English question:A or An

[UNIquelyCanadian]

Do you write "A unicyle" or An unicyle" Which is right?

[TheObieOne3226]

I always say "a unicycle" or a uni etc. IDK if it's right though.

[Catboy]

Wow, I guess it would be an exception. Or not.

Would the "thee vs thuh" pronunciation rule apply too?

An ocean an apple A? unicycle?

Thee apple thee ocean thee unicycle?

huh.

[James_Potter]

if the next word starts with a consanant, it usually is 'a'. if the next word starts with a vowel, it usually is 'an'. but since unicycle is pronounced yunicycle, and y is sometimes a consanant, it's 'a unicycle'.
have you ever noticed how 'h' is sometimes a vowel too? as in

'an hour'

hmm....

[harper]

Grammatically, I believe that the indefinite article is determined by the sound of first letter of the following word. An history in British English particularly is difficult for me because the "h" is not pronounced. Potter's examples are good ones. A universe, an undying love, a unicorn, an orangutan, an unimportant question, a unifying principle. We US folks usually say a hilarious joke whereas the Brits would say an hilarious joke.

[Sigurd]

I think you use 'a' for a word that begins with a consonant sound and 'an' for words that begin with a vowel sound. Not the letter the word actually begins with. That's how harper's 'hilarious' example works. The British way of 'an hilarious..." is such because it is probably said 'ilarious'. And unless someone says 'oonicycle' instead of 'yoonicycle' I think it would be 'a unicycle' and not 'an oonicycle'.

[theamazingmolio]

Originally posted by harper
the Brits would say an hilarious joke.

no we don't

[john_childs]

Originally posted by theamazingmolio
no we don't
The ones with the stiff upper lip would say "an hilarious joke" and they wouldn't pronounce the 'h' at the beginning of hilarious. You need to pay attention over there. Y'all talk funny.

[rob.northcott]

Originally posted by john_childs
The ones with the stiff upper lip would say "an hilarious joke" and they wouldn't pronounce the 'h' at the beginning of hilarious. You need to pay attention over there. Y'all talk funny.

You've been listening to the Queen too much (and she's German anyway). OK, there are SOME people who would pronounce it like that, but the vast majority of us wouldn't.

Having said that, a grammar text book would probably say that "an hilarious joke" is the "correct" form. But it is not commonly used.

[yobaroba]

i second that, some of us talk in such a way that its so hard to distinguish the words it doesnt really matter, but for those of us that dont live in Birmingham, we talk vary well, its only bad american actors who give the Brits out stupid stuck up accents. Indeed, some of the upper class would speak like that, but everyone else doesnt.

[john_childs]

Originally posted by rob.northcott
Having said that, a grammar text book would probably say that "an hilarious joke" is the "correct" form. But it is not commonly used.
Oh, I hope it's not the grammatically correct way to say it in the text books. If I heard someone actually say "an hilarious joke" out loud while pronouncing the 'h' in hilarious, I would just want to slap them. It would sound so wrong.

I just did a quick Google check.
Search for 'an-hilarious' gets about 45,000 hits
Search for 'a-hilarious' gets about 505,000 hits

"a hilarious joke" is far more popular than "an hilarious joke".

[john_childs]

Originally posted by rob.northcott
You've been listening to the Queen too much (and she's German anyway). OK, there are SOME people who would pronounce it like that, but the vast majority of us wouldn't.
Saying "an hilarious joke" does sound all stuffed up and forced. That's why I said it was for the stiff upper lip folks.

The British speaker that I've been hearing the most of lately has been Jamie Oliver from his cooking shows. He's got a definite British accent but not the stuffy stiff upper lip style British accent. I can't picture Jamie ever saying "an hilarious joke". It just wouldn't sound right.

And I second the opinion from yobaroba about actors doing a poor job of faking the stereotypical British accent. It's an effective stage accent due to its stereotypical qualities. But you never year real British speakers speaking like that.

And what's the deal with Ozzie Osborne? I can't understand a word he says. It must be the accent. :)

[Klaas Bil]

Originally posted by Sigurd
I think you use 'a' for a word that begins with a consonant sound and 'an' for words that begin with a vowel sound. Not the letter the word actually begins with. Spot on! Try pronouncing "a onion" for example, there is an unwieldy hold-up in saying it. That's why the n slips in, to ease the connection between the two vowel sounds.

I think that the 'an' sound may be the original form, and that the 'n' has dropped of where it wasn't needed. Note that in Dutch, 'a' or 'an' translate to 'een', which is pronounced exactly as in English. In practice, the 'n' of 'een' is often not pronounced when it is followed by a consonant sound (or modified e.g. to 'm' before a 'p' or 'b' sound), although many Dutch speakers don't realise that. It is (still?) always written though.

Klaas Bil

[pdc]

an halibut

[Sigurd]

I wasn't trying to assume how the British say it. I was just running with the example given.

[harper]

Originally posted by Sigurd
I wasn't trying to assume how the British say it. I was just running with the example given.

Neither was I. I was TELLING them how they speak and they'd bloody well better listen up.

[Sigurd]

Originally posted by harper
Neither was I. I was TELLING them how they speak and they'd bloody well better listen up.

:D