I'm guessing here, but I think it is simply because pronouncing two consecutive vowel sounds is a bit of a tongue twister and disrupts the flow.

Hi there, I was wondering about the following matter: Why do we use the indef. art. a -> /ə/ before words that start with a consonant sound? And why do we use the indef. art. an -> /ən/ before words that start with a vowel sound? The

I also think some people pronounce those words that start with "be" (or also "re" or "de") with the vowel sound "ee" as in "bee". So some people might say "beloved" as

If the pronunciation of "LIP" is " e l-eye-pee", then you should use "an". The rule for using "an" is not based on spelling. It is based on pronunciation. If the initial sound is a vowel sound, then you use

I won't argue with you, of course you're right, you're a native Italian! You can argue! After all, Italian has many variants and I can speak only for mine. After doing some search on the internet, I've found this dictionary where

It has always been my understanding, that "the" should be pronounced with a LONG E before a vowel and a SHORT E before a consonant . However, lately, I hear only the short sound used. This applies to new broadcasters and others who do

If you look in a dictionary: the 1 play_w2("T0146800") ( before a vowel; before a consonant ) Or, "thee" before a vowel and "thuh" before a consonant. It's not a rule we learn in school, but it's

No man its only 'taken for a vowel' when it starts with a vowel in pronunciation (when read abc-style). So 'p' is pronounced as 'pee' (consonant), 's' is 'ess' (vowel), 'k' is 'kay' and

From Dictionary.com Word History : Why do we pronounce one (wŭn) and once (wŭns) while other words derived from one, like only, alone, and atone, are pronounced with a long o? Over time, stressed vowels commonly become diphthongs, as when Latin

Hi! Thank you for this interesting discussion and for your answer.Your opinion is important for me. First of all, my problem concerns teaching English as a second language. It's very bad that teachers instructing pupils how to pronounce /ʌ/