Brain-food

[tamaranth]

A question from a colleague got me thinking ... do you know, and can you explain?

(04:38:52 PM) geoffathome: Why does "A user interface" sound correct when every rule I know screams "An user interface"?
(04:39:42 PM) Me: 'a user interface' is fine ... because 'u' doesn't behave like longer vowels. Think 'a university', 'a user' (though 'an umbrella' -- short 'u' does need 'an')
(04:39:57 PM) Me: now let me find out why :)

Comments

[nils.livejournal.com]

Because the initial sound in 'user' and 'university' is a consonant, not a vowel. In 'umbrella' the initial sound is a vowel.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

nicely put! I'm trying to think of cases for the other vowels, but I can't. Suspect this only happens with 'u' (it's as if there's a silent 'y' at the front, as in ufe).

[nils.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think this only happens with 'u' (in English, anyway...). There is indeed a consonantic 'y' sound there.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

But it happens with consonants too ...

an hour
a horse
a hotel (there are those that argue "an hotel" in strictly written English)
a helicopter
a hampster
an honest mistake

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

an hotel is pronounced an'otel - the haitch is dropped with 'orrible pretension and the n shuffles in to do duty

[zotz]

Yooniversitty dussent start with a vowwel.

. . . or not with a vowel sound, anyway. If we were to pronounce it ooniversity or unniversity, then it would take "an".

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

in Greek this is breathings - horse and user are a vowel prefaced by a rough breathing (a gimmick that represents a rasping breath, pronounced as an h), whereas umbrella and hour are preceded by a smooth breathing. The 'hhh' or 'yyy' breathing roughen the speech enough that an isn't needed to even out the phonemes in your mouth.

it happens with dipthongs too, or at least with eu - which has a rough breathin in the original greek - a euphemism, a euphonious phrase

long vowel with an? the only example I can think of is an eurysm (ducks)