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 Tue Nov 21, 2006 16:16 pm Add an URL? |
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| Torsten wrote: | | Wikipedia's WikidWeb has a feature that is called "Add an URL". Shouldn't it read "Add a URL"? According to Wikipedia "URL" the standard pronunciation of “URL” is as an initialism (“U-R-L”), although some people pronounce “URL” as an acronym (“Earl”). |
A lot of people make this mistake of using "an" before an initialism beginning with U. They figure that since U is a vowel, then it has to be preceded by that article. However, the NAME of the letter U starts with a consonant [yu], as do words like "university" and "unit". So, the article "a" should be used before URL.
Some people make the reciprocal mistake of preceding initialisms starting with N or M with "a", even though the names of those letters begin with a vowel.
For the record, I've never heard URL pronounced as "Earl", and if I suddenly did, I might think the person didn't know computer lingo, like my friend who ventured from database programming into web graphics and pronounced GIF like "Jiff", which is a brand of peanut butter. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Tue Nov 21, 2006 16:17 pm Add an URL? |
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Hi Torsten
Every dictionary I've checked lists only one pronunciation for URL -- and that pronunciation requires the use of "a" rather than "an". I've never heard URL pronounced the same as "Earl", but I suppose some people might.
I suspect the use of "an" on WikidWeb might have been just a native speaker typo. When typing or writing (rather than speaking), many people tend to automatically use "an" in front of anything beginning vowel. Using "an" instead of "a" probably often happens when someone isn't "hearing" the written words in their minds as they write. Since "an" is almost always used with words beginning with a vowel, writing "an URL" might have been nothing more than an unthinking, mechanical action.
Of course, it's also possible that the person who wrote "an URL" is someone who insists on saying "Earl". 
Amy
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Amy
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Yankee
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| Tue Nov 21, 2006 17:00 pm Add an URL? |
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Oops! I didn't see your post before I posted, Jamie.
Having been deprived of "decent" peanut butter for many years here in Germany, and having fond memories of Jiff, I especially enjoyed your little peanut butter story. Pronouncing GIF the same as 'jiff'' sounds even funnier than "Earl" to me.
Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English |
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Yankee
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| Tue Nov 21, 2006 17:11 pm Add an URL? |
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| Yankee wrote: | | Oops! I didn't see your post before I posted, Jamie. |
I think we posted only a second or two apart. |
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Jamie (K)
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Tamara
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| Tue Nov 21, 2006 20:40 pm Add an URL? |
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Hi
We should not forget Mister Micawber's advice to Tamara!
| Mister Micawber wrote: | | Always take Wikipedia with a grain of salt, Tamara. It is written by the unwashed masses. |
Tom  |
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Tom
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