Anatidae 4

The distribution of the Anatidae in East Asia can be seen at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of ANSERIFORMES in East Asia.

1. Where Chinese and Japanese use the same characters to write a bird name, in most cases one language has borrowed from the other. But deciding the direction of borrowing can be problematic.

Among the Anatidae, there are two cases pointing towards a Japanese origin.

• The name of the mergansers, 秋沙 aisa, is a mixture of kun and on readings, suggesting that it is a native Japanese word, probably a phonetic usage (ateji) -- characters randomly assigned to represent the pronunciation of a native word. This is supported by the irregular reading of 秋 as ai instead of aki.
  The Chinese appear to have borrowed the written form, reading the characters in the Chinese way. As a result, the pronunciation is quite different (aisa vs qiūshā).
• Anas formosa and the A. crecca are called 巴鸭 bā yā in Chinese and A. formosa is called tomoe-gamo, written 巴鴨, in Japanese. Tomoe (巴) refers to a comma-shaped mark, a familiar pattern in traditional Japanese design. A 'tomoe' mark can be seen on the side of A. formosa's face. In Chinese, 巴 bā has several meanings, the main one being 'crust' or 'stick to'. As a pattern, 巴 bā does refer to a 'snake' or 'vortex pattern', but this is now a rare usage.
  In fact, bā is sometimes interpreted as 八 bā ('eight') by the Chinese. This suggests that 巴鸭 may be a Japanese usage that has been borrowed by the Chinese, although this is not conclusive evidence.

2. Among the Chinese names for the ducks, it is curious that there is absolutely no overlap in usage of the word 凫 fú 'wild duck' between the Mainland and Taiwan. Where the Mainland uses 凫 fú Taiwan uses 鸭 yā, and vice versa.

3. Mainland Chinese has regularised the names of some duck genera. The shelducks (Tadorna) are known as 麻鸭 má-yā, scoters (Melanitta) are known as 海番鸭 hǎifān-yā and the pochards (Aythya and Rhodonessa/Netta) are known as 潜鸭 qián-yā ('diving ducks'). This has not taken place in Taiwan.

5. Japanese naming: Unlike Chinese, Japanese names for the ducks have not been regularised. This is quite clear from an inspection of the distribution of the names ha-jiro, kin-kuro, and kamo (see tables).

6. Vietnamese naming: As usual, Vietnamese diverges widely from the names used in Chinese and Japanese.

The Vietnamese name for Aythya nyroca (the Ferruginous pochard or Ferruginous duck) is normally listed as Vịt mặt trắng 'White-faced duck'. Curiously, the duck in question does not have a white face at all. The distinctive feature of the Ferruginous pochard is its white eye, as seen from its name in Chinese and Japanese. In Vietnamese this would be Vịt mắt trắng, which differs only in the matter of linguistic tone (mặt means 'face', mắt means 'eye'). If this name occurred only in Vo & Nguyen it might be considered a typo or misprint, but it is reproduced in Nguyen, Le, & Phillipps, who in other cases have been known to change names used by Vo & Nguyen. (Curiously, the description of the species in Nguyen, Le & Phillipps makes it clear that the duck has a white eye, i.e., mắt màu trắng). It is thus with some reluctance that I have retained the name Vịt mặt trắng rather than the more appropriate Vịt mắt trắng.

1. As a number of the Anatidae have been domesticated, a range of names for the domestic birds exist alongside the names of the wild birds.

Chinese:

Domesticated geese (descended from the Swan goose) are known as 鹅 é or 家鹅 jiā-é ('domestic goose').

Domestic ducks (descended from the Mallard) are known as 鸭 子 yāzi ('duck') or 家鸭 jiā-yā ('domestic duck'). 骛 wù is a more formal word for the domesticated duck.

China also appears to raise a domesticated variety of Tadorna, 麻鸭 má-yā.

Japanese:

The domesticated goose is known as がちょう ga-chō, from the Chinese, written 鵝鳥.

Domestic ducks are known as あひる ahiru, written 家鴨 ('domestic duck') or 鶩.

Vietnamese:

Like wild geese, domestic geese are known as ngỗng, or more specifically ngỗng nhà ('house/domestic geese').

The domestic duck is known as vịt.

The word ngan refers a domesticated type of duck, somewhat larger than an ordinary domestic duck, with a crest on its head. The ngan yields red meat.

2. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, two members of the Anatidae were depicted in 'Mandarin Squares' (known as 补子 bǔzi) attached to official uniforms of high-ranking bureaucrats. They were:

The Wild goose (雁 or 云雁), insignia of rank for Grade Four of civilian official.
The Mandarin duck, insignia of rank for Grade Seven of civilian official. The bird referred to is the 鸂鶒 xīchì, said to be similar to the Mandarin duck but somewhat larger and with more purple in its plumage. This bird has not yet been identified by modern ornithologists.

3. In Chinese culture, and in Oriental cultures which have been influenced by it, the Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) is conventionally used as a symbol of marital devotion due to its occurrence in mating pairs.

4. In Japanese haiku, wild geese are a season word for late autumn. They are referred to as ガン gan, かり kari, or カリガネ kari-gane, which refer to varieties of the White-fronted goose but have a more general meaning in poetry.

The wild duck or kamo 鴨 is normally a season word for winter. However, as the 通し鴨 tōshi-gamo or 'sojourner duck' it becomes a season word for summer.

6. Vietnamese expressions referring to ducks include:

Như vịt nghe sấm 'like a duck listening to thunder' refers to 'stupefaction' or 'inability to understand a thing'.

Như nước đổ đầu vịt 'like pouring water on a duck's head' -- that is 'like water off a duck's back'.