...to think it's 'a MNer' not 'an MNer'

[MackerelOfFact]

(As per the top thread on DOTD).

I always read 'MNer' as 'Mumsnetter', not 'Em-en-er'.

Am I the only one?! Is there a rule?!

[CookieLady]

YANBU!

[TulipOHare]

I hear it in my head as "em-en-er".

Don't think there is a rule though

[EverythingsDozy]

An en-em-er? Do do do do do
Mahna mahna do do do do

[NymodigFruOla]

Same as Tulip, I hear - and say MNer - as em-en-er, not Mumsnetter.

So if you say it as em-en-er it would sound odd to say "a em-en-er"; "an em-en-er" rolls off the tongue more easily.

[HolgerDanske]

'An' is correct, because the spoken pronunciation of the opening letter has a beginning vowel sound, even though the letter itself is a consonant.

[owlbegoing]

I'm in the an em-en-er camp

[BigRedBall]

Heeheehee, net mums users are EN EMAS.... ENEMA.

[Fruli]

I read 'Mumsnetter' too, YANBU.

Dozy:

[BananaBumps]

YANBU - it's clearly Mumsnetter so "a".

[InAGrump]

Yabu to me it's 'an em-netter'

[NymodigFruOla]

Have a look at this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/2007635-So-we-thought-wed-have-a-sort-of-Mumsnet-open-day?. Justine picking the 'names out of the hat' for the open day. There's a YouTube link on 3rd March - Justine says Em-En!

[diddl]

I always read it as it is written.

So an MNer.

[ApplesinmyPocket]

Think of MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) - you would say you own 'AN MPV' not A MPV, I expect?

But the clue is in your second sentence - ' I always read MNer as Mumsnetter...' so what you hear in your head will influence you; I hear 'em-enner'

[BeverleyMoss]

a MNer

an emener

[MorrisZapp]

Where to we stand on a hotel v. an hotel?

I say a hotel because I pronounce hotel with the h clearly spoken.

Cos I ain't French.

[DealForTheKids]

See, now all I can thing of is 'an enema' :S

Are we all enemas? [boak]

[DealForTheKids]

Oh, X post, ignore me!

[Lweji]

YADNBU

[ViviPru]

Oh! I always read it as Mumsnetter. Had no clue it might have been seen by some as em-en-er. How interesting!

[ViviPru]

Where to we stand on a hotel v. an hotel?

I say "a h-word". I write an h-word.

[OBGynKenobi]

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ1KDf3O-qU

[MackerelOfFact]

I can't justify why I read MNer as Mumsnetter and not em-en-er (da da da) because I read 'DS' as dee-ess and 'DP' as dee-pee, etc.

But. I read 'YANBU' as 'you are not being unreasonable' and not 'yan-boo'.

I guess it just depends how you read acronyms I guess.

[MackerelOfFact]

"Think of MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) - you would say you own 'AN MPV' not A MPV, I expect?"

Fair point indeed. BUT, MPV is clearly quicker to say than multi-purpose vehicle and therefore MPV is used because it is less of a mouthful. Yet MNer is no quicker to say than Mumsnetter - it is just used as it is quicker to type - so you might as well say Mumsnetter, since that's what is stands for.

I appreciate the logic of this thought process is not watertight.

[Lweji]

I say "a h-word". I write an h-word.

That's not very logical.
We write an h-word because we pronounce it as an h-word.

[HolgerDanske]

Oh heh, I'd not even considered the fact that some might read the word rather than the acronym...