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"An"

Jay D · 2010-12-28 21:08:21

Yeah you know the word that you put before a vowel or some few exceptions such as hour, honour, etc., well what is it becoming an absolute norm in media for? I used to read it the odd time in papers thinking the English editors etc, but this is becoming all the fecking time now and I just think it's crap tbh. Am I missing…

28-12-2010 9:08pm

#1

Jay D

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Yeah you know the word that you put before a vowel or some few exceptions such as hour, honour, etc., well what is it becoming an absolute norm in media for?

I used to read it the odd time in papers thinking the English editors etc, but this is becoming all the fecking time now and I just think it's crap tbh. Am I missing something?

It sounds completely stupid and unnatural in reporting when you hear an Irish accent come out with an - before horrific etc and yes you can notice the effort it took to say that rather than the normal Irish way.

1

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#2 28-12-2010 9:11pm

Oranage2

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what an sh!t thread

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#3 28-12-2010 9:11pm

starbelgrade

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You've far too much spare time on your hands if this bothers you.

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#4 28-12-2010 9:12pm

GLaDOS

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This is not a important matter.

Cake, and grief counseling, will be available at the conclusion of the test

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#5 28-12-2010 9:12pm

KeithM89_old

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"I have an erection"
"I have a erection"

Which one sound right to you OP??

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#6 28-12-2010 9:13pm

biko

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There is an English forum where you can discuss the merits and issues you may have with certain words and phrases.

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#7 28-12-2010 9:15pm

Oh_Noes

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Bothers me more how Irish politicians can't pronounce the words million or billion, they say "millen" and "billen" instead. I've no idea why.

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#8 28-12-2010 9:15pm

Aidric

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KeithM89 wrote: »

"I have an erection"
"I have a erection"

Which one sound right to you OP??

I have a horn.

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#9 28-12-2010 9:15pm

BOHtox

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KeithM89 wrote: »

"I have an erection"
"I have a erection"

Which one sound right to you OP??

What if the op's a women?

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#10 28-12-2010 9:15pm

Jay D

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done and dusted Biko, cheers...

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#11 28-12-2010 9:15pm

KeithM89_old

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BOHtox wrote: »

What if the op's a women?

She should call over to my house and fix it then....

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#12 28-12-2010 9:16pm

galwayrush

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Oh_Noes wrote: »

Bothers me more how Irish politicians can't pronounce the words million or billion, they say "millen" and "billen" instead. I've no idea why.

Because they don't understand the figures.:rolleyes:

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#13 28-12-2010 9:17pm

rednik

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An Taoiseach.:eek:

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#14 28-12-2010 9:18pm

TanG411

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An hero.

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#15 28-12-2010 9:18pm

Poor Uncle Tom

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If they're speaking english, they may as well speak it properly, regardless of what nationality they may be.

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#16 28-12-2010 9:19pm

orourkeda

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KeithM89 wrote: »

"I have an erection"
"I have a erection"

Which one sound right to you OP??

I have a stonking hard on

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#17 28-12-2010 9:19pm

biko

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IF
serious discussion GOTO here
ELSE
continue

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#18 28-12-2010 9:22pm

galwayrush

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rednik wrote: »

An Taoiseach.:eek:

Dat last one:pac:

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#19 28-12-2010 9:22pm

galwayrush

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KeithM89 wrote: »

"I have an erection"
"I have a erection"

Which one sound right to you OP??

Neither ffs.:eek:

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#20 28-12-2010 9:24pm

the keen edge

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Or how about cot?

Which could be used to describe a child's bed; but not how Garda O'Brien apprehended a criminal.

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#21 28-12-2010 9:43pm

zero19

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ScienceNerd wrote: »

This is not a important matter.

I see what you did there

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#22 28-12-2010 10:23pm

Tar.Aldarion

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Sounds fine to me.

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#23 28-12-2010 10:55pm

Dionysus

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Jay D wrote: »

Yeah you know the word that you put before a vowel

Before a vowel sound. There's a very important difference.

