Hacker News Reader

Comment by spider-mario | Hacker News Reader

> For instance, we’re quite proud that a XCF file made by a small company for their logo in 1998 still renders the same way in the latest version of GIMP

How do they pronounce “XCF” such that it’s “a XCF file” and not “an XCF file”? “Xeceff”?

View on HN

A "ksceef"?

But yeah, in my mind, it's always been "ex see eff", so an XCF.

I find some word processors don't test for vowel sound, and only adhere to the actual vowel letter.

To be honest, I didn't think about it too hard - I just wrote "a XCF" because it doesn't start with a vowel. I don't think it's worth submitting an edit for, but you're welcome to consider it "an XCF".

The beginning of “XCF” sounds similar to the beginning of “Exit”.

With “a” vs “an”, the pronunciation is more important than the spelling.

> With “a” vs “an”, the pronunciation is more important than the spelling.

I know, hence my question about the pronunciation. If I had thought the spelling was more important, the “X” would have settled it so I wouldn’t have asked.

You say "a exit"?

There are words that some British accents pronounce with an initial consonant while Americans it with a vowel sound, so accordingly Brits use the 'a' article while Americans use 'an'. A case where accent changes the grammar of a sentence.

Similar to the name 'Herb' vs the vegetative 'herb'. A Herb vs an herb.

So you pronounce it "a hexit" with a hard "h"?

In my mind it’s similar to exif

Reply on news.ycombinator.com