nach bu ch貌ir a bhith ann!

Tha Chicken ann an taobh an ear Alasga faisg air a鈥� chr矛ch le Canada. Chaidh daoine ann anns an naoidheamh linn deug. 鈥橲 e m猫inn-earan a bha annta. Bha iad a鈥� lorg 貌r.

Aig toiseach an fhicheadamh linn, bha daoine gu le貌r anns an sg矛re. Bha gu le貌r ann airson oifis puist fhosgladh. Ach, airson sin, bha aca ri ainm a thaghadh airson a鈥� bhaile. D猫 bha iad a鈥� dol a thaghadh mar ainm?

Uill, bha t脿rmachain pailt anns an sg矛re. Bha na m猫innearan fh猫in measail orra. Mar sin, cho-dh霉in iad 鈥淧tarmigan鈥� a bhith air a鈥� bhaile mar ainm. Ptarmigan le 鈥減鈥� neo-fhuaimnichte. Ach, bha am 鈥減鈥� na thrioblaid. Bha easaonta ann.

It鈥檚 not obvious that the word ptarmigan came from Gaelic. But it did 鈥� from the word 迟脿谤尘补肠丑补苍. It鈥檚 unfortunate that the 鈥減鈥� is there at the start. The word looks Greek, rather than Scottish.

聽聽聽聽 聽聽聽The ptarmigan has a special place in Alaska. The ptarmigan is their state bird. It was chosen as that in 1955. Ptarmigan are very plentiful in Alaska. Many people hunt them and eat them.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The ptarmigan in Alasga is not identical with our ptarmigan. It鈥檚 more like our grouse [鈥渉eather-hen鈥漖. But it goes white in the winter like our ptarmigan does. The grouse doesn鈥檛 change its colour in the winter in Scotland.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There is a small town in Alaska called Chicken. Yup, Chicken. Chicken, Alaska. Population 鈥� seventeen. Well, I did say it was a small town. But how did it get a strange name like that? Well, it鈥檚 connected to the ptarmigan. And the 鈥減鈥� that shouldn鈥檛 be there!

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Chicken is in the east of Alaska close to the border with Canada. People went there in the 19th Century. They were miners. They were looking for gold.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At the start of the Twentieth Century, there were plenty of people in the area. There were enough to open a post office. But, for that, they had to choose a name for the town. What were they going to choose as a name?

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Well, ptarmigan were num-erous in the area. The miners themselves liked them. Thus, they decided that the town would be called 鈥淧tarmigan鈥�. Ptarmigan with a silent [unsounded] 鈥減鈥�. But the 鈥減鈥� was a problem. There was disagreement.