Inquiry 同 Enquiry 用法的分別?

Inquiry 和 Enquiry 的用法是有些少分別的，詳情請參考下列例子：
1. 詢問,打聽;質詢[C][U][(+about/into)]
Make your inquiries at the office. 請去辦公室詢問。
2. 調查[C][(+into)]
They held an inquiry into the incident. 他們對這一事件展開調查。
3. 探究,探索[U][C]
scientific inquiry 科學探索
4. 疑問;問題[C]
The bank clerk answered all my inquiries.
銀行職員回答了我提出的所有問題。
5. "inquiry agent"【英】【舊】私家偵探

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1. 詢問;打聽[(+about)]
make enquiries of somebody about something 向某人詢問某事
2. 調查[(+into)]
An official enquiry into the incident was launched.官方對這一事件進行了調查。
After months of enquiry we finally discovered the truth.
經過幾個月調查,我們最後發現了真相。

2009-06-19 17:47:08 補充：
Inquiry 是 多了一些 解 釋 ( 意思 )

請留意第 3~5 的解釋

2009-06-26 10:53:48 補充：
根據 Longman Dictionary ( 朗文 字典 ) of Contemporary English

Enquiry and Inquiry are almost exactly the same.

但 Inquiry is more used for

a long serious study ( 詳細和精密的研究 ) :

an inquiry into the diseases caused by smoking.

因此 證明 002 的答案是正確的。

Inquired Vs Enquired

所謂不同的意見, 都只不過是參考不同字典所得出的不同理解.

根據大部份字典的記載, enquire and inquire係同一個字，而只係唔同串法.

在現代的用法, 己經當無分別, 但傳統上係有其分別.

2009-06-28 06:02:05 補充：
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/enquire?view=uk

What is the distinction between enquire and inquire?

The traditional distinction between enquire and inquire is that enquire is to be used for general senses of 'ask' (一般性的查詢),

2009-06-28 06:03:21 補充：
while inquire is reserved for uses meaning 'make a formal investigation' (展開正式的調查).

In practice, however, enquire (and enquiry) is more common in British English

while inquire (and inquiry) is more common in US English,

2009-06-28 06:05:03 補充：
but otherwise there is little discernible distinction in the way the words are used.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inquire
之所以串法有分別, 相信係enquire仍然保留左一半拉丁文的串法

2009-06-28 06:05:14 補充：
inquire
c.1290, from O.Fr. enquerre, from V.L. *inquærere, from L. in- "into" + quærere "ask, seek" (see query). Respelled 14c. on L. model, but half-Latinized enquire still persists.

同意意見001 的結論：『001作答認為「同一個字，唔同串法，用法冇分別」，才是正確答案。』

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=inquire*1+0&dict=A

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=enquiry&db=luna
↑
合共5條，每條都顯示出兩字相通。

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/enquiry.html

2009-06-26 13:35:57 補充：
意見001 和意見003都說根據 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English，但一個說兩字只是拼法不同，一個說“Inquiry is more used for....”。

為何有此差異？

舊版 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary 的確在 inquiry有USAGE說兩者有些微分別。但新版（我查的是2009版，未出雙語版）已刪除了這樣的內容。

我另外查過 MacMillan、Collins、Merriam Webster、Oxford，都是其中一字的說明是另一字的其他串法，而另一字的條目下沒有片隻字說兩字有絲毫分別。

個人認為002回答者引據的Yahoo字典不夠權威。

根據權威的Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English，Enquiry的意思是：

（especially British English）another spelling of inquiry

001作答認為「同一個字，唔同串法，用法冇分別」，才是正確答案。