| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Food for thought Thread poster: Stéphanie Denton (X)
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Stéphanie Denton (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:25
French to English
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So, I'm sat here, in the middle of a translation, and something keeps cropping up that has made me wonder:
Why do we say 'a' unique instead of 'an' unique? (even writing that feels wrong?)
This may seem like a silly post, but I can't get my head around it. We say 'an' for pretty much everything else 'an' unwanted present, 'an' unexpected guest...
Please feel free to laugh at me. And for those who've read my previous posts, NO, I'VE NOT BEEN ON THE WINE AGAI... See more So, I'm sat here, in the middle of a translation, and something keeps cropping up that has made me wonder:
Why do we say 'a' unique instead of 'an' unique? (even writing that feels wrong?)
This may seem like a silly post, but I can't get my head around it. We say 'an' for pretty much everything else 'an' unwanted present, 'an' unexpected guest...
Please feel free to laugh at me. And for those who've read my previous posts, NO, I'VE NOT BEEN ON THE WINE AGAIN ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Russi
United States
Local time: 19:25
English to Spanish
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| Apparently you are not the first one to wonder... | Apr 10, 2011 |
This sounds plausible:
A Unique or An Unique?
Just another note about the challenges of the English language. Why "a unique..." rather than "an unique..."? When a "u" word is pronounced as though it begins with a "y" (yoo nique), it's treated more like the consonant sound of the y. So, a university, an umbrella, a usual day, an u... See more This sounds plausible:
A Unique or An Unique?
Just another note about the challenges of the English language. Why "a unique..." rather than "an unique..."? When a "u" word is pronounced as though it begins with a "y" (yoo nique), it's treated more like the consonant sound of the y. So, a university, an umbrella, a usual day, an unusual day.
http://wordwhirled.blogspot.com/2005/12/unique-or-unique.html ▲ Collapse
| | | | opolt
Germany
Local time: 03:25
English to German
+ ...
| Because the "u" is pronounced as a consonant | Apr 10, 2011 |
The "/j/", viewed as a phoneme, constitutes a consonant, even though it's not written in this case (pronunciation like in "you"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_pronunciation#Consonants
The pronunciation of "unique" is /junik/, of course. By contrast, in "unwanted", "unexpected", the "u" is pronounced as a vowel.
The rule says that... See more The "/j/", viewed as a phoneme, constitutes a consonant, even though it's not written in this case (pronunciation like in "you"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_pronunciation#Consonants
The pronunciation of "unique" is /junik/, of course. By contrast, in "unwanted", "unexpected", the "u" is pronounced as a vowel.
The rule says that you should use an(!) "an" only when the article is followed by a word beginning with a vowel. So should be "a US soldier", etc.
That's all there is to it, really :-] Or at least that's what I learned at school
[Edited at 2011-04-10 22:27 GMT]
[Edited at 2011-04-10 22:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Suzan Hamer
Netherlands
Local time: 03:25
English
+ ...
the choice of “a” or “an” is determined by the way the word would be read aloud.
The word "unique" doesn't start with a "u" sound but with a "y" sound as in "you" or "young".
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Stéphanie Denton (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:25
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Going to the fridge to get that wine and drown my shame! | Apr 10, 2011 |
I can't believe that I did not know this! It makes perfect sense.
Definitely feel silly now!
| | | | Jean-Pierre Artigau (X)
Canada
Local time: 21:25
English to French
+ ...
| In French too | Apr 10, 2011 |
Have you ever wondered why in French we say "le onze avril" (instead of "l'onze avril), le onzième, etc.
Jean-Pierre
| | | | opolt
Germany
Local time: 03:25
English to German
+ ...
| Makes perfect sense, Stéphanie ... | Apr 10, 2011 |
... given that the /j/ is among the group of "palatal approximant consonants" ... so that should go down well with a nice bottle of Valdepeñas I guess
Don't be too afraid, it happens to everyone once in a while -- but not everyone dares to ask in a public forum :-]
| | | | | The other way around | Apr 10, 2011 |
We say "an hour", not "a hour"
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| And then there are aberrations | Apr 10, 2011 |
Is it "A historic site" or is it "an historic site"?
| | | | opolt
Germany
Local time: 03:25
English to German
+ ...
| It should be "a historic" ... | Apr 10, 2011 |
... at least that's what I believe :-], given that (again) the /h/ counts as a consonant (see Wikipedia link provided by me above).
So in my book this one doesn't count as an aberration (though I'm sure there are some exceptions to the rule -- only that I don't remember any right now).
PS: Found this via the Wiki phonology page quoted above, for everybody's enjoyment (scroll down a bit). Caution, to be taken in small dos... See more ... at least that's what I believe :-], given that (again) the /h/ counts as a consonant (see Wikipedia link provided by me above).
So in my book this one doesn't count as an aberration (though I'm sure there are some exceptions to the rule -- only that I don't remember any right now).
PS: Found this via the Wiki phonology page quoted above, for everybody's enjoyment (scroll down a bit). Caution, to be taken in small doses:
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/vangogh/555/Spell/chaos.html
[Edited at 2011-04-10 23:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It has to do with the sound and not the spelling | Apr 11, 2011 |
Stéphanie Denton wrote: So, I'm sat here, in the middle of a translation, and something keeps cropping up that has made me wonder: Why do we say 'a' unique instead of 'an' unique? (even writing that feels wrong?) This may seem like a silly post, but I can't get my head around it. We say 'an' for pretty much everything else 'an' unwanted present, 'an' unexpected guest... Please feel free to laugh at me. And for those who've read my previous posts, NO, I'VE NOT BEEN ON THE WINE AGAIN
In "unique" the "iu" is a strong sound while in "unwanted, etc" the sound is not "iu", it's "anwanted" so it needs "an" before so that the 2 "as" don't "collide".
| | | | | That's exactly what I meant | Apr 11, 2011 |
opolt wrote: The "/j/", viewed as a phoneme, constitutes a consonant, even though it's not written in this case (pronunciation like in "you"): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_pronunciation#Consonants The pronunciation of "unique" is /junik/, of course. By contrast, in "unwanted", "unexpected", the "u" is pronounced as a vowel. The rule says that you should use an(!) "an" only when the article is followed by a word beginning with a vowel. So should be "a US soldier", etc. That's all there is to it, really :-] Or at least that's what I learned at school [Edited at 2011-04-10 22:27 GMT] [Edited at 2011-04-10 22:28 GMT]
This is a very good phonetic explanation.
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| depends on whether the h is pronounced | Apr 11, 2011 |
In “an hour”, the “h” in “hour” is always silent. So “hour” begins with a vowel sound, and so we say “an hour”.
In “a historic site”, the “h” in “historic” is (supposed to be) pronounced. So “historic” begins with a consonant sound, and so we say “a historic site”. That said, some people do say “an historic site”, so I wouldn’t say it’s wrong…
[Edited at 2011-04-11 03:03 GMT]
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:25
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam | In French... | Apr 11, 2011 |
Why is it "le hibou" when for almost every other word beginning with "h" it is "l'h..."?
| | | | JH Trads
United States
Local time: 21:25
Member (2007)
English to French
+ ...
Jack Doughty wrote:
Why is it "le hibou" when for almost every other word beginning with "h" it is "l'h..."?
Generally speaking and very simply put, for words starting with "h", if their origin is Nordic or Germanic, then you will say "le/la h...", but if their origin is Latin (or Greek), you would have "l'h...". There can be of course many more subtleties and exceptions. An example:
La hanche
L'habileté
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