"a XML API" or "an XML API"?

Question

On StackOverflow I wrote :

It often comes that a XML API reorder tags without our will.
(API : Application Program Interface)

Is "a XML API" the correct sentence or "an XML API" ?

It may happen that an XML API reorders tags against our will. Two APIs may reorder tags, but one only reorders, not reorder. "Often comes" is not quite idiomatic, nor "without our will." — Yosef Baskin, Oct 22 '20 at 13:25

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 22 '20 at 13:24

1

It's "an X...". The reason is that it's "an" before a vowel sound, no matter how you spell it, and the name of the letter X sounds like "ex".

answered Oct 22 '20 at 13:24

Rosie F

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Please don't add repeat answers. It makes searching the site for specimen answers nightmarish. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '20 at 13:39
@EdwinAshworth I'm sorry to contest the closure of my question, but the response of RosieF was far more readable and understandable than the link "Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms / initialisms?" you provided. – Marc Le Bihan Oct 22 '20 at 13:56
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@Marc Le Bihan ELU is aimed at linguists. Proficient speakers already know that the a/an choice is governed _almost_† entirely by