X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f996b,ef84650dd3e606e5 X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-10-12 12:34:23 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!193.251.151.101!opentransit.net!fr.clara.net!heighliner.fr.clara.net!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!newsmm00.sul.t-online.com!t-online.de!news.t-online.com!not-for-mail From: "lastfuture (Peter Marquardt)" Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art Subject: Re: what is it? Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 21:19:06 +0200 Organization: T-Online Lines: 52 Message-ID: References: <3BC7137B.20402@usa.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: news.t-online.com 1002914261 03 5000 JDfWSrOSS7AYM8 011012 19:17:41 X-Complaints-To: abuse@t-online.com X-Sender: 520084321266-0001@t-dialin.net X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.6/32.525 Xref: archiver1.google.com alt.ascii-art:8552 On Fri, 12 Oct 2001 15:59:49 GMT, Peter Henderson wrote: >anonymous@bogus_address.con wrote: >> On 2001-10-03 l3mst0r@bumblbee.demon.co.uk said: >> >> > >It's rather easy when you know it really, when a word begins with >> > >a vowel, you say "an" (an apple, an oven, an utter) if it begins >> > >with a consonant, it's always "a" (a pear, a clock, a ship). >> > >It's easy as (a) pie :-)) >> > >> >What about Hour, Hotel, Happy? It's not enough to know that the >> >word starts with a vowel, you have to know it *sounds* as though it >> >starts with a vowel. >> >> In American English, the preferred (and proper) usage is: >> >> =A= hotel >> =A= happy >> =A= hovel >> =A= ham >> =A= herring >> >> ..since in American English, the leading 'h' is almost always >> pronounced. There is no 'dropped-H' Cockney accent in the U.S.A. >> >> 'Hour' is the exception that proves the rule. In American English, >> the leading 'h' in 'hour' is =not= pronounced...so correct usage >> there is '=an= hour.' But that's a rare exception. >> >> > > >How about acronyms like RTF? Is it a RTF file (because R is a consonant) >or an RTF file (because when R is pronounced it startes with a vowel >*sound*)? See http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?ar According to the >dictionary the letter R is spelled "ar" so it really does start with a >vowel, even though it's a consonant. I'm a native English speaker, but >was never taught this... Does anyone have an authoritative answer? I >think it's "an RTF file" based on what I've said...but I need an >authoritative answer to prove my English teacher wrong... :o) > >Sincerely, >Peter Henderson >peterhenderson@usa.net i was taught it's "a uniform" because u doesn't sound like a vowel when pronounced in this case... it's more like a "yu" or "yoo" ..and my english teacher also taught me that it was "an REM cycle" (REM = rapid eye movement) ...so i think that question is answered :) .. i also checked back with another english teacher i know to be sure it's correct.