[Amarok] English++

[Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen]

On Monday 16 November 2009 13:06:56 Jeff Mitchell wrote:
> Casey Link wrote:
> >>> Actually, you're both half right. The correct sentence is:
> >>>
> >>> "An HTML page was received. Expected a RSS 2.0 feed."
> >>
> >> Definitely not :). Not even a gap between en_US and en_GB :)
> >
> > I agree with the auzzie ;-)
> >
> > The rule is: You use "an" when the following word begins with a vowel
> > *sound.*
> 
> The fact that something is popular doesn't mean it's right. While I
> originally agreed with you, I did actually look it up before writing
> that above, which changed my mind:
> 
> The writing lab at Purdue University:
> http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/591/01/
> 
> EFLnet (EFL = English as a Foreign Language):
> http://www.eflnet.com/tutorials/avsan.php
> 
> The web page about RSS 2.0 at Harvard Law uses "an RSS" once and "a RSS"
> twice, which suggests that the latter is more proper:
> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html
> 
> The first two resources both note that it's based off the phonetic
> sound; it's used to prevent a glottal stop. In my reading of the third
> article I found it just as easy to roll "a RSS" off the tongue when
> reading the sentences aloud as the sentence with "an RSS"; I didn't
> experience a glottal stop when reading either way. (Contrast the
> following sentences: "This morning I created a RSS feed" with "This
> morning I cooked a egg", or even "This morning I made a HTML page".) So
> if there isn't a glottal stop either way, then it seems more proper to
> use "a RSS".
> 
> To sum up: it probably doesn't matter whether "a RSS" or "an RSS" is
> used. But it's definitely not "a HTML page".

  In my experience with this, it seems that the problem always arises when you 
have an abbreviation, or more specifically acronyms. When there is an acronym, 
you need to consider whether that acronym is pronounced as written, or whether 
it is expanded when you say it. As such, most of the geek terms we have (HTML, 
RSS and so on) are surely pronounced as a series of letters, and not in their 
expanded form. But, that's just my experience of the matter, of course, i am 
no linguist, just someone who enjoys the English language for what it is - a 
language which flows pleasantly for the most part* :)

*: As long as you don't go into the plural form of ox for example ;)

-- 
..Dan // Leinir..
http://leinir.dk/

                          Co-
                            existence
                          or no
                            existence

                          - Piet Hein