http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aVowels+tag%3aPronunciation+tag%3aArticlesSearch results for 'tag:Vowels tag:Pronunciation tag:Articles' matching tags 'Vowels', 'Pronunciation', and 'Articles'en-USXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/OriginPronunciationIndef/kzcpj/post.htmThu, 13 Aug 2009 19:42:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:860617dokterjokkebrokHi 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 same with the definite article – pronounced like /ðə/ and /ði/ Does someone know if there's a phonetic/phonological or any other reason forthis phenomenon? I've searched through a whole lot of literature to find out about this, but so far I haven't found anything yet. Thank you for your reply/replies. Jordyhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ConsonantAcronym/2/bmknd/Post.htm#675061Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:00:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:675061anonymousI agree. It actually really vexes me when people use "a" in front of an acronym. Even though the previous post has been up for quite some time, maybe someone will run across this and find it helpful. Here is my reasoning: So, yes, we all know the English language is supposed to be one of the most grammatically difficult languages around. But when you think about the rules, almost all of them have some basis in logic. The reason that the English language provides two indefinite articles (both "a" and "an") is based in phonetics. It is difficult to pronounce "a" in front of any word beginning in a vowel. For example, saying "a apple" or "a egg" requires a lot more gutteral...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PuzzleAboutPronunciationWord-The/gjgxz/post.htm#547602Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:04:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:547602yizhivikaHi Mathew, Yes, as Mister Micawber says, native English-speakers instinctively know which pronunciation of 'the' to use before a noun (or an adjective + noun), but I can see that it may be a problem for some people learning the language. As you have yourself noted, we generally use the ' thee ' version before a vowel (as in ' the apple' ), and the " theh ' version before a consonant (as in ' the pen '), and the reason native English-speakers know which version to use, is because they read (or think of) the two words together, not separately! From your name, I would guess that your mother-tongue is probably Mandarin Chinese (Ni shi zhong guo ren ma?), and if so, then you'll know that...http://www.englishforums.com/English/WIsAVowel/6/dvgvj/Post.htm#544114Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:47:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:544114kooyeenI agree with those who say there could be several definitions. Considering letters. Vowels: A E I O U (so W is not included here) Considering sounds. Vowel sounds: all those in the IPA vowel chart. (so W is not included here either. "The" is pronounced "thee" and the article "a" becomes "an" before vowel sounds of this kind, so say "a wall" and "a university") Considering sounds more broadly. I think dark l's (as in "wall"), r-colored schwas (as in the last syllable of "powder"), w-sounds and y-sounds ("wall", "year") can all have some points in common with vowels. That's why some people often consider W a semi-vowel. In general,...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AnEulogyOrAEulogy/hqzbn/post.htmWed, 18 Jun 2008 17:13:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:664730paulAs per phonetics theory, I've been told one should use the indefinite article "a" before words beginning with a consonant and "an" before words beginning with a vowel or a diphthong. And the sound "y" ( or / j / in phonetic script) as in "eulogy", "university", "European" etc. is to be treated as a consonant (though in certain contexts one would also call it a "semi-vowel"). Why is it that I still find "an" preceeding this sound in certain write-ups generating combinations such as "an eulogy", and "an university" ? Are these instances of incorrect usage? Paul.