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ForumsDiscussion Forum → Cunninglinguistics!
Cunninglinguistics!
2007-07-12, 10:53 AM #1
Why does it feel so natural to say an RPG instead of a RPG? Or is it just me?
幻術
2007-07-12, 10:53 AM #2
I see what you did there. That's quite a cunning stunt you've pulled off.
Think while it's still legal.
2007-07-12, 10:54 AM #3
An is correct.
nope.
2007-07-12, 10:57 AM #4
because

ay ar pee gee

an ar pee gee

you've got that 'an' preceding a vowel sounds at the beginning of a word thing going on, SON
2007-07-12, 11:01 AM #5
I was very misled by this title. :(
Naked Feet are Happy Feet
:omgkroko:
2007-07-12, 11:15 AM #6
An Arr Pee Gee.

Any vowel sound is preceded by An instead of A.

Also, [url]www.myspace.com/cunninlynguists[/url] \m/
D E A T H
2007-07-12, 11:33 AM #7
Ghoti.
2007-07-12, 12:02 PM #8
ay *** hole
an *** hole

Si?

2007-07-12, 1:16 PM #9
Yes, acronyms and abbreviations are always preceeded by the article that matches the pronounced sound, not the written letter.
"it is time to get a credit card to complete my financial independance" — Tibby, Aug. 2009
2007-07-12, 1:48 PM #10
Originally posted by Anovis:
Ghoti.

I hate ghoti. They taste awful and catching them is boring.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-07-12, 2:25 PM #11
Can someone explain why it's often written as "an historic event" instead of "a historic event"?
2007-07-12, 2:39 PM #12
I've never seen it like that.
2007-07-12, 2:40 PM #13
Because people write it incorrectly. "A historic event" is correct.
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2007-07-12, 2:42 PM #14
Originally posted by Recusant:
Can someone explain why it's often written as "an historic event" instead of "a historic event"?


I may be wrong, but I believe it stems from English dialects dropping the "h" while speaking, and their emphasis is on the second syllable instead of the first like North American dialects.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-07-12, 2:46 PM #15
Originally posted by Wikipedia:
[edit] Discrimination between a and an
The form "an" is always prescribed before words beginning with a silent h, such as "honorable", "heir", "hour", and, in American English, "herb". Some British dialects (for example, Cockney) silence all initial h's (h-dropping) and so employ "an" all the time: e.g., "an 'elmet". Many British usage books, therefore, discount a usage which some Americans (amongst others) employ as being a derivative of the Cockney.[citation needed] The reason is that the indefinite article a is pronounced either of two ways: as a schwa or as the letter itself is pronounced, "long a" (actually a diphthong, /eɪ/). Some words beginning with the letter h have the primary stress on the second or later syllable. Pronouncing a as a schwa can diminish the sound of the schwa and melt into the vowel. Pronouncing it as a "long a" does not do this, but as the pronunciation cannot be prescribed, the word is spelled the same for either. Hence an may be seen in such phrases as "an historic", "an heroic", and "an hôtel of excellence" was the by-line in an advertisement in a New York City newspaper[citation needed].

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage is more descriptive than prescriptive, but it advises, "You choose the article that suits your own pronunciation." Theodore Bernstein gives the straight vowel-sound vs. consonant-sound explanation but allows that one should indeed say "an hotel" if they think hotel is pronounced otel. [1]

Such was also the case for some other words which take the place of the article. "My" and "thy" became "mine" and "thine", as in "mine uncle". This usage is now obsolete.

The appearance of an or a in front of words beginning with h is not limited to stress. Sometimes there are historical roots as well. Words that may have had a route into English via French (where all "h"s are unpronounced) may have an to avoid an unusual pronunciation. Words that derived from German however would use a as the h's would be pronounced. There is even some suggestion that fashion may have had some influence. When England was ruled by a French aristocracy, the tradition may have been to exclusively use an, while when Britain was governed by a German-based monarchy the tide may have changed to a.

Further, some words starting with "u" (like "ukulele" or "user") have a preceding "a" because they are pronounced as if beginning with an initial "y" consonant.

.
My girlfriend paid a lot of money for that tv; I want to watch ALL OF IT. - JM
2007-07-12, 2:55 PM #16
Originally posted by Roach:
I may be wrong, but I believe it stems from English dialects dropping the "h" while speaking, and their emphasis is on the second syllable instead of the first like North American dialects.


Yes. It is correct to us 'an' instead of 'a' when the first sound of the following word is a vowell. eg. Correct: An hour, not correct: An hotel. But really it comes down to how the following word is pronounced in your dialect.
The Massassi-Map
There is no spoon.
2007-07-12, 11:45 PM #17
I use 'an' with historic - in English it's perfectly acceptable. Doesn't help that I pronounce "historic" as "istoric" though ;)

What REALLY p****s me off is when people say that a person was "hung".

It's HANGED Kakdammit! HANGED! Meat is hung, people are hanged.
2007-07-12, 11:48 PM #18
Do you get mad when people say 'snuck' too? Because it's supposed to be sneaked.
"it is time to get a credit card to complete my financial independance" — Tibby, Aug. 2009
2007-07-12, 11:50 PM #19
Originally posted by Martyn:
I use 'an' with historic - in English it's perfectly acceptable. Doesn't help that I pronounce "historic" as "istoric" though ;)

What REALLY p****s me off is when people say that a person was "hung".

It's HANGED Kakdammit! HANGED! Meat is hung, people are hanged.


and thats why its called a hanging... not a hunging... :ninja:

seriously though i hate "an historical" ooooo.... it just... blegh :argh:
Welcome to the douchebag club. We'd give you some cookies, but some douche ate all of them. -Rob
2007-07-13, 10:25 AM #20
Originally posted by Darth_Alran:
and thats why its called a hanging... not a hunging... :ninja:



But people don't get "hanginged". The past tense verb form is different.
"Flowers and a landscape were the only attractions here. And so, as there was no good reason for coming, nobody came."
2007-07-13, 10:29 AM #21
Originally posted by Martyn:
I use 'an' with historic - in English it's perfectly acceptable. Doesn't help that I pronounce "historic" as "istoric" though ;)

What REALLY p****s me off is when people say that a person was "hung".

It's HANGED Kakdammit! HANGED! Meat is hung, people are hanged.

I am hung.
>>untie shoes
2007-07-13, 10:31 AM #22
THEY HANGED HANK!
Sorry for the lousy German
2007-07-13, 11:02 AM #23
my english teacher, a dirty old lady, once said it this way: 'They hanged people, MEN are hung'
Holy soap opera Batman. - FGR
DARWIN WILL PREVENT THE DOWNFALL OF OUR RACE. - Rob
Free Jin!
2007-07-13, 12:48 PM #24
I think its because saying R isn't like saying a word that starts with that consonant like rabbit but more like saying the word are.
"The only crime I'm guilty of is love [of china]"
- Ruthven
me clan me mod
2007-07-13, 3:50 PM #25
Originally posted by Antony:
I am hung.


Like an elf?

This brings up times where Kroko corrected my English. Bad times.

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