Name: 英文發音好複雜啊！為什麼這些詞連外國人也經常念錯？(Why Do These Words Get Mispronounced So Much? | Otherwords)
Uploaded: 2024-03-27T21:01:30.000Z
Duration: 8 min 48 s

I love words, but still sometimes pronounce things wrong.

我喜歡文字，但有時還是會讀錯。

轉承詞

I'm not talking about speaking too fast or jumbling letters and saying belly jeans instead of jelly beans.

我並不是說說話太快或字母混亂，或者說 belly jeans 而不是 jelly beans 。

順便說一句，這是一種「首音互換」。

I'm talking about good old fashioned mispronunciations.

Things you didn't know you were saying wrong.

I don't need a see-goo, so let's jump right in.

我不需要 "see-goo"，所以我們直接開始吧。

I'm Dr. Erica Brozovsky, and this is Otherwords.

我是 Erica Brozovsky 博士，這是 Otherwords。

If you read a word before you hear it aloud, you might determine the pronunciation in your head.

如果你在聽到一個單字之前先讀它，你可能會在腦海中確定其發音。

Facade, colonel, epitome, awry, or omniscience.

外觀、上校、縮影、扭曲或全知。

Only later to find out it's actually fissaud, kernel, epitimee, uh-rye and omnishints.

後來才發現它其實是唸作 fissaud、kernel、epitimee、uh-rye 和omnishints。

I sincerely thought that this word was chowse until I was corrected while reading aloud in class.

我真誠地以為這個詞是chowse，直到我在課堂朗讀時被糾正。

How was I supposed to know it was a Greek spelling?

Just in English, Q-U-E is kyuh as in queue, kyu, as in barbecue, and kwuh as in Quebec or queen.

僅在英語中，Q-U-E 是 kyuh（隊列）、kyu（燒烤）、kwuh（魁北克語或皇后）。

And it's also keh or khu if you're asking what in Spanish or French.

如果你用西班牙文或法語問什麼，也可以是 keh 或 khu。

And every time I see the letters Q-U-A-Y, I have to remind myself that it's kee not kway.

每次我看到字母 Q-U-A-Y 時，我都必須提醒自己，這是 kee 而不是 kway。

Sometimes the pronunciation of a word gets bent to sound like another word with a related meeting.

有時，一個單字的發音會變得像另一個相關會議的單字。

Someone who's mischievous might also be devious.

調皮搗蛋的人也可能是狡猾的。

於是，它就變成了愛惡作劇的。

Espresso can make you go fast, so it gets contaminated with express, hence expresso.

濃縮咖啡可以讓你走得更快，所以它會被濃縮咖啡污染，於是就有了濃縮咖啡。

This word is traditionally pronounced dure as in endure, but since it kind of means sour, it's slowly becoming dower.

這個詞傳統上讀作 dure，pure，但由於它有點酸的意思，所以它慢慢地變成了 dower。

According to a 1996 American Heritage Dictionary survey, two thirds of people prefer the traditional pronunciation.

根據 1996 年《美國傳統字典》的調查，三分之二的人更喜歡傳統發音。

但在 2011 年，這一比例是持平的。

More than a decade later, where do we all stand on the pronunciation?

十多年過去了，大家對發音的看法如何？

Another big part of speaking and hearing a word is tone.

說話和聽力的另一個重要部分是語調。

In English, you can say no or NO, but there's still the same word, just with a different attitude.

在英語中，你可以說 "不 "或 "不！！"，但還是那個詞，只是態度不同而已。

However, in tonal languages like Vietnamese, Masai, Cherokee and Navajo, a change in tone is a complete change in word meaning.

然而，在越南語、馬賽語、切羅基語和納瓦荷語等聲調語言中，聲調的變化意味著詞義的完全變化。

In Yoruba for example, when you say this word, depending on tone, you can be talking about a coconut (àgbọn), a basket (agbọ̀n), a wasp (agbọ́n), or your chin (àgbọ̀n).

例如，在約魯巴語中，當您說這個詞時，根據語氣，你可以談論椰子 (àgbọn)、籃子 (agbọ̀n)、黃蜂 (agbọ́n) 或你的下巴 (àgbọ̀n)。

And you probably want to know if someone is talking about a casual basket of coconuts or the much more stressful wasp on your chin.

你可能想知道是否有人在談論一籃休閒椰子，或是在你下巴上的壓力更大的黃蜂。

In Mandarin, if you walk into a restaurant and say, "wǒ yào shuì jiào," you're saying "I want to sleep," but you probably meant "wǒ yào shuǐ jiǎo," "I want dumplings."

