AmE/Writing: AN _hors d'oeuvres_ tray, or A _hors d'oeuvres_ tray?

Question

The general rule I was given as a youngster was that if the initial sound of the noun is that of a vowel, the correct indefinite article is “an”, while if it started with a consonantal sound or ‘y’, I should use ‘a’. However, I’m writing an article for a magazine (I’m the editor, too, so telling me to check the ‘house style guide’ is not going to work...), and I find that the rule described and Microsoft Word seem to disagree with respect to the borrowed term _hors d’oeuvres_. I learned to pronounce it (pardon the lack of IPA) roughly as “OR DERVZ”, which would imply the use of “an”; Word seems to want me to use “a”. Should I accede to Word’s correction, or did Microsoft goof on this one? The problem with the proposed duplicate and the other relevant questions linked to it is that none of them seem to give an authoritative answer; the general weight of _opinion_ confirms my early education, but while I will not hesitate to disagree with Microsoft’s algorithm and stick to my own inclinations in most cases, this particular case - a borrowing from French that has not been fully Anglicized - plus my lack of exposure to French to understand where a partial Anglicization may have altered the pronunciation (so that I may be pronouncing it “wrong” even for what American standard may exist) leaves me with little enough confidence that I’m not comfortable with accepting either alternative unsupported by some sort of authoritative citation.

Answer 1

I would stick with "an hors d'oeuvres tray" since in the French pronunciation, as well as most American pronunciations, the h is silent. Microsoft Word's autocorrect feature makes plenty of goofs, and should never be regarded as an authority on good writing.