I've always been kind of interested by the "standard translations" used for the animals In Chinese the zodiac signs are a single character, and the English translations are often more specific than that word
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Anyway the zodiac sign really is just "cow", not "ox", "pig", not "boar", "chicken", not "rooster" What I find most interesting is 羊, "caprid", which we don't have a common word for in English
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There are two famous kinds of domesticated caprid - sheep and goats And the problem is in our culture sheep and goats have almost exactly opposite cultural connotations Hell the Bible has a parable to that effect
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So whether the translator picks "Sheep" or "Goat" as the name of the zodiac sign is this whole fraught thing, a typical Westerner will have very different reactions to either one I think you can safely call this the result of Christian religious influence
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Although, yes, there's plenty of other species the word 羊 applies to, like antelope, Ibex, musk ox, etc
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Shoulda just made it "Year of the Cock".
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It does say that on a lot of old Chinese restaurant placemats but I think they've made an effort to replace them
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