在中文中，如果你走進一家餐館說“wǒ yào shuì jiào”，你是在說“我想睡覺”，但你的意思可能是“wǒ yào shuǐ jiǎo”，“我想要餃子”。

Also, I often say I'm looking for my yǎnjīng,

另外，我經常說我在尋找我的眼睛，

When I mean that I'm looking for my yǎnjìng.

Personally, I'm definitely more likely to lose my glasses than my eyes, though.

不過，就我個人而言，眼鏡比眼睛更容易丟失。

"Where my eyes?!" kind of works as an expression for "I can't find anything!"

「我的眼睛呢？」可以用來表達「我什麼都找不到！」

In tonal languages, using the wrong tone is a mispronunciation, so watch your tone.

在聲調語言中，使用錯誤的聲調是一種發音錯誤，所以要注意你的語氣。

But don't hyper focus too much because that can lead to another mistake.

但不要過於專注，因為這會導致另一個錯誤。

Hypercorrection is when you make a mistake because you're trying too hard to be correct.

過度糾錯是指你因為太想正確而犯錯。

Have you heard of the ferocious "jagwire"?

Due to a hypercorrection based on the southern accent, in some regions, words like fire and wire might be pronounced fahr and wahr.

由於基於南方口音的過度修正，在某些地區，火和電線等單字可能會發音為 fahr 和 wahr。

So Jaguar, which naturally has the R, gets hypercorrected to ire, hence jag-wire.

所以捷豹，天生就有R，被過度糾正為 ire ，因此唸作 jag-wire。

You might be asking, "Why is this a common enough word that it gets regularly hypercorrected in the American South, where jaguars don't actually live?"

你可能會問：「為什麼這個詞如此常見，以至於在美洲虎實際上並不生活的美國南部經常被過度糾正？」

But it's thanks to the football team, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the professional broadcasters trying to cover their regional accents.

但這要歸功於橄欖球隊傑克遜維爾美洲虎隊和試圖掩蓋他們的地方口音的專業廣播公司。

Hypercorrection especially hits words that we think of as elevated like scientific or historical terms.

過度糾正尤其會影響我們認為崇高的詞語，例如科學或歷史術語。

That's how silicon became sili-kahn, even though you'd never say fal-kahn or bay-kahn.

這就是silicon唸成 sili-kahn 的方式，儘管你永遠不會說 fal-kahn 或 bay-kahn。

And the Knights Templar became tem-plahr, which Tom Hanks's character in "The Da Vinci Code" definitely should have known.

聖殿騎士團被唸成tem-plahr，湯姆漢克斯在《達文西密碼》中扮演的角色肯定應該知道這一點。

But hypercorrection can also affect more common words like this one. Technically, the T is silent.

但過度糾正也會影響更常見的詞，比如這個詞。 從技術上講，T 是無聲的。

But in the last couple of decades, people have started pronouncing it often, which is incidentally closer to how it was pronounced before the advent of modern English 400 years ago.

但在過去幾十年裡，人們開始把它讀作 "ofTen"，順便說一句，它更接近 400年前現代英語出現之前的發音。

In Cockney English, Hs are often dropped at the beginning of words, so someone trying to correct for that might add Hs where they don't belong.

在考克尼英語中，單詞開頭通常會去掉 H、是以，如果有人想糾正這一點，可能會在不屬於自己的地方加上 H。

就像《窈窕淑女》中的伊麗莎-杜立特爾。

In 'artford, 'ereford and 'ampshire, 'urricanes 'ardly hever 'appen.

在“哈特福德”、“赫里福德”和“漢普郡”，“颶風”幾乎不會發生。

The only H she pronounces is the one she added in front of the H-free word, ever.

她發的唯一一個 H 是在 ever 這個沒有 H 的單詞前面加上的。

Similarly, it's not uncommon to see hypercorrect R adding in R-less dialects of English like those in Australia, South Africa, or regions like where I'm from, New England.

同樣，在沒有 R 的英語方言中，經常可以看到超正確 R 的添加情況比如澳洲、南非，或者像我的家鄉新英格蘭這樣的地區。

If you grew up hearing this word pronounced watuh or watah and you learn it's spelled with an R, then adding an R to other words you hear that end with the "uh" sound isn't a stretch.

如果你從小聽到這個單詞的發音是 watuh 或 watah，然後你知道它的拼寫是 R，那麼在你聽到的其他以 "呃 "結尾的單詞中加上 R 就不難了。

In fact, instead of idea, I used to say ideaR.