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatEnglishDifficultLearn/5/nlcp/Post.htm#389640Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:34:42 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:389640bldudasSaska wrote: Guest wrote: Why many foreign speakers have such problems with the English language? I mean, I came to the U.S. about two years ago, and in the beginning I've had problems with the language (probably just like eveybody else), but what makes English such a difficult language to learn? Most people (like in Europe) they grasp the languages right away. The pronunciation is a lot easier, but still? What is so difficult about English? I know that there is stress, and that a lot of people shorten the vowels, but what makes English so hard? Thank You for taking Your time reading this To the original poster, I do not believe English is a language hard to learn, much easier than all the other languages I am...http://www.englishforums.com/English/DefiningAmericanEnglish/2/dkvzc/Post.htm#307472Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:27:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:307472marvin a.So what's your definition of American English (or North American English, as some prefer)? I would probably define it mostly by its phonology. It would be pretty hard to define. Or why not just say, any dialect of English spoken in North America? Is there a standard for American English? Not really. It's defined many different ways, and no one seems to agree. In it's broadest definition it's simply any dialect of North American English that contains no stigmatized features. William Labov defines in his Phonological Atlas of North American English as being Western US, Midland, and Western and Central Canadian English. Wikipedia has a (controversial) article on "General American" which states that "The General American accent...http://www.englishforums.com/English/Pronunciation/dkjzr/post.htm#302524Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:15:54 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:302524marvin a.I also pronounce "young" and "love" with the same vowel. The reason that "love" has an "o" in Modern and Middle English is because: "The pronunciation of written o in son, love, come, etc. is due to Norman spelling conventions prohibiting writing of u before v, m, n due to the graphical confusion that would result. (v, u, n were identically written with two minims in Norman handwriting; w was written as two u letters; m was written with three minims, hence mm looked like vun, nvu, uvu, etc.)" http://www.bibliodata.com/article/orthography.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ImDesperateINeedHelp/dwrkz/post.htm#290103Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:39:28 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:290103tartan8. Why do you say “She is a one-eyed teacher” and not “ She’s an one eyed teacher”? (Focus on a phonetic explanation) The article an is used before vowel sounds, not vowel letters. The word one is pronounced wun . The w is not a vowel sound even though the o in o-n-e is a vowel. So a must be used before one . 9. Miss Justine Fair listened to the two Chilean students read their passages. One of them had a strong accent . The second student had no accent at all. Who got the best mark? Why? (Focus on a Phonetic explanation) Accent is a form of mispronunciation, of giving vowels and consonants different values from their standards. Mastery of a language requires control over the sounds of the language. 10. One of the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationWord/cwnxp/post.htmTue, 28 Mar 2006 12:45:35 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:210356believerI know that the word "the" is being pronounced differently based on the initial sounds of words. I know that some words take on different articles because 1) the sound "h" is not pronounced and 2) the letter "u" is being pronounced like "you." Is it safe to say that we can pronounce the word "the" in front of any words with initial vowel sounds besides the ones mentioned above with the "Di" sound and not with the "Thu" of the "Thus" sound"? Are all these being pronounced with the "Di" sound? 1) the umbrella 2) the ink 3) the hour 4) the apple 5) the end 6) the above-mentioned documenthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/IndefiniteArticleHispanic/cvmgk/post.htm#190372Sun, 29 Jan 2006 15:30:12 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:190372cliveHi, I am having a debate with co-workers regarding which indefinite article to use preceding Hispanic. We agree the article a precedes words beginning with a consonant, the article an precedes words beginning with vowels. We also know an precedes words beginning with a silent h, and words with a sounding h having the second syllable accented. We are still confused where the word Hispanic fits in with all of this. Any help is greatly appreciated. Simply put, I'd say you should use 'a' if you sound the 'h', otherwise use 'an'. The larger question is whether the 'h' should be sounded. For me, it is, but I think other people may give you other, and probably more detailed, opinions on its pronunciation. Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AnEuro/lxjmb/post.htm#990684Thu, 12 Aug 2004 11:50:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:990684jacquiDefault User wibbled It doesn't start with a vowel sound, and that's what drives the choice of article. Unless you think Euro is pronounce ee-oo-ro or something. It doesn't have a capital E. It's just 'euro'. (Nor does it have a -s plural but breaking people of that habit might take a long time.) And there are quite a few English-speakers who do not, for one reason or another, use the 'y' pronunciation - those that do business frequently with euro-using countries tend to use the local pronunciation, for a start. Personally I tend to use 'oi-ro' because Germany is the only place I've used the new currency, although I have received a lot of 'eh-oh-ro' from Italy. Jachttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePronunciationHyphenation/kxbhk/post.htm#905703Tue, 11 May 2004 19:34:33 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:905703jonathan jordanThe maximum onsets principle isn't universally accepted. See http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/syllabif.htm which ... /n/ goes in the third syllable because of stress.) Jonathan Who is Wells? Professor of phonetics at University College London, who wrote the article that I mentioned above. I was taught that a long vowel could end a syllable. I'm sure it can. However Wells's suggestion is (roughly - read the article for more detail) that consonants tend to be attracted to more strongly stressed syllables; hence the /f/ goes into the first syllable. Jonathanhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AAndAn/2/xjc/Post.htm#25981Sat, 20 Mar 2004 00:58:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:25981mirapenceHi Yo, A vowel sound is determined, as suzi rightly pointed out, not by its look, but by its sound. Two of the most confusing semi/half consonents in Engish are those such as /ju:/ in "Europe and /w/ in "one". The looks of these are very misleading. Let me elaborate on them separately. 1. u When the "u" sounds /ju:/ , without exception you will know it's a consonant. Other than this sound, all sounds derived from the "u" are vowels. You will find the differing sounds in examples given below. 1)"u" as consonants university, use, unanimous, U.N., utensil, etc. 2)"u" as vowels All other sounds such as "under", "urn", umpire and so on. 2. w world, work, waste, etc. It's easy to pick out the "w's" by their...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ImLookingNativeSpeaker/hzhpb/post.htm#611930Sun, 22 Feb 2004 09:07:09 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:611930molly mockford: So how does the rule on "u" and "a" or "an" work (or all the vowels for that matter)? Why is it a university, but an umbilical cord? Because of the pronunciation, not the spelling. University is pronounced Yooniversity (i.e. a consonant-sound rather than a vowel-sound), which means that "a university" is easy to say. By contrast, "a umbilical cord" is almost impossible to say, which is why the "n" is added to the indefinite article. Similarly, the pronunciation of "the" changes subtly, depending on whether it is followed by a vowel or a consonant. "The pear" and "the apple" would be pronounced rather like "th'pear" and "thee...http://www.englishforums.com/English/InterestingArticleAuesFirst/24/jldgm/Post.htm#812151Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:07:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:812151skittThat may be true of "most of us in the ... vowel). This is a phonemic difference too (because of "can"). OK, you seem to presuppose that "can" is pronounced differently when it means "tin can" from the way it is ... able, by speaker in the NY region. Do you have any way of describing to us what these sounds are? I think that the difference is not confined to the NY region. See the pronunciations given im MWCD10. For "to be able" meaning I use the first one, except when emphasizing the word. For "tin can" it is always the second pronunciation shown for the verb entry, and the only one shown for the noun entry. I'm pretty sure that your usage is the same, but you are not noticing...http://www.englishforums.com/English/InterestingArticleAuesFirst/22/jldgm/Post.htm#809656Fri, 16 Jan 2004 23:20:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:809656r fPhonetically, of course, the only place most of us in the US have a length contrast is in pairs like "cap" and "cab", where the only phonetic difference is that the vowel in the second is longer. That may be true of "most of us in the US", but New York region speakers, probably including Young Joey, have a difference in the quality of the vowel ("cap" has the "be able can" lax can vowel, while "cab" has the "tin can" tense can vowel). This is a phonemic difference too (because of "can").http://www.englishforums.com/English/InterestingArticleAuesFirst/27/jldgm/Post.htm#808463Fri, 16 Jan 2004 00:27:43 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:808463r fI know that I can't tell the difference (by ear, ... dialect of English differentiates between /i/ and /I/ before /N/. You gotta be kidding. "Tin" and "teen" are pronounced quite differently from each other, and the difference is exactly that ... barely.) If I heard someone say "teen" when they meant "tin", I would find it jarringly conspicuous. Mike Hardy (N) is KirshASCIIIPA for the final consonant of "thing" (in most English dialects, anyway (I presume)), not the final consonant of "thin". I am well aware of there being numerous AmE accents that sound to me like they use a more (i)-like vowel in "ing" than sounds "normal" to me. I'm guessing that...http://www.englishforums.com/English/Idioms/7/hckqr/Post.htm#599273Tue, 16 Dec 2003 23:42:29 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:599273usenetIn article , Robert Bannister (Email Removed) writes I have a Macedonian friend who often says "Dobro popladne" ... (that I know) and is becoming fairly old-fashioned in English. Not in UK English. Saying "Good morning" after 12 noon is a nice trigger for a friendly smile over here. ... I know "Good day" is rarely used in Britain, but I can't imagine an East Ender saying "Good afternoon" either. Talking about East Enders: on another thread, there was mention of the Queen's "orf" pronunciation of "off". It seems to me, that although the vowels are not identical, "orf" is alive and well in the East End of London, as is "yer" for "year"...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronouncingTheLetterA/2/jrgdd/Post.htm#754098Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:05:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:754098pat durkinWhile it was 23/11/03 10:39 pm throughout the UK, Pat Durkin sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus: My practice: Standalone "A", if it is an adjective or ... converts to "an": An historical, an honor, an apple, another. Over here, /h/ is a consonant. Or do you drop that sound in "historical" where you are? Now, come on, Stewart. I wrote "an historical" and "an honor". Tell me you don't get the "H" out of there when you say those words. Or, maybe you do say "This is truly a honor" (heavily aspirated "H" sound, as in "ahem.) I grew up calling this the "short A" sound. Calling what the "short A"?...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronouncingTheLetterA/jrgdd/post.htm#753991Mon, 24 Nov 2003 13:11:26 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:753991stewart gordonWhile it was 23/11/03 10:39 pm throughout the UK, Pat Durkin sprinkled little black dots on a white screen, and they fell thus: My practice: Standalone "A", if it is an adjective or article in initial or mid-phrase position, varies in pronunciation depending on the beginning sound of the following word. "A" before vowels and vowel sounds converts to "an": An historical, an honor, an apple, another. Over here, /h/ is a consonant. Or do you drop that sound in "historical" where you are? I grew up calling this the "short A" sound. Calling what the "short A"? /&/ as in "cat" or /@/ as in "above"? /&/ was "short A" when I went to school. I...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PronouncingTheLetterA/jrgdd/post.htm#753537Sun, 23 Nov 2003 22:39:19 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:753537pat durkinGreetings all I have not seen the following in any of the FAQs; the other day, I was having ... curious if there is any definitive answer on the subject failing that, what the views of this group are. My practice: Standalone "A", if it is an adjective or article in initial or mid-phrase position, varies in pronunciation depending on the beginning sound of the following word. "A" before vowels and vowel sounds converts to "an": An historical, an honor, an apple, another. I grew up calling this the "short A" sound. "A" before consonants and aspirate "H" is "uh" a history, a dishonor. For dictation or emphasis, or to bring out a rhyme in songs and poems, I may slow down...