Thread

1. bugufu8f83 · 1789891917 · focus · HN ↗

   > if word.startswith("ub"): return False

   An uber-rich man riding in an Uber installed an Ubuntu package.

   I'm actually a bit surprised by this rule. Is this line there entirely due to the word "ubiquitous"? I think it is.

   1. ExoticPearTree · 1789894299 · focus · HN ↗

      To keep it simple, you use an when the first letter of the next word sounds like a vowel when pronounced (vowel sound) and appplies to ancronyms too. Otherwise you use a.

      1. xattt · 1789895060 · focus · HN ↗

         “An MRI report“ vs “a yogurt container”.

         1. 0manrho · 1789896084 · focus · HN ↗

            The MRI example is perfect, but I feel like the yogurt one is a bad example given the "and sometimes Y" (is a vowel) thing, or do we just ignore that for a vs an?

            Like in this context, do we always treat Y when pronounced like "Yes" or "Yogurt" as a consonant?

            1. ExoticPearTree · 1789902253 · focus · HN ↗

               Because “an youghurt container” sounds wrong.

               English has this thing where you know you wrote or pronounced something correct if it sounds right.

               1. [deleted] · 1789911662 · focus · HN ↗

                  [deleted]

               2. [deleted] · 1789912139 · focus · HN ↗

                  [deleted]

               3. [deleted] · 1789996485 · focus · HN ↗

                  [deleted]

            2. drdec · 1789944637 · focus · HN ↗

               Because vowels are sounds, not letters
      2. gertrunde · 1789897040 · focus · HN ↗

         The one that I often find irritating is SQL...

         An "ess queue ell", but a "sequel".

         :(

         1. stymaar · 1789900644 · focus · HN ↗

            How is that irritating? I find it funny that the article gives you a way to distinguish the way the author pronounces it just from their writing.

            1. gertrunde · 1789977016 · focus · HN ↗

               It always feels a bit like hitting a speedbump mid-flow!

               Mostly breaks concentration/focus etc.

      3. bugufu8f83 · 1789897569 · focus · HN ↗

         Yes, I'm well aware. I'm responding to the code in the OP's article (you need to click through the link at the bottom of the HN submission--I have no idea why the OP blog has two separate pages for this).
      4. mrweasel · 1789906985 · focus · HN ↗

         That is probably on of the most confusing things about English. What do you mean "sounds like a vowel"? All vowels sound like vowels, what else would they sound like? While we're at the subject, why is Y not a vowel (except when it is) and why can you have more than one vowel in a syllable. In the example in the article they have unicorn, which is clearly spelled wrong if English were to make sense. The correct spelling should be "junicorn". Fixed.

         Counting the number of syllables in a language like Danish means you just count the number of vowels. A syllable must have one, and only one, vowel. A word like "you", if it existed in Danish, would have three syllables, because all those letters are vowels, at any point in time.

         1. ExoticPearTree · 1789916840 · focus · HN ↗

            For example “I have an MBA” and “I know a mechanic”.

            When you pronounce the M from MBA, you hear the e in front, you’re saying em-bi-a. But for mechanic, you just have a stromg m.

            This is what I mean by “if it sounds like a vowel”. And hence an and a.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.