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"so it represents an unity instead" If you are going to be pedantic, that "an" should be an "a", no?
by JimtheCoder 3y ago
"so it represents an unity instead"
If you are going to be pedantic, that "an" should be an "a", no?
- ksd482 3y agoThat’s what I was thinking, yes. You have to think HOW you pronounce the word. The ‘u’ in “unity” is pronounced as “you” which starts with a consonant. Hence, you use ‘a’ not “an”.
- lopis 3y agoI've always wondered this, as a non English native speaker. You could also say the "u" in unity is pronounced as "iu" which starts with a vowel and sounds the same as "you", so your reasoning sounds incorrect. Perhaps a better explanation is that the "iu" diphthong is already paired together, so attaching it to the "an" sound to form "aniu" doesn't roll off the tongue as well.
- hunter2_ 3y agoCorrect, this particular diphthong and the substitution of "an" for "a" serve the same exact function, so having both would be redundant. If we were to look at a word that starts with u but doesn't have the diphthong, such as Ubuntu, then "an" is used.
- hunter2_ 3y agoI think unity is just a typo for unit, not that that changes this discussion.
- tokai 3y agoBut Y is a vowel?
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y agoYeah, occasionally. The previous sentence uses it as both.
- JimtheCoder 3y agoSometimes...
- stronglikedan 3y agoOnly when your mouth parts move a certain way to pronouce it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6As7KhrFQ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6As7KhrFQ4
- chungy 3y agoEnglish rules for using "a" or "an" depend on sounds used in the next word, not particular letters. "A unit" and "An hour" are easy examples that might trip people up when focused on the letters used in spelling, but if you sound it out, you can probably work out what sounds best.
- ad133 3y agoAnd of course it's even more complex when you mix UK vs US English: - an herb (US), where the "h" is silent - a herb (UK) Cue confusion about "an historic".