On 11/06/21 8:17 am, Isaac Morland wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Jun 2021 at 16:11, Gavin Flower
> <GavinFlower(at)archidevsys(dot)co(dot)nz <mailto:GavinFlower(at)archidevsys(dot)co(dot)nz>>
> wrote:
>
> On 11/06/21 2:48 am, Isaac Morland wrote:
>
> > “A MIT …”? As far as I know it is pronounced M - I - T, which would
> > imply that it should use “an”. The following page seems
> believable and
> > is pretty unequivocal on the issue:
> >
> > https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/como_se_dice/
> <https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/como_se_dice/>
> > <https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/como_se_dice/
> <https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/como_se_dice/>>
> >
> The rule is, in English, is that if the word sounds like it starts
> with
> a vowel then use 'an' rather than 'a'. Though some people think that
> the rule only applies to words beginning with a vowel, which is a
> misunderstanding.
>
> So 'an SQL' and 'an MIT' are correct. IMHO
>
>
> Right, spelling is irrelevant, it's about whether the word begins with
> a vowel *sound*. Or so I've always understood and I'm pretty sure if
> you listen to what people actually say that's what you'll generally
> hear. So "A uranium mine" not "An uranium mine" since "uranium" begins
> with a "y-" sound just like "yesterday". The fact that "u" is a vowel
> is irrelevant. But then there is "an historic occasion" so go figure.
>
The 'h' in 'historic' is silent, at least it used to be -- I think now
it is almost silent. So using 'an historic occasion' is correct.