‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

English: A vs. An

365 points · 529 comments · azhenley

  1. kichimi · · focus · HN ↗
    I've spent some time thinking about this before, and it provides a clue about the writers accent. For example:

    "An 'H'", and "a 'H'" are both equally valid following this rule (by my interpretation), depending on how you pronounce the letter 'H'.

    1. post-it · · focus · HN ↗
      A/an herb, for example.
      1. mc32 · · focus · HN ↗
        /heitsh/ vs /eitsh/. I think it's mostly Irish with the former.
        1. kelnos · · focus · HN ↗
          And Australian, I believe.
          1. ajxs · · focus · HN ↗
            I'm Australian, and I say 'A Hotel', and 'A Herb'. Until very recently, I'd never heard anyone ever say it differently.
            1. subarctic · · focus · HN ↗
              GP is talking about the name of the letter H like when you're saying the ABCs. How do you pronounce it?
              1. ajxs · · focus · HN ↗
                Pardon me. I actually pronounce it heitsh, but I don't think there's a concensus among Australians about that.
Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.