Submitted by Frootysmothy t3_123yzh2 in explainlikeimfive
[removed]
Comments
Frootysmothy OP t1_jdwzoas wrote
Ah I see. I was comparing the U sound to the I sound but i should have been comparing it to the Y sound. Thanks! That makes sense
NameUnavail t1_jdwzs6p wrote
Because it's pronounced ˈjʊə.ɹəp, the first sound is a soft j not one of the 5 vowels (a,e,i,o,u) and it's only the pronunciation, not the speelling that determines the choice of an/a
lukeworldwalker t1_jdwzvvt wrote
The rule is that “a” goes before a word starting with a consonant. And “an" goes before a word starting with a vowel.
BUT the rules follows the phonetic pronunciation NOT the spelling.
some examples with pronunciation in [brackets]
"a" + consonant (both in spelling and pronunciation)
- a cat [k]
- a dog [d]
- a purple onion [p]
- a buffalo [b]
- a big apple [b]
"a" + vowel that is pronounced like a consonant
- a European [ˌjʊɚ...] say: a juropean
- a one-legged man [ˈwan] say: a won-legged man
- a union [ˈjuːn.jən] say: a junion)
"an" + vowel (both in spelling and pronunciation)
- an apricot
- an egg
- an orbit
- an uprising
"an" before consonant that is pronounced like w vowel
- an honorable person [ˈɒnəɹəbl̩] say: an onorable person)
- an honest error [ˈɒnɪst] say: an onest error
Flair_Helper t1_jdx0bol wrote
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[deleted] t1_jdx0f1h wrote
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Shabingly t1_jdx17tn wrote
It'll blow your mind when you discover how words like umpire, apron & uncle were originally numpire, napon and nuncle; so a numpire, a napron and a nuncle.
I believe the process of how they became how they are today is called rebracketing.
irisblues t1_jdx17u2 wrote
I think you are right. An umbrella is a useful tool. Uh sound vs you sound is what makes the shift.
I say eye-tem, not eee-tem for the word item. But it is still an eyeball or an emotion.
Mikezster t1_jdwzfdz wrote
There's a common exception to the "An for nouns beginning with vowels, A for nouns beginning with consonants" which is "if the first vowel makes a Y sound, treat is as a consonant."