Talk:Restigouche River

French naming

It is true many people still use Restigouche in French but most official sources now spell Ristigouche, see Québec government site:[1] and Canadian government: Lieu historique national du Canada de la Bataille-de-la-Ristigouche [2]. Cheers--Tallard 10:08, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

I understood "Ristgouche" to be the old Quebec usage, for both Francophones and Anglophones, and that spelling is now falling into disuse there as well. Francophones in New Brunswick invariably spell it "Restigouche" and no other way. Tim in Canada

History

There are several theories as to what the word "Restigouche" means. However, the "five fingers" explanation, as with the "disrespect to your father" tale, is discredited now. There is no source given here. But "Geographical Names of New Brunswick", Toponymy Study 2, by Alan Rayburn, Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names Ottawa 1975, published by the Surveys and Mapping Branch, Energy Mines and Resources Canada (as it then was called), an official Canadian government publication, says that it is derived from the Mi'kmaq " 'Lustugooch', probably meaning 'good river' for canoeing and thus similar to Aroostook and Woolastook; probably not for 'river of the long war' nor 'five-fingered river nor 'disobedience to your father'." I think this is bolstered by the fact that the same source says that the Miramichi River further south was known in Mi'kmaq as 'Lustagoocheech', or 'the good little river' for canoeing. There are no five fingers on the Miramichi River and it would be a great coincidence indeed if the other tall tales about disobedience to the father or the long war had happened there too. The source says good river for canoeing for both, and the 'little' tag makes sense as, in relation to the Restigouche, the Miramichi is the smaller river. Both, it should be noted, are also very good rivers for Atlantic salmon, probably the best two rivers in New Brunswick, and Atlantic salmon was one of the main food staples of the Mi'kmaq people in olden times. So they are 'good rivers' there too. In passing I'd add that the modern Mi'gmaq (their mode of spelling the word) village of Listuguj, Que. takes its name from the traditional pronunciation of the word. I am told that the reason for this is that there is no "R" in the Mi'kmaq language, but I don't have a source for this. Tim in Canada. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.73.125.247 (talk) 22:43, 15 September 2012 (UTC)