R is a computer language (link). When describing a function written in R, I want to know which of an R function or a R function is correct. I initially thought an R function was correct according to the conventional rule (e.g., link), but Google search shows that substantially more people use a R function. So I thought a special rule may apply here.
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1It's important to note that many people just use the "wrong" rule that it's based on the spelling being consonants vs vowels when it's actually about consonant vs vowel sounds, so a large number of "a R function" is likely to be just an error on their part rather than the actually correct way of writing it. – Catija Jun 26 '18 at 02:24
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2Your methodology is flawed. Google Search is not a corpus and the result estimates are not result counts; Google has never attempted to make the estimates particularly accurate. If you check an actual corpus you'll find that an is more common, as expected. Nothing to see here. – Jun 26 '18 at 04:50
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1"Google search shows that substantially more people use a R function" needs to be substantiated with some data to validate your claim. – user3169 Jun 26 '18 at 04:53
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1Remember, Google searches bring up webpages and blogs written by amateur authors who may be more careless than accomplished. Moreover, many of your "a R function" hits are false positives, like: The A/R function has a strong... – J.R. Jun 26 '18 at 15:49