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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 92 KB, 1280x720, [UTW-THORA] Evangelion 2.22 - You Can (Not) Advance [BD][720p,x264,AC3][BC72ACE1].mkv_snapshot_00.17.32_[2011.12.19_23.52.09].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2269367 No.2269367 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/
I'm not a native English speaker and there's something that's been bugging me the last 15 minutes and since you like words and stuff I think you might help me.
is it correct to write "a one time" or should I use "an one time"?
thanks!

>> No.2269370

NEITHER.

>> No.2269369

"a one time"

>> No.2269375

>>2269367
Both are stupid, it's either "a time" or "one time".

>> No.2269373

NEITHER IS RIGHT, IDIOT FOREIGNER

>> No.2269377

"This is a one-time exception."

"This is a one-time deal."

>> No.2269378

>>2269367
Goo bak too me-hee-ko, bean-bak.

>> No.2269380

>>2269370
>>2269373
>>2269375

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425324/
then why does this even exists?

>> No.2269387

>>2269367

I'm not a native speaker as well, but dude...'a' and 'an' actually comes from 'one', so in the reality your question sounds like:

'is it correct to write 'one one time (the consonant version)' or should I use 'one one time (the vowel version)'

>> No.2269391

>>2269380
That's really the only time where it's acceptable, as it refers to the amount of 'deals'.

>> No.2269397

A one time deal, but I honestly have no idea why. I don't really get why people will say "an historic" but then pronounce the H either.

>> No.2269401

>>2269380
"Time" in "A One Time Thing" is used as a noun adjunct. A noun adjunct is a noun functioning as an adjective.

>> No.2269407

o in one sounds like a w

>> No.2269416

>>2269407
this

If "one" followed the 'e at the end causes the previous vowel to elongate' rule, and sounded instead like "own", then it would apply to "an one", but it doesn't follow that rule, so it it treated as if it had a consonant at the beginning.

>> No.2269417

>>2269387
The word "a" doesn't directly mean "one" though. more like "one out of"

I don't know if I'm describing this correctly though, I'm a native English speaker so I don't think about stuff like this very often.

>> No.2269420
File: 17 KB, 220x330, Zora_Neale_Hurston..jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2269420

>>2269407
>>2269416
What kind of hick accent do you guys have?

pic related: you probably talk like the characters in her novels

>> No.2269429

>>2269420
Britfag here, "one" and "won" sound the same to me.

>> No.2269435

Thanks guys you were really helpful!
Wait, you actually weren't.
how come you don't know your own language and can't agree in something so simple?

>> No.2269446

>>2269429

LOL BRITISH PEOPLE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWc3WY3fuZU#t=01m09s

>> No.2269447

>>2269420
how the fuck do you pronounce one, man?
vocaroo that shit or something

>> No.2269450

>>2269446
>>2269440
LOL TRIPFAGS

>> No.2269451

>>2269435
If you paid attention, you'd have read that "a one time" would be correct if you managed to find a context where that phrase made any sense at all.

>> No.2269453

it was a one time thing

at one time he was a farmer.

>> No.2269458

>>2269435
>how come you don't know your own language and can't agree in something so simple?
Because you had to study it and we learned it organically. It just happens and trying to think about how it works makes no sense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede%27s_dilemma

>> No.2269469

it's a one time

the a/an choice is about phonetics, not vowels or consonants.

>> No.2269474

I'm really confused as to how you couldn't pronounce 'one' without a 'w' sound. Could someone please record an example?

>>2269397

Not sure about Americans but English people of various accents and classes often don't pronounce the 'h' on historic. I have an upper-middle class class Scottish accent and I do though, so I would say 'a historic site' and so on. English people also tend not to pronounce 'r' in certain words - 'word' being an example - whereas just about all Scottish people do. If you're any good at putting on accents try it yourself.

>> No.2269478

>>2269417

that's true 'I have a son' doesn't mean I have only one son, but it means I have only sons. I said that a = one only to keep it simple for non-native speaker.

>> No.2269480

>>2269474

Sorry, I meant to say as "I'm really confused as to how you COULD pronounce 'one' without a 'w' sound".

>> No.2269483

>>2269478
>'I have a son' doesn't mean I have only one son
Pretty sure it does, if you had more than one son you would say "I have sons"

>> No.2269487

>>2269478
'I have a son' has no implications on whether you have more than one child, nor does it imply anything about the gender of the hypothetical others.

>> No.2269493

>>2269483
There's no contradiction between "I have a son." and "I have sons." The first one is always true while the second is true.

>> No.2269494

>>2269474
Yeah, I figured that out, I just never understood why people who pronounce the H would say "an" in front of it. When Barack Obama was elected, newscasters(in the US) kept referring to it as "an historic election" or something and it sounded really awkward.

