Page:The practice of typography; correct composition; a treatise on spelling, abbreviations, the compounding and division of words, the proper use of figures and nummerals by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914.djvu/27



The digraphs (or diphthongs, as they are commonly called) æ and œ are not in as much favor as they have been for the true rendering of Latin and Greek words and their derivatives. Aeneid, Aeschylus, Caesar, Oedipus, mediaeval, etc., are so written now by many classical scholars. In early English names like Ælfred and Cædmon, and in French words like manœuvre, the digraph should be retained.

It is a good general rule to use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound, or in which the initial h is silent, and to use a before a word beginning with a consonant or a consonant sound, or with a vowel preceded by a strong aspirate. The few exceptions cannot be classified.


 * a eulogy
 * a European
 * a ewe
 * a ewer
 * a heroic
 * a historical
 * an adder
 * an heir, -loom
 * a hope
 * a horse
 * a hospital
 * a hotel
 * a humble
 * a oneness
 * an herb, -al
 * an honest
 * a unanimous
 * a uniform
 * a union
 * a universal
 * a useful
 * a usurper
 * an honor, -able
 * an hour, -glass