Ubuntu Indefinite Article? "A" or "An"

[bluelamp999]

Hello all,

I was just thinking of posting a thread eulogising Ubuntu, the title of which was gonna be "A Ubuntu Encomium".

But then it struck me, should that be "An Ubuntu Encomium"?

How would you put it? - E.g. "A Ubuntu desktop is infinitely configurable." or "AN Ubuntu desktop is infinitely configurable."?

Or have I had too much to drink?

Bestest...

[Sef]

An Ubuntu Ecomium would be correct because Ubuntu's first 'U' has a vowel sound.

[SuperSonic4]

An Ubuntu Ecomium would be correct because Ubuntu's first 'U' has a vowel sound.

+1. I'd say An for the same reason

[bluelamp999]

Yep, I've definitely had way too much to drink...

[bvm]

Why would you not use "an"? Yes, odd things happen to proper nouns in colloquial speech, but you wouldn't say "An BBC report showed...". We seem to change indefinite articles when we are distinguishing between proper nouns which can be commonly (mis)construed as adjectives (eg: "I purchased a Option microwave")

[SuperSonic4]

It is because BBC has a consonant sound at the beginning.

Vowel sound = An
Consonant Sound = A

wouldn't it be an Option Microwave - it's how I'd say it, or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

[bluelamp999]

Wait, hang on... You're saying "An Ubuntu etc." is correct?

Take, for example, the words "Ubuntu", "eulogy" and "European".

They all start with a similar vowel sound but would one say "An eulogy to...", "An European whatever..."?

[SuperSonic4]

Eulogy and European both start with a y sound whereas Ubuntu starts with an u/o sound (or it does in my thick Brummie accent :popcorn:)

[bluelamp999]

****, I may have been wrong for all this time...

I've been pronouncing it "You"buntu but should it have been "Ooh"buntu?

Bear in mind, I am Irish...

[bvm]

Technically, "An Option[note proper noun (i couldn't think of any other brand names beginning with vowels which are derived from adjectives)] microwave" would be correct, but to avoid confusion people often refer proper nouns beginning with vowels as "A" to distinguish them from similar adjectives. This is more prevelant in discourse than written word. In conclusion, it is pretty much irrelevant.

[SuperSonic4]

Dunno, either one of us could be wrong *goes to check wiki*

It's [uːˈbuːntuː] whatever that means

[Giant Speck]

The official pronunciation of Ubuntu is oo-boon-too; thus the indefinite article that would precede it would be "an."

If, however, Ubuntu was pronounced yoo-boon-too, then the indefinite article that would precede it would be "a."

Though, considering the fact that the pronunciation of Ubuntu isn't very strict, since people from all over the world use it, I guess it really depends.

To be completely honest, pronouncing Ubuntu with a y-sound at the beginning is pretty cool! I never thought about that. :p

[bluelamp999]

Yeah, "You"buntu implies a feeling of personalisation and 'ownership', which was to be the main theme of my original post!

[sisco311]

How do you pronounce Ubuntu?

Ubuntu, an African word from Zulu and Xhosa, is pronounced "oo-BOON-too".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzDN3YPucpU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bV4MVMrN-g

[bluelamp999]

Well, if that's how it's pronounced it's obviously gotta be "An"...

Thank ooo

[klange]

A/an has absolutely no association with the class of word it precedes, only the sound. Why do some people make silly decisions on which to use?

Fun fact: "Apron" used to be "Napron", the N split off into "an", yielding "apron".

As Ubuntu is oo-boon-too, it would be "An Ubuntu something-or-other".

[datraveller]

Yeah, "You"buntu implies a feeling of personalisation and 'ownership', which was to be the main theme of my original post!
Haha stumbled on your old post discussing the correct pronunciation of Ubuntu and as you may have seen its ooo boon too. You mentioned You-boon-too would be neat because its adds that personal feel to it but what's interesting is what the word Ubuntu is incredible personal. Although it is a Zulu/Xhosa word it is a commonly used word and ethos in South Africa which basically means putting the community before yourself - we try to do this in South Africa in general but being a capitalist country that's a bit of an oxymoron - now you can see the why this name was chosen for this great 'project'.

[Phrea]

necromancy

[new_tolinux]

necromancy

I guess that would be "a necromancy" and not "an necromancy"? :popcorn:

[Ric_NYC]

"An Ubuntu"...