>> No.2269495

>>2269483
Not necessarily. You could say "I have a son who's really into fly-fishing (if you know what I mean)" as opposed to "One of my sons is really into fly-fishing (if you know what I mean)".

>>2269474
>Not sure about Americans
Yeah, I'm trying to think of an accent that pronounces "one" "un" or "oon" or something and I'm not coming up with anything.
>>2269420
Pretty sure a troll.

>> No.2269500

>>2269494
Oh and I suppose I should clarify, I don't think any US accents drop the Hs in front of words.

>> No.2269501
File: 39 KB, 416x431, trollthread.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2269501

>> No.2269502

>>2269483
>>2269487

well what can I say? the whole "son thing" was an example from "Creative Mathematics" by H.S. Wall. So it isn't directly my idea.

>> No.2269503

i have a son totally implies you have only one son unless it is succeeded with something like "whom likes to smoke meth and fuck bitches" cause it will shift the focus of that dreadfully declarative sentence's meaning to the son's attributes or w/e rather than his existence

>> No.2269504

>>2269493
You're right, but still, if you ask someone how many children they have and they answer "I have a son" and leave it at that. They've just told you they have one son.

>>2269495
You're still saying that only one of your sons is into fly fishing.

>> No.2269505

>>2269495

"Pretty sure a troll." Lulz, if you're right the bastard got me! I've spent a few minutes pronouncing one in various accents and it essentially sounds the fucking same every time.

>> No.2269507

>>2269502
It was your idea to be an idiot and post it though.

>> No.2269519

>>2269504
>You're still saying that only one of your sons is into fly fishing.
Yes, but it's implied that that son that is into fly-fishing is one son of multiple sons, the other sons not being talked about not being into fly-fishing. The way I've heard "I have a son" type of constructions used is in informal speech and implies more than one of whatever noun, the "a son" specifying that you have one of that son (who is into fly-fishing, implying the other sons are not into fly-fishing). If you only had one, you would say "My son....", although you could be saying you only have one with the "a"-construction, although I don't think I've ever heard that used in that context before.

>> No.2269528

>>2269519
Again you're right but the whole point of this discussion was that saying "a son" refers to a singluar son in the same way that "one of my sons" would do, so you couldn't use "a one son of mine".

>> No.2269530

>>2269528
Sure. "One of my sons" and "a son" mean the same thing: a singular son, but do imply different contexts.

>> No.2269546

>>2269367

It's "a one time" as one is actually pronounces "won" which starts with a consonant.

>> No.2269547

I just realized something. We've spent a lot of posts arguing over the word "a". Think about that.

>> No.2269565

>>2269547
Isn't it dreamy?

>> No.2269567

>>2269565
A dreamy.

>> No.2269568

>>2269565
I'm a little turned on, not gonna lie

>> No.2269574

>>2269567
dreamy is an adjective! I hope you die in an fire.

>> No.2269576
File: 138 KB, 500x375, Scroteie-Th-Nads.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2269576

>>2269574
What is this nadjective? Like nads?

>> No.2269634
File: 27 KB, 300x300, 300.Borat.090908.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2269634

A ONE TIME!

>> No.2269687

This is y we need langwij reform.

>> No.2269693

>>2269687
Wouldn't it still be "A won tym deel" or something?

>> No.2269697

>>2269687
Yes, force everyone to speak Esperanto or some other stupid shit.

>> No.2269699

>>2269687

Fuck that. I like that I can spell words like floccinaucinihilipilification and that I'm able to look down on people who can't.

>> No.2269731

Wy dont u just, i meen, look words up in a diktionary wen ur unsure of their pronunsiation?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/one
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/one#Pronunciation
OED givs wʌn.

Given those data, it is extreemly likely that the pronunsiation starts with /w/.

>> No.2269819

>>2269367
Sauce on pic please, OP!

>> No.2269838

>>2269819
boku no pico, the anime #1 of all the time that changed animation forevere.

>> No.2270064

>>2269838
THANK YOU

>> No.2270077

>>2269367
what the full sentence> i can't think of any sentence in which those three words would make sense

>> No.2270080

>>2269397
it makes sense when some people pronounce it 'an istoric' which sometimes sounds fine depending on your accent. you need to have the right accent though

>> No.2270093

YOU ONLY GET ONE DETERMINER, NEWFAG!!!1

>> No.2270113

>>2270080

Some terribly posh Britfags even say "an hotel". That one does sound a bit ridiculous to me though.

>> No.2270115

>>2270113
h-dropping is for peasants though

>> No.2270127

>>2270113
why is that wrong
you are americvaaaaaaaaaaaaan

>> No.2270142

>>2270113
I've never heard an English person say an Hotel. Fack off.

>> No.2270147

>>2270127
Nope, Scotfag.

>>2270142
Stephen Fry does.