From Alec Cawley
The “um” and “er” hesitation sounds analysed by Richard Aslin (23 April, p 27) are particularly useful to polite speakers of English. The choice between “an” before a word starting with a vowel and “a” before a consonant is tricky for those still thinking about what to say, so polite people drop in such vowel-based hesitations, allowing them to safely plump for a preceding “an”.
The swearier among us, of course, would rather drop in a short expletive, which invariably starts with a consonant and therefore demands an “a”.
Newbury, Berkshire, UK