事實上，我以前不說 idea，而是說 ideaR。

A similar pronunciation situation happens with words borrowed from other languages.

從其他語言借來的單詞也會出現類似的發音情況。

Hyperforeignism occurs when you overpronounce something based on what you assume the authentic pronunciation is.

當你對某物發音過重時，就會出現 "超外來語"（Hyperforeignism）。根據你假定的正宗發音。

For example, the pepper jalapeño is spelt with an ñ, an n with a tilde on top.

例如，"墨西哥辣椒"（jalapeño）的拼寫是 "ñ"、"n "和頂端的 "tilde"。

Its spicier cousin, the habanero, is spelled with an n, yet you'll occasionally hear it mispronounced habañero.

它更辣的表親哈瓦那的拼寫是 n，但你偶爾會聽到它被誤讀為 habañero 。

You'll also commonly hear the capital of China pronounce BeiZHing with a ZH sound instead of with a J sound that is both written in English and pronounced in Mandarin.

您還會經常聽到中國首都的發音是 BeiZHing，帶 ZH 音而不是用英語書寫、國語發音的 J 音。

I used to say ZH, but now it's always BeiJing.

我以前說 ZH，但現在總是說 BeiJing。

And what about the French borrowing? Coup de grace? "Stroke of grace."

那麼法國來的字呢？致命一擊？

I only just found out it's not pronounced coup de grAH, meaning "stroke of fat."

我也是剛剛才知道它的發音不是 coup de grAH、意為 "中風的脂肪"。

Which sounds so much more French with the dropped consonant.

去掉輔音後，聽起來更像法語。

Are there words that you started purposely mispronouncing because it's funny and now you always say it that way?

你是否開始故意讀錯一些單詞因為這很有趣，所以你現在總是這麼說？

Think people who say TarJAY and ChipoTTIL when they know full well the official pronunciations are Target and Chipotle.

想想那些說 TarJAY 和 ChipoTTIL 的人，當他們知道完整的官方發音是 Target 和 Chipotle。

Or even better, that viral video of chef Nigella Lawson pronouncing microwave "meecro-wahvay."

或者更棒的是，大廚 Nigella Lawson 的爆紅影片，關於微波爐 "meecro-wahvay "發音。

"... which I've warmed in the meecro-wahvay..."

And I know Vine star Marlon Webb forever altered my pronunciation of water-melLONE.

我知道 Vine 明星馬龍-韋伯（Marlon Webb）永遠改變了我對 water-melLONE 的發音。

"They got helmets on their heads, but I got a watermeLONE instead!"

"他們頭上戴著頭盔，但我有 watermeLONE！"

I've heard plenty of stories of kids who pick up the humorous mispronunciations from adults and go out into the world not knowing that only their family says it that way.

我聽說過很多孩子從大人那裡學到幽默的錯誤發音的故事並走向世界，卻不知道只有他們的家人是這樣說的。

The words and special pronunciations that your friends or family use are called "familects."

您的朋友或家人使用的單詞和特殊發音被稱為 "familects"。

When I say mispronunciation, that means there's an error.

當我說發音錯誤時，意思是有錯誤。

There are often multiple correct ways to pronounce a word based on accent or sociolect.

根據口音或社會語言的不同，一個單詞往往有多種正確的發音方法。

Take, for example, this word or this word.

Do you say carmel or caramel, pee-can or pecAHN?

你會說 carmel 還是 caramel，pee-can 還是 pecAHN？

For the nut (fun fact) the closer you live to where the tree naturally grows, the more likely you are to say pecAHn, which we get from the Algonquian language family.

對於堅果來說（有趣的事實），你住的地方離樹自然生長的地方越近越好、就越有可能說 pecAHn，我們是從阿爾岡基語系中得到這個詞的。

Another example is this word Do you say "ask" or "ax"?

另一個例子是這個詞 你說 "ask "還是 "ax"？

There's some prejudice against ax by those who consider ask to be the standard, but actually ax was the original pronunciation.

有些人對 ax 抱有偏見，認為 ask 才是標準、但實際上，ax 是最初的發音。

It comes from the old English ācsian, and can be traced back to the eighth century.

它來源於古英語 ācsian，可追溯到八世紀。

Chaucer used ax and so did the first English Bible, in fact.

事實上，喬叟使用了斧頭，第一本英文《聖經》也使用了斧頭。

This phenomenon of transposing or switching sounds in a word is called metathesis.

這種在單詞中換位或調換音的現象被稱為 "元合成"（metathesis）。

This is where you'll see things like nucular and nuclear.

在這裡，你會看到 nucular 和 nuclear 等字樣。