"an eulogy" or "a eulogy"?
Paul
article "a" before words beginning with a consonant and "an" before
words beginning with a vowel or a diphthong. And the sound "y" ( or /
j / in phonetic script) as in "eulogy", "university", "European"
etc. is to be treated as a consonant (though in certain contexts one
would also call it a "semi-vowel").
Why is it that I still find "an" preceeding this sound in certain
write-ups generating combinations such as "an eulogy", and "an
university" ? Are these instances of incorrect usage?
Paul.
Einde O'Callaghan
spelling.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan
Simon Rayner
<3921f19a-6fe1-4a15...@p25g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
Paul <paulma...@gmail.com> writes
A lot of people write 'an hotel', which always surprises me. Do they say
it without the 'h'? I think 'a eulogy' and 'a university' are
preferable.
Simon
--
Simon Rayner
Einde O'Callaghan
quite recent. These words are of French origin and the "h" isn't
pronounced initially in French. In the case of some words of French
origin such as "hour and "honest" the "h" is still not pronounced. And
in the case of some other words both pronunciations are possible e.g. in
"herb" the "h" is pronounced in Britain but I understand that it isn't
in many parts of the US.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan
Ildhund
message news:6bv4i6F...@mid.individual.net...
>> they say it without the 'h'? I think 'a eulogy' and 'a
>> university' are preferable.
>>
> The pronunciation of the "h" in words like "hotel" and "history"
> is quite recent. These words are of French origin and the "h"
> isn't pronounced initially in French. In the case of some words of
> French origin such as "hour and "honest" the "h" is still not
> pronounced. And in the case of some other words both
> pronunciations are possible e.g. in "herb" the "h" is pronounced
> in Britain but I understand that it isn't in many parts of the US.
Many English people use 'an' before some words beginning with 'h',
but my experience is that this only occurs (apart from the cases
where the 'h' is mute anyway) when the first syllable is not
accented. Thus 'a history' but 'an historian'.
--
Noel
Paul
> "Einde O'Callaghan" <einde.ocallag...@planet-interkom.de> wrote in
> messagenews:6bv4i6F...@mid.individual.net...
>
> > Simon Rayner wrote:
> >> In message
> >> A lot of people write 'an hotel', which always surprises me. Do
> >> they say it without the 'h'? I think 'a eulogy' and 'a
> >> university' are preferable.
>
> > The pronunciation of the "h" in words like "hotel" and "history"
> > is quite recent. These words are of French origin and the "h"
> > isn't pronounced initially in French. In the case of some words of
> > French origin such as "hour and "honest" the "h" is still not
> > pronounced. And in the case of some other words both
> > pronunciations are possible e.g. in "herb" the "h" is pronounced
> > in Britain but I understand that it isn't in many parts of the US.
>
> Many English people use 'an' before some words beginning with 'h',
> but my experience is that this only occurs (apart from the cases
> where the 'h' is mute anyway) when the first syllable is not
> accented. Thus 'a history' but 'an historian'.
> --
> Noel
I'd be interested in finding out how many are there in this group of
ours who'd prefer 'an historian' to a historian'. (This is only a
matter of academic curiosity! O.K?)
Paul
Christopher C. Hunt
"Paul" <paulma...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:887b10b3-aea1-40a7...@x19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
I'm Canadian, and I usually say and write "an historian". In this country
it comes across as a bit of an affectation, but I allow myself a few of
those!
Cheers,
Chris