Jay D wrote: »

or some few exceptions such as hour, honour, etc., well what is it becoming an absolute norm in media for?

The only occasions where 'an' was correctly placed before words beginning with 'h' was when the words in question were of Latin origin. For example, in Received Pronunciation (RP) English it was correct to say 'an historic' because the word derives from Latin and thus people dropped the 'h' in pronunciation. In RP English today, however, 'A' rather than 'An' is the preferred prefix according to the OED. You'll still hear regional accents in England say 'an hotel' and the like, but it is more correct to avoid it now.

In Hiberno-English, however, the 'h' was always pronounced. Accordingly, it was never correct to say 'an historic' or 'an hotel' here.

Jay D wrote: »

It sounds completely stupid and unnatural in reporting when you hear an Irish accent come out with an - before horrific etc and yes you can notice the effort it took to say that rather than the normal Irish way.

I agree entirely. They think they are more correct for saying 'an' but they're really showing their lack of education up. Likewise with people who use 'whilst' rather than 'while'.

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#24 28-12-2010 10:59pm

Aidan Nutty Sorrow
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BOHtox wrote: »

What if the op's a women?

I doubt the OP is several women at once.

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#25 28-12-2010 11:05pm

the keen edge

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Dionysus wrote: »

Likewise with people who use 'whilst' rather than 'while'.

How about a couple of examples of when to use whilst vs. while, and also whom vs. who.

Much obliged governor.

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#26 28-12-2010 11:11pm

cafecolour

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Jay D wrote: »

It sounds completely stupid and unnatural in reporting when you hear an Irish accent come out with an - before horrific etc and yes you can notice the effort it took to say that rather than the normal Irish way.

You don't say 'an' before 'horrific'. You only say it when the word starts with a vowel SOUND. In hour and honour, the beginning h is silent, so you use the an. Also why you would say 'a one-handed man' not 'an one-handed man' (since 'one' starts with the SOUND of a consonant - ie 'w')

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#27 28-12-2010 11:18pm

Seth Brundle

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BOHtox wrote: »

What if the op's a women?

Then the OP could be this hot looking chick...
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/21/article-1208012-061F1698000005DC-881_468x545.jpg

Anyhow, OP who gives an fupp whether a or an is important?

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#28 28-12-2010 11:22pm

Jay D

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kbannon wrote: »

Then the OP could be this hot looking chick...
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/21/article-1208012-061F1698000005DC-881_468x545.jpg

Anyhow, OP who gives an fupp whether a or an is important?

Well I thought it was ok when you had kids newspapers like the Sun and the like using it, but when our national media has slowly filtered and now basically adopted it, something is up and it's not good.

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#29 28-12-2010 11:40pm

kowloon

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galwayrush wrote: »

Because they don't understand the figures.:rolleyes:

Hence their inability to understand why everyone is so pi55ed off.

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#30 28-12-2010 11:48pm

BluesBerry

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Can I have a P please Bob!!!!

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#31 28-12-2010 11:50pm

Dionysus

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the keen edge wrote: »

How about a couple of examples of when to use whilst vs. while, and also whom vs. who.

Much obliged governor.

Whilst is simply an archaic form of while. If somebody chooses to use 'whilst' over 'while' they should be consistent and use 'unbeknownst', 'amidst', 'amongst' and all the other similarly archaic (Middle English) words. There's no logic in holding on to 'whilst' when 'while' is the accepted modern form in all dictionaries without exception. Some people use 'whilst' because they believe it's the correct form in British English: it's not. All dictionaries of British English go with 'while'.

I came across this appropriate piece about using archaic words from Fowler:

'It is conscious archaism that offends, above all the conscious archaisms of the illiterate .... For the vilest of trite archaisms has this latent virtue, that it might be worse; to use it, and by using it to make it worse, is to court derision.'

H.W. Fowler (1858–1933), The King’s English (2nd ed., 1908), Chapter III. Airs and Graces: ARCHAISM

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