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For example,

The school has just started an SLA program.

(SLA is second language acquisition.)

Should I use "a" instead of "an" here? Technically, following the rules of "an", I should use "an" here since the acronym starts with a vowel's sound. However, I'm not sure if acronyms are even considered words, which means these rules might not apply to them. If I expand the acronym, I realize I should use "a", which leaves me a little confused. Do I have it right or should it be "a"?

fi12
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    It is not about words. It's about sounds. If a term (word or acronym) starts with a vowel sound, "an" is to be used. – vickyace May 07 '16 at 12:28
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    Use "an SLA" and "a second language acquisition." – vickyace May 07 '16 at 12:30
  • And it gets a little tricky if the acronym is optionally pronounced as a word vs individual letters -- you have to decide which pronunciation you're choosing the article for. – Hot Licks May 07 '16 at 12:46
  • I used to see "An MGM cartoon" or something before and after every episode of Tom and Jerry, which leads me to believe that it all comes down to the sound, not the letter. Calling "a", "i", "e", "o", "u" "vowels" is either convenient or ignorant. – Vun-Hugh Vaw May 07 '16 at 13:17
  • Some acronyms lend themselves more readily to pronunciation as words than others. For instance, LARP (for Live Action Role Play) is so pronounceable that it takes a, as in "not a LARPing group," even though the name of its initial letter would take an. For this and other reasons (including popularity or degree of currency, and professional pretensions), some acronyms come to be pronounced as words sooner, others later or not at all. Choose a or an according to whether you expect SLA to be pronounced [an] ess ell ai or [a] slah. – Brian Donovan May 07 '16 at 13:39
  • These are great thoughts, consider posting them as answers. – fi12 May 07 '16 at 13:44

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