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English: A vs. An

365 points · 529 comments · azhenley

  1. nephihaha · · focus · HN ↗
    I notice "an" is in decline in some forms of spoken English. I noticed this shift years ago. Some English speakers say "a (y)apple" rather than "an apple" or "a(y) orange" rather than "an orange". In some case the "y" sound is replaced by a glottal stop (a' apple, a' orange).

    [Why is this getting voted down? Bizarre.]

    1. bethekidyouwant · · focus · HN ↗
      No
      1. nephihaha · · focus · HN ↗
        Eh? I hear both of these on a regular basis. It is a phenomenon.
        1. antonvs · · focus · HN ↗
          It might be regional? I haven't noticed it in the northeastern US, or in the multinational company I work at, where I talk regularly with people from at least 10 countries.
          1. nephihaha · · focus · HN ↗
            I have heard it on YouTube videos and elsewhere. "A" plus a y sound, or glottal stop. People talking about "ay answer" or "a yanswer" rather than "an answer". This has not made it into the written language yet, although some people write "a answer" rather than "an answer" etc.
    2. isityettime · · focus · HN ↗
      I've also noticed this but it sounds kind of infantile to me. It's a common pronunciation that a lot of children make seemingly by mistake and then eventually stop doing. When adults do this it sounds wrong, but I admit I have heard it.
    3. YoshiRulz · · focus · HN ↗
      a.k.a. &quot;hard attack&quot;. There&#x27;s a nice video on the subject by linguist Geoff Lindsey: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;nCe7Fj8-ZnQ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;nCe7Fj8-ZnQ
    4. subarctic · · focus · HN ↗
      Some YouTubers always say a like the letter a (e.g. the vowel in &quot;day&quot;)

      I find it pretty annoying. A different YouTuber had a good video about it though <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=4IJLyFAzYes&amp;ra=m" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=4IJLyFAzYes&amp;ra=m

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