The word year when pronounced starts with a phonetic sound of e which is a vowel sound making it eligible for being preceded by an. Yet, we tend to write a year. Why?
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Related: Why is it “an yearly”? (note that "an yearly" is not standard usage)– herissonFeb 25, 2017 at 7:16
5 Answers
I reject your premise that the word year starts with a phonetic sound of e. Here's how it is pronounced according to the various dictionaries:
- Wiktionary: (RP) IPA: /jiə/, /jɜː/, SAMPA: /ji@/, /j3:/; (US) enPR: yîr, IPA: /jiɹ/, SAMPA: /jir/
- Merriam-Webster: \ˈyir\
- American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: /yîr/
- Collins English Dictionary: /jɪə/
Words that start with the /j/ sound are preceded by an a, not by an an. Compare: a user, a utility, a yak.
It doesn't start with a phonetic sound of e. It starts with [j] (usually spelled "y" in English), and that sound is not a vowel here.
Dictionary.com: Year: /yɪər/
Dictionary.msn.com: Year: /yeer/
A year does not start with an e sound. An ear starts with an e sound.
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Is it easy to distinguish between them when people talk about "year" and "ear" at the same time? Could people easily distinguish the sounds of |O| and |WO|, |U| and |WU| as well?– Terry LiOct 20, 2011 at 17:01
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2Yes, native speakers easily distinguish between ear and year, or owe and woe, or ooh and woo. Apr 30, 2012 at 12:53
An ear
and
A year
In most cases.
A good rule is
If the next word starts with a vowel sound, use an. If not, use a
For the word 'year' to be preceded by 'an' it must sound like it's beginning with a vowel. The reason why it is a tad tricky is because of the difference in the way people pronounce it.
Some people pronounce the word 'year' as 'ear' with 'y' silent, thereby wanting 'an' to precede and feeling discomfort with 'a'. e.g. 'It's been an _ear since we talked'.
Whereas others pronounce it with a 'ye' sound in the beginning. In this case one finds that using 'a' suddenly sounds more comfortable. e.g. 'It's been a 'ye'ar since we talked'.
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