I tot the usage of 'an' will base on A, E, I, O, U of the following word!
Same goes to me. I dont know such thing as missing 'H'... Ha... this is language..
I tot the usage of 'an' will base on A, E, I, O, U of the following word!
no.. its all about the sound of the 1st syllable.
eg...
an umbrella - "u" sound
a unicorn - "y" sound
The 'A, E, I, O, U' thing I thought shld be known to all?Saw this on second page of today's paper.
../azul123
don't believe all that they teach youI was taught that way... an for word starting with a e i o u
getting confuse
technically it should be i, I, e, æ, a, ɐ, ɔ, o, ʊ, ə, not A, E, I, O, and U... like previously mentioned, its a sound thing, not a grammar or spelling thing...The 'A, E, I, O, U' thing I thought shld be known to all?
You are right, but it also applies when the word sounds like it begins with an A,E,I,O or U.I tot the usage of 'an' will base on A, E, I, O, U of the following word!
great. My formal English education stopped after I completed my secondary school education. It's been a while..if people who use "a" with "house" and those who use "an" with " 'ouse" learnt it and applied it thus, then good for them, they have correct usage... I think the problem would come if people used "an" with "house" or "a" with " 'ouse"... that would be when the "guidelines" are clearly broken... but the choice to use a certain pronunciation system should certainly be open to the individual as long as they are consistent... ... and I daresay this is a worldwide issue and not a problem faced only by Singapore... and I don't believe Singlish has total disregards to any basics in English... Singlish, as in any dialect of English, has its own rules and thus do not have to follow the rules of other dialects as long as these rules that they adhere to are consistent... there is Singlish and there is broken English: they are not the same, and I think if there are deficiencies in usage as with regards to the current topic in question, it is the latter that is the problem
this is an issue of incomplete competence of English, not the influence of Singlish... and in a way, I believe this situation arises because of the extra emphasis on technical (not meaning "engineering" technical but as in "expertise-centric" technical) and scientific education but a limited emphasis on language skills that is present in the education system... honestly, I do not remember much about learning English in school (not to put down the efforts of teachers of English... I guess I just wasn't a particularly attentive student in English class)... I learnt English the good old fashion way, by listening and using it, and what better source of good English language usage than well made television and well written novels if good English language use is not present at home (I come from a family that converses in Hokkien so that runs true for me, although my father does speak good English)... that's where I had picked up my English
shiver on... more funding for academic research :lovegrin:
mine too... don't ask me about parts of speech and all that sort of rubbish :embrass:... I prefer to study societygreat. My formal English education stopped after I completed my secondary school education. It's been a while..
i still read it as a HDB :sticktong cos it is H (heitch)"an" is correct... You use "an" if the next word starts with a vowel SOUND, not necessarily letter...
So "H" is "ech" in sound, you use "an" in this case...
Ditto with an S-class Mercedes, since you pronouce it as "es" or an F-18 fighter jet coz you say it with "ef"....
the "H" can definitely be pronounced as "heich" as wellSo "H" is "ech" in sound, you use "an" in this case...
no.. its all about the sound of the 1st syllable.
eg...
an umbrella - "u" sound
a unicorn - "y" sound
the thing about pronunciations is that its not about absolutes, its about differentiation... and as long as what a person produces can be interpreted correctly that is good enough... would a person get confused if a person uses "heitch" instead of "eitch" or vice versa? probably not... so live and let livehow come i checked oxford dictionary (which is an English dictionary)
they say H is pronounced as "etch" ?
Is "Hetch" really correct pronunciation?
how come i checked oxford dictionary (which is an English dictionary)
they say H is pronounced as "etch" ?
Is "Hetch" really correct pronunciation?
to say that it is an error is being overly picky (or, in academic circles, what is called overly prescriptivist)... can call it regional colour maybe... as long as no misunderstanding would result, having variations in pronunciation shouldn't be a problem...If you pronounce the letter 'H' as 'haitch', then it's quite simply a mistake. It's a very common pronunciation error, so there is no shame it it.
Don't get started on Irish-English, Scottish-English, Indian-English, Singlish or any other pronunciation. You can choose to use the language in any way you please. I use Singlish all the time and completely ignore the rules... but that does not mean that it is the correct use of English.