英语中最美丽的单词是哪个?

2014-04-01 13:30:09来源：沪江网

　　What's the most beautiful word in the English language? Different people, using various criteria, will give a slew of answers.

　　英语中最美丽的英语单词是哪个?这个评定标准真可谓百家争鸣、答案不一。

　　Surveying more than 7,000 English speakers in 46 countries, the British Council decided on "mother" — an unglamorous word, yet one that conveys comfort and the deepness of human relationships. Others on their list include concepts, like "liberty" and "tranquility," or expressions, as in "smile."

　　英国文化委员会对46个国家7000多个说英语的人做了调查，最后决定选择"mother"(母亲)一词，这是一个很单调不浪漫、但却传达了舒适感和人际关系的深度的单词。其他上榜的还包括概念性词汇，如"liberty"(自由)、"tranquility(宁静)，表情类词汇如"smile"(微笑)。

　　Robert Beard, a former linguistics professor at Bucknell University, also created his own list of beautiful words. Through careful research, he determined 100 English words that people seem to like most though may not use frequently. Some eccentric yet notable words include ailurophile, inglenook, and Susquehanna.

　　巴克内尔大学语言学前教授罗伯特-比尔德，也列出了自己认为很美丽的单词列表。他通过仔细研究，确定了大概100个人们可能最喜欢但并不常用的英语单词。其中不乏有一些让人感觉怪异却引人注目的单词包括：ailurophile(极爱猫的人)、inglenook(火炉边)、Susquehanna(萨斯奎汉纳——美国东海岸的一条主要河流)。

　　While you might consider these words beautiful without knowing what they mean, linguist David Crystal says it's impossible to separate sounds entirely from their meaning. Words with positive connotations, like birds and flowers, naturally make us happy, while darker words, like "peril," instill less positive feelings.

　　你可能会认为这些单词优美动听，却不知道这些单词是什么意思，语言学家大卫-克里斯特尔说，单词发音不可能完全与单词含义划分开。隐含着正面含义的单词，像鸟类和鲜花，自然让我们感到快乐;而比较晦暗的单词，像“peril”(危险)，给人一种不那么积极正面的感受。

　　But even Crystal can't deny some patterns appear based just on sound; humans simply find some sounds more pleasing than others. By analyzing the consonant and vowel sounds that appear in language the most and least frequently, Crystal created certain criteria that compose the most beautiful words.

　　但是就算是语言学家克里斯特尔也无法否认，有一些模式只是跟声音有关;人们就是会觉得有些声音比其他的更好听。通过分析在语言中出现频率最多和最少的辅音和元音，克里斯特尔对于最美丽的单词组成制定了一些标准：

　　For example, the word "tremulous" fits every category. The word contains more than three syllables, with the stress on the first. It uses "m" and "l" — letters we seem to enjoy pronouncing. It uses other consonants that appear in English with high frequency but eliminates those with low frequency. It also uses only short vowels, articulated in a mid or low position, in the front of the mouth.

　　例如，"tremulous"(颤抖的)这个单词适用于每个范畴。这个词有三个以上的音节，重音在第一个音节上。它使用了“m”和“l”，这些字母是我们喜欢发音的。这个单词同样用到了英语中其他出现频率很高的辅音，而摒弃了使用频率较低的辅音字母。

　　The chart also gives examples of other nice words.

　　这个图表中也列出了其它优美动听的单词。

　　Despite these trends, personal preferences also play into whether "mother" sounds more beautiful than "inglenook," and "tremulous."

　　不过抛开这些语音趋势，"mother" 是否比"inglenook" 和"tremulous" 听起来更优美，个人喜好也发挥了很大作用。

　　Personally, I like "hullabaloo."

本文关键字: 最美丽的英语单词英语