1. irite

    irite Member

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    A x-ray of an one hit wonder...

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by irite, May 29, 2018.

    ... And other reasons teachers didn't like me.

    When 'a' or 'an' feel wrong is it a problem to substitute one for the other to make it sound right even if it's technically wrong? Or in those situations should you structure in a way that avoids 'an' or 'a'?

    I was sent to the x-ray department. That was their one hit wonder.
     
  2. Midge23

    Midge23 Active Member

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    It’s about the sound of the start of the word, rather than the actual letter. Consonant sound = a, vowel sound = an.

    ‘An x-ray of a one hit wonder.’

    X-ray has a sort of ‘e’ in egg sound at the start. One has the same ‘w’ sound as wonder at the start.

    So changing a/an in a sentence to sound ‘right’ might not be technically wrong.
     
  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I agree with @Midge23 - it's about the sound, not the letter. An x-ray of a one-hit-wonder.
     
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  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Throwing my voice in for an rather than a. When we speak, there's no difference between X or EKS. Your tongue isn't an orthographic tool, it's a phonemic one. As @Midge23 also points out with the letter O when it dresses up in W drag, try saying it's an one-stop shop for all your crafting needs. No. No, no, no. It's a one-stop shop for all your crafting needs. ;)
     
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  5. irite

    irite Member

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    Thank you, i wonder sometimes about a lot of words because i recognise some of the reason they sound wrong or right are specific to the accent of the speaker and i was thinking in genral when writing for a mass audience whether to go more with standard english

    With dialogue, when a character would say 'should of' because that is how that character speaks. Or (something I've noticed in london/essex) they use words like 'yourn' or 'hern' where the 's' of yours or hers is converted to 'n' to align with 'mine'. It demonstrates a lack of education that they know 'my' becomes 'mine' so they turn words like yours and hers into yourn and hern. Personally it also demonstrates a selfishness that they are so concerned with my and mine that those are the words that form the base for others... Should i use those when writing in their voice to add reality to the character and distinguish their lines or stick to standard English for the sake of the reader?

    It's easy to put words onto paper but putting a voice onto paper is something that i struggle with. East of England I've heard people say "we don't like the likes of him round here" in the West I've heard "we don't likes the like of him round here" (... Either way it seems they don't like me)
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2018
  6. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Not to be a prat about it, but "standard English" is whatever is standard in one's own slice of the global pie. Do you mean BrE?
     
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  7. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    And in my southern neck of the woods, this sentiment would be expressed by saying, "that boy ain't right". :-D
     
  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    did you come to hazard when you were just seven ?
     
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  9. irite

    irite Member

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    Your not a prat at all. If I ask for an opinion I can't then judge it when I get it... If everybody looked the same we'd get tired of looking at each other (Groove Armada)

    I don't hold myself up as the authority on anything other than me. I just get a bit lost when writing and get stuck on a word or a way of phrasing, I know that just because it sounds right to me doesn't mean it is. And yes I'm programmed in BrE but I'm running an outdated version thats full of glitches
     
  10. irite

    irite Member

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    Another one, is it aint or ain't?

    "Sir, how do you spell ain't?"
    "There's no such word as ain't"
    "Yes there is sir but it ain't in the dictionary"
    "It isn't in the dictionary"
    "I know it ain't, I just told you that"

    Most of the time i see it written (mostly in text messages) people use aint
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2018
  11. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    It's certainly with an apostrophe, as it's a phonemically corrupted contraction of am not, still regarded as non-standard by the more librarianesque of denizens, no matter that it's been around since at least the very early 1700's. Poor word. Snubbed at every venue. o_O

    Also, just as a side-note, it is in the dictionary, at least in the New World, though I don't regard dictionaries as instructional but only historical. Vast swaths of any dictionary are just graveyards of dead words that are meaningless in modern vernacular.
     
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  12. irite

    irite Member

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    It's made it in now but in 80's london using 60's dictionaries it really didn't exist. I know the "standard" (that word again) use is for am not or are not but it's also replaced isn't.

    "That ain't true. Nah no way, I ain't (h)avin' it! It ain't yourn n I don't care what-ya-say." Exclaimed the man who couldn't write what he'd just said.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2018
  13. WaffleWhale

    WaffleWhale Active Member

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    Yeah, it's the sound. In the same reason people say "an honor".
     
  14. SethLoki

    SethLoki Retired Autodidact Contributor

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    Not often asked question but is it: 'an FAQ' or 'a FAQ' ? Seen it written both ways, not heard it spoken—in my head its a FAQ (all the way).
     
  15. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    its a because the first syllable is the FFFF sound
     
  16. SethLoki

    SethLoki Retired Autodidact Contributor

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    It's because I tend to say (internally verbalise) 'Fack' rather than 'Effayque' (please excuse the French).
     
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  17. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    I suppose it depends on the pronunciation. I use "an" because I use the latter pronunciation.

    Another one that confuses me is the use of "an" before a word beginning with H*. I see it often, as in "an historian", but I always wonder why. Do people say "an 'istorian"?

    *And as another debate, is it "aitch" or "haitch"? (I'm only joking, let's not derail too much!)
     
  18. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Yes, some people drop the "h" sound from historian. Like "herb" - often pronounced "erb".
     
  19. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    Yeah, I've noticed that on American TV shows. I've never heard a British person drop the h of "herb", though, so maybe it's a transatlantic thing.
     
  20. mashers

    mashers Contributor Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Then you ain't never 'eard a cockney, mate.
     
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  21. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    Not one that didn't study at the Dick van Dyke School of Accents, anyway! :)

    Anyway, I've heard people drop Hs in general, but never heard a British person only drop the H in "herb".
     
  22. mashers

    mashers Contributor Contributor Community Volunteer

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    That would be standard pronunciation of the word 'herb' in cockney-style British accents. I myself speak with an Essex estuary-style accent, and would never pronounce the 'h' in the word 'herb'.
     
  23. irite

    irite Member

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    The sort of people who would talk about herbs would say herbs. The sort of people who talk about da 'erb would say 'erb and not really know much about herbs at all to talk about them...

    And on the dick van Dyke thing, I had an Australian asking me to say "lovely miss Poppins" as a reply to everything she said for a whole day at my first job. I hadn't seen the film or someone laugh that much at 3 words.

    In the UK I do hear people say H words as one word, anospital appointment, anotel room, anorrible git, anurt foot, anistory lesson. Then when they try to make an effort they put the H back in but still use 'an'. Another thing is making the effort to say "isn't it" and you actually hear the effort and their voice change like they deserve credit for not saying innit, unit or ain it. The problem is they are saying isn't it when they mean, wasn't, doesn't or mustn't it. I'm not a violent person per se... I'll leave that there.
     
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  24. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    The ghastly m'hockney relic.
     
  25. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    At my last school, a comprehensive, I used to get teased all the time for my Southern English accent, particularly the inflection of long As - for example, pronouncing "grass" to rhyme with "scarf", rather than with "bass" (as in the fish). People used to come up to me and say "I'm going to have a baaahth", really elongating the middle. My mental response was always "BAFF!", although I never dared say it out loud!
     

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