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#21
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Alfred Molon wrote:
In article 1gy24tr.7gqzjl1hmf60fN%this_address_is_for_spam@y ahoo.com, chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco says... It's a perfectly good one, and easy to understand. I can't think of any exceptions to it (can anyone?)- dialect variations notwithstanding. For example, some people will correctly say "an herb"- others "a herb." All depends on whether or not the initial "h" is silent or not. I thought "a herb" was correct. It depends whether or not you voice the H. It's correct for me to say "a herb" but in the US, where the H is generally silent, "an herb" is correct. -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.net usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
#22
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On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 19:44:34 +0200, Magda ? wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 17:04:12 GMT, in rec.travel.europe, Deep Foiled Malls arranged some electrons, so they looked like this : ... On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 00:25:31 +0200, Alfred Molon ... wrote: ... ... In article , Padraig ... Breathnach says... ... ... a European. ... ... It's "an English", but "a European" - why ? ... ... Because it's not the initial letter that determines "a" or "an", but ... the sound of the initial letter that does. European starts with a 'y' ... sound, so it's "a" European. I don't like your "explanation", guys. Find something better. There is nothing better. This is the usage, and that is English. Remember, English is not a language, it's an opinion! -- --- DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com --- -- |
#23
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On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:53:04 +0200, Alfred Molon
wrote: In article , Deep Foiled Malls says... Nah, it's an English speakers newsgroups. I don't mind reading the odd bit of swahili stuff here, but it's 99.5% English, and should be treated as such. And "swahili stuff" is insulting. LOL! Yeah, sure, who is going to feel insulted by that? -- --- DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com --- -- |
#24
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Terry Richards wrote:
"Magda " ? wrote in message ... Y sounds like a vowel to me. And E *looks* like a vowel, too ! The vowel sounds are the ones you can sing. They are entirely formed by the throat & mouth without the involvement of the tongue or lips. All of the consonants involve the tongue. Make an "aaaaaa" (short a) sound. Now make an "eeeeeeeee" sound. You're saying the tongue doesn't move? Now make an "oooooooooo" sound - as in "pool." The lips don't move? I think you meant that, with vowels, the tongue and lips are held in a certain position for the duration of the sound. This isn't so for consonants, including the "y" in "yes" or "youth." There are better, if rather more complicated, explanations for the differences between vowels in consonants. The term covering the "y" examples above has already been used he "a voiced palatal semivocalic consonant." European is pronounced (in English) as if it has a (consonant) Y at the beginning and thus, quite properly, is associated with "a". If you were to pronounce it French-style (ooropean) then it would associate with "an". Just exactly so. Or if the "Eu" was pronounced German-style, where it sounds like "Oi." -- dgs "What, and join in your mad squid kettle games?" -- Lew Bryson |
#25
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On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 11:32:58 -0700, "Ken Blake"
wrote: In , Deep Foiled Malls typed: On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 15:45:12 -0700, "Ken Blake" wrote: In , Gerrit 't Hart typed: "algiardino" wrote in message oups.com... Le bed and breakfast "Al Giardino" se trouve près de Centro Historique de Venise, en Italie. Les nôtre bed and breakfast il loue des chambres And I thought this was an English language newsgroup. You were wrong. It's an International newsgroup, where all languages are welcome. Nah, it's an English speakers newsgroups. I don't mind reading the odd bit of swahili stuff here, but it's 99.5% English, and should be treated as such. Nope. It's true that it's overwhelmingly English, but that doesn't make it a requirement. It's an international group (as are almost all newsgroups, unless explicitly stated otherwise). You are free, of course, to read or not read whatever posts you want, choosing by language, poster, or any other criterion you like. That's fine by me. In practice though, it's limited to French, and the rare bit of Spanish, Italian or German. No-one would seriously post in any other language. -- --- DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com --- -- |
#26
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Magda wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:09:14 GMT, in rec.travel.europe, Deep Foiled Malls arranged some electrons, so they looked like this : ... I don't like your "explanation", guys. Find something better. ... ... There is nothing better. This is the usage, and that is English. ... ... Remember, English is not a language, it's an opinion! So, my opinion does not count ? Not if your opinion is wrong. The English indefinite article to use with "European" is "a." Fact, not opinion. The grammatical reasons for this have already been explained. One thing that English very much is not: logical. -- dgs "What, and join in your mad squid kettle games?" -- Lew Bryson |
#27
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In article 1gy2cv0.1a8jl3q34jrnlN%this_address_is_for_spam@y ahoo.com,
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco says... I thought "a herb" was correct. It depends whether or not you voice the H. It's correct for me to say "a herb" but in the US, where the H is generally silent, "an herb" is correct. Since this is a European group, we'll use the British English spelling. -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from China, Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Germany, Austria, Prague, Budapest, Singapore and Portugal |
#28
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In article , dgs says...
Opinions are not "right" or "wrong". It is my opinion that the earth is flat. (Channeling Mixi!) That's correct. Spheres are flat. -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from China, Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Germany, Austria, Prague, Budapest, Singapore and Portugal |
#29
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In article , Deep Foiled
Malls says... Nah, it's an English speakers newsgroups. I don't mind reading the odd bit of swahili stuff here, but it's 99.5% English, and should be treated as such. And "swahili stuff" is insulting. LOL! Yeah, sure, who is going to feel insulted by that? Black Africans and Europeans -- Alfred Molon http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from China, Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Germany, Austria, Prague, Budapest, Singapore and Portugal |
#30
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Magda wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 15:51:09 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, dgs arranged some electrons, so they looked like this : ... Magda wrote: ... ... On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:09:14 GMT, in rec.travel.europe, Deep Foiled Malls ... arranged some electrons, so they looked like ... this : ... ... ... ... I don't like your "explanation", guys. Find something better. ... ... ... ... There is nothing better. This is the usage, and that is English. ... ... ... ... Remember, English is not a language, it's an opinion! ... ... So, my opinion does not count ? ... ... Not if your opinion is wrong. Opinions are not "right" or "wrong". It is my opinion that the earth is flat. (Channeling Mixi!) You can state an opinion and still have stated something wrong within that opinion, or started with a wrong premise in forming the opinion. English has had, perhaps, more randomness added to it than many other languages, particularly in orthography. Blame the Normans for that. They initiated some changes back in 1066. We still haven't quite gotten over it. ... The English indefinite article to use with "European" is "a." Fact, not ... opinion. The grammatical reasons for this have already been explained. ... ... One thing that English very much is not: logical. No kidding. Do you know many logical languages ? I don't. In terms of orthography, English stands out for being "illogical." Languages like German, Dutch, and Russian are quite "logical" by comparison. Never mind all that stuff about genders, cases, and declensions; that's for another time. ObSortOfOnTopic: I really should get around to visiting Venice before it becomes completely inundated. But this year, it's Krakow. -- dgs "What, and join in your mad squid kettle games?" -- Lew Bryson |
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