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Proud to be a European (discuss.tchncs.de)

As a European it makes me proud to get a direct shout out from Linus 🫶🏻

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[-] valkyre09@lemmy.world 62 points 3 months ago

Something feels funny about “an European”. I’m pretty sure I’d say “A European”, but I have no idea what rule is triggering me to say that.

Damn English is all over the place.

[-] julianwgs@discuss.tchncs.de 68 points 3 months ago

I didnt even think about it, but looking it up „a European“ is correct. It‘s not about the letter, but the sound.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Which-is-correct-%E2%80%9Ca-European%E2%80%9D-or-%E2%80%9Can-European%E2%80%9D-Why

[-] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 months ago

Whenever someone types “an historic” I read it as “an istoric” in my mind.

[-] ccdfa@lemm.ee 9 points 3 months ago

And you'd be right to do so!

[-] NotSteve_@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 months ago

I read that in a French accent

[-] 1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 months ago
[-] ccdfa@lemm.ee 10 points 3 months ago

I disagree. It just marks the break between two vowel sounds. In English we just happen to write it down when necessary. French does this too, but in the opposite direction. As a general rule, one does not pronounce the last consonant of a word except in instances where two vowel sounds meet. In these cases, the first word's consonant links into the second word

[-] 1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 months ago
[-] ccdfa@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago

Lmao alright fair play

[-] DmMacniel@feddit.org 14 points 3 months ago

Damn English is all over the place.

it absolutely is.

[-] Klear@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Imperialism does that.

[-] ytg@sopuli.xyz 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

English spelling doesn't match sound, it's about sound

European is (depending on exact dialect) /ˌjoː.ɹəˈpɪ.jan/, so it begins with a consonant. So you don't need "an"

[-] JackRiddle@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It's most likely because you don't pronounce a vowel at the front of the word, even if you write one.

this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024
371 points (96.0% liked)

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