When it comes to pronunciation, there’s always something to argue about. And we』ve all done it –whether standing in line at Starbucks arguing about espresso or throwing down about whether or not to enunciate the 『r』 in the second month of the year.
單詞的讀音中總有讓人爭執不休的地方。我們也都為讀音而爭吵過——無論是在星巴克排隊的時候爭論espresso(黑咖啡)的讀音還是是否要忽略February(二月)這個單詞裡的「r」。
So here’s more grist for the argument mill.
下面是更多值得爭論的單詞。
1. timbre音色，音品
If you’re a musical person, this one has come up. 『Tom』, 『tam』, or 『tim』? Many make the mistake of pronouncing it 『timber』, as in fallen wood. However, the choice between 『tom』 and 『tam』 is one you should feel free to keep discussing…
如果你懂點音樂，這個詞會出現在你生活中。是tom，還是tam，還是tim?許多人把這個詞錯誤地讀成木材timber。但是，你還是可以暢快地討論到底是tom還是tam……
2. harbinger預兆
We』ve all heard someone go for 『bing』 instead of 『binj』, haven’t we? The correct pronunciation of this word is 『HAR-bin-juhr』.
我們都聽到有些人把bing讀成[bɪŋ] 而不是[bɪndʒ]。正確地讀音應該是[′hɑ:bɪndʒə(r) ]
3. chasm峽谷;分歧
Although the hard 『k』 is the accepted pronunciation for this word, the pronunciation beginning with a 『ch』 as in church is heard often enough.
儘管正確ch字母組合在這個單詞中的正確讀音應該和字母k一致，但是很多人把該單詞中的ch讀作church(教堂)中的ch。
4. quixotic堂吉訶德式的，不切實際的
Spanish literature enthusiasts know that this adjective refers to the hero of the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. And Spanish speakers know that 『qui』 is pronounced as 『key』 and 『x』 with the sound in Scottish 『loch』. However, the adjective describing the Don has been anglicized to 『kwik-SOT-ik』. Most English speakers use the anglicized pronunciation for the adjective, and something more Spanish-sounding for the novel.
喜愛西班牙文學的人都知道這個形容詞與塞萬提斯的《堂吉訶德》一書中的主角有關。說西班牙語的人都知道qui的讀音應該同key一樣，而x的讀音和蘇格蘭語中loch的讀音一樣。但是，形容唐吉坷德的這個形容詞已經在被英國化了。大多數說英語的人都用已經英國化的讀法來讀這個形容詞，而在提及小說時說的則是更像西班牙語單詞的讀音。
5. plantain一種蕉類
Some foodies may be alarmed to learn that a widely accepted pronunciation of this word ends with 『tin』 rather than 『tayn』, as in 『rain』. Argue away!
這個單詞的讀音以tin而不是rain中的tayn這個音節結尾，有些吃貨可能會對這個讀音感到驚訝，那就和其他人爭論一番吧!
6. homage敬意
『Hom』 or 『om』? As long as you say it ending with an 『ij』 and not 『aazh』, then it’s really a matter of preference.
第一個音節讀作hom還是om呢?如果你認為結尾的讀音是ij而不是aazh，這就都算是個人偏好吧。
7. eschew迴避
There are a few ways that people pronounce this word – the only consistency seeming to be an emphasis on the second syllable. The main issue is typically how to pronounce the second syllable: like 『shoe』, 『chew』, or 『skew』? OxfordDictionaries.com lists 『chew』 as the appropriate pronunciation, although there is evidence that many feel otherwise.
這個單詞的讀音都很多種，但是唯一一種悅耳的讀法是重讀第二個音節。最關鍵的問題是第二個音節該如何發音：像shoe，chew，還是skew?儘管有很多人不同意chew才是最恰當的讀音，但是牛津詞典網站認為這樣才是正確的。
8. detritus碎石，瓦礫
The accepted pronunciation of detritus highlights the second syllable as 『try』. However, another pronunciation – likely influenced by the pronunciation of detriment – is sometimes heard in which the first syllable is stressed: 『DET-trit-uhss』.
正確的讀音應該是重讀第二音節，讀作try。但是，有些人會重讀第一個音節，這可能是受到了detriment(損害)這個單詞的影響。
9. comparable可比較的
Is 『compare』 in comparable? Not as most English speakers pronounce it. The stress instead falls on the first syllable: KOMP-(uh-)ruh-buhl.Comparable
這個單詞裡是否含有compare這個單詞的讀音呢?大多數說英語的人不會這樣讀。重音落在第一個音節上：[ˈkɒmpərəbl]
（編輯：何瑩瑩）