| 词组 | err |
| 释义 | err The dust of controversy swirls thickly about the pronunciation of this word. The traditional pronunciation can be illustrated from the works of Alexander Pope, who also gave us the phrase "to err is human" and is thus partly responsible for the continued familiarity of this humble stump of a word: • In doubt his Mind or Body to prefer; Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err—"Essay on Man," 1734 Similarly Swift: • Observe the case: I state it thus: You may compare your Trull to us; But think how damnably you err When you compare us Clouds to her —"An Answer to a Late Scandalous Poem," 1733 Nor, if err and air were homophones, would Wordsworth have written: (Surely I do not err) that pensive air—"Lines Suggested by a Portrait from the Pencil of F. Stone," 1835 But in our own century we find this witness, from a less celebrated pen, to the existence of an untraditional pronunciation: • Those who err and call it air Can be met with everywhere. Educated men and women Fondly quote: "To air is human."—Katherine Buxbaum, in a publication of the Iowa State Teachers College, no date Those who condemn \\\\'er\\\\ for err typically advance no reason other than the implicit one of tradition. Since err is both a semantic and etymological relative of error, \\\\'er\\\\ has what commentators usually call "logic" on its side; and the tradition has, precisely, partly dissolved in current usage, where \\\\'er\\\\ preponderates. Further, some speakers who are quite aware that they are "supposed" to say \\\\'ǝr\\\\ nevertheless eschew that version for its indistinct vowel. We may, then, endorse the further sentiments of Katherine Buxbaum: • Blame the speakers? Let's be fairer: Blame the language for the error. Error is a proper word, "Ur-ur" would be quite absurd. Is it natural to infer That making errors is to err? Wherefore, purists, don't despair, Thoughts of punishment forbear, Just give the erring ones the air. A similar moral could even be drawn from Pope, whom we give the last word: • The Vulgar thus through Imitation err; As oft the Learn'd by being singular—"Essay on Criticism," 1711 For a related but distinct question of pronunciation, See errant, arrant 2. |
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