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AnVersusA/cbkl/post.htm#10364Thu, 09 Oct 2003 17:16:26 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:10364wumanfuHi, you asked Which is the correct usage please: " I have ordered a / an MRI (magnetic resonance scan) and will review the patient following this." Rule: With single letters and groups of letters that are pronounced as individual letters, be guided by the pronunciation: a B road, a TUC leader; but an A road, an FA Cup match, an SAS unit (assuming the abbreviations are not mentally expanded to their full forms, which would alter the " Answer I have ordered an MRI… Reference "a" Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage a, an, called the indefinite article (or, by some grammarians, determiner). In origin, a and its by-form an are versions of the Old English an meaning ‘one’. (1) Before all normal words or diphthongs an is...http://www.englishforums.com/English/Xenophobia/2/wrqjv/Post.htm#673315Tue, 30 Sep 2003 11:56:03 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:673315jonathan jordanThe article in question, at http://www.bartleby.com/68/0/6600.html says, "There are four Standard pronunciations of xenophobia: ZEN-o-*FO*-bee-(y)uh, ZEEN-o-*FO*-bee-(y)uh, ZEN-uh-*FO*-bee-(y)uh, or ZEEN-uh-*FO*-bee-(y)uh. " I take that to be representing ** pronunciations: (1) ZEN-o-*FO*-bee-uh, (2) ZEN-o-*FO*-bee-yuh, (3)ZEEN-o-*FO*-bee-uh, (4) ZEEN-o-*FO*-bee-yuh, (5) ZEN-uh-*FO*-bee-uh, (6)ZEN-uh-*FO*-bee-yuh,(7) ZEEN-uh-*FO*-bee-uh, and (8) ZEEN-uh-*FO*-bee-yuh. Given that they actually say that it represents four, maybe they're just reflecting some uncertainty about whether the "-ia" ending is best thought of as /i @/ or /ij@/. Off the top of my head, I doubt the difference between /i @/ and /ij@/ is...http://www.englishforums.com/English/DyslexicsUntie/hpxvc/post.htm#663789Wed, 17 Sep 2003 04:01:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:663789r fSo, I had a Dick & Jane book and I learned by phonetics. As the site article mentioned, Dick & ... definitely not at St. Anthony's Lithuanian (Church and) School, at the corner of W. Vernor and 25th Street in Detroit. Any connection with Vernor's, the notorious Michigan ginger-flavored 'pop' (soda)? Speaking of the Upper Midwest, today I consciously heard a feature of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift that I'd only read about before: the /E/ -> (V) phenomenon. The specific word was (stressed) "well", pronounced to rhyme with Eastern Standard "gull". Another thing that occurred to me recently was that one sort of Chicago type of accent sounds very 'angry' or 'belligerent' to...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AsciiIpaIsItReallyUseful/2/hcnzx/Post.htm#599093Tue, 15 Jul 2003 05:58:40 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:599093usenetIn article (Email Removed), AB says... Then, while wondering why Danny Kaye's fake accent in "A ... (o) or (O) depending on how careful my pronunciation is.. You're living in a fantasy world. To speakers who have the distinction between a and o, it is very noticeable. ... movie title. If you have any doubts about whether you have the distinction, then you surely do not have it. And you're not reading for comprehension...I never said I didn't have a distinction between (a) and (o); in fact, by calling myself CINC I as much as said I *do* have that distinction...I referred to a distinction between (a) and (A)...since you didn't surround the letters with either slashes or brackets, it's entirely possible...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AsciiIpaIsItReallyUseful/hcnzx/post.htm#598927Mon, 14 Jul 2003 21:59:09 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:598927usenetIn article (Email Removed), Evan says... In 1991 and 1992 people were manifestly frustrated by a lack of common notational ground, especially those who were used ... but I don't know if anybody's sufficiently frustrated with it as it stands to want to go through the trouble.) I've discovered that I have a vowel distinction I thought I lacked...despite a southern California upbringing, I've been CINC for as long as I can remember, but I could never quite get a handle on the difference between (a) and (A)...since my accent is emphatically rhotic, the "cot/cart" contrast was confusing to me and seemed to have more to do with length than anything else.. Then, while wondering why Danny Kaye's fake accent in...http://www.englishforums.com/English/IntroEMiniFaqOnSpelling/hcjlb/post.htmSat, 12 Jul 2003 15:34:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:597262usenet(I am posting these Intros for Donna Richoux while she is away. Maria.) Last Revised 2003-02-27 (27 Feb 2003) ~~ Mini-FAQ on Spelling ~~ There are longer answers, with more examples, for most of these items in the full AUE FAQ (see end). Many of these topics cause much argument, and we earnestly request that you do some research before deciding to post on these. CONTENTS OF THIS MINI FAQ ON SPELLING: - Isn't spelling reform a good idea? - Joke about step-by-step spelling reform - Humorous poems about spelling - What is "ghoti"? - I before E except after C - U.S. -v- REST-OF-WORLD ENGLISH "-er" -v- "-re" -- Isn't spelling reform a good idea? -- Only a tiny number of a.u.e participants favour spelling...