Why is 肯德基 (Kěndéjī) = Kentucky Fried Chicken not called 肯德鸡 (Kěndéjī) when it's pronounced the same and 鸡 means "chicken"?
The full Chinese name of KFC is 肯德基炸鸡, but it was shorten to 肯德基 currently. The word Kentucky, was translated into 肯德基 in Chinese intentionally, in order to distinguish with Kentucky State, while 肯德基 and 肯塔基 are same word in English actually. I think it is because that KFC is a influential foreign brand in early period, Chinese may know what it is now when seeing or hearing about 肯德基, so the word 炸鸡 isn't necessary at all. If it was named 肯德鸡, for most people, it would be considered as a low quality translation, and the brand may be regarded as an imitated brand from China, rather than a foreign brand.