> > A friend and I were recently discussing the "an/a rule". He had written a letter and used the phrase "...an historical website...". I told him it should have been "...a historical website...". The website he had written the letter too even complimented him on his use of "an historical".
> >
> > The an/a rule, if I remember correctly, is purely phonetic. Use "a" for a consonant sound and "an" for a vowel sound. Therefore, it should be "a historical website". Right??
> >
> > Kel"can't think of an quote"ly
>
> We actually had a discussion about this in the chatroom a couple of weeks ago. Being journalistically (is that a word?) inclined, I tend to side with the Associated Press Stylebook on most grammar issues. It's the worldwide standard for newspapers, and I've noticed that most publications use the same rules and ideas. According to the AP Stylebook, you are correct. It states: "Use the article a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article an before vowel sounds: an energy crisih, an honorable man (the h is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it begins with the letter e), an 1890s celebration."
>

I always thought that the difference concerning the use of "a" or "an" in front of an "h" was mostly between American and British English. The British seem to have a tendancy to leave the 'h' silent more than is done in American English, causing "an" to be used more often in front of a word starting with that letter. Of course, I could be wrong.

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