Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Abbreviations: Difference between revisions
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:It's an ENGVAR thing. Brits would write "an SAATB choir". --[[User:Redrose64|<span style="color:#a80000; background:#ffeeee; text-decoration:inherit">Red</span>rose64]] 🌹 ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]) 22:22, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
:The choice between "a" and "an" before ''anything'' is based on pronunciation, whether it starts with a vowel or consonant ''sound'' (settings aside the business of "an historic"). Hence, it's "a university" because "university" starts with a "y" sound: "yoo ni VER si tee". In contrast, it's "an FBI investigation" because "FBI" is pronounced "ef bee eye". If "SAATB" is pronounced "ess ay ay tee bee", then it's "an SAATB choir". If it's pronounced "sat bee", then it's "a SAATB choir". In other words, in writing you use the form that you probably use when you're speaking without thinking about it. [[User:Largoplazo|Largoplazo]] ([[User talk:Largoplazo|talk]]) 22:55, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
::I don't think anyone would try to pronounce that combination as an acronym. I appreciate {{U|Redrose64}}'s comment about the British thing, and what is more British than ''[[The Blue Bird (Stanford)|The Blue Bird]]''? Still, probably best to rearrange the text to eliminate the need to choose. Thanks, all. [[User:DavidBrooks|David Brooks]] ([[User talk:DavidBrooks|talk]]) 02:31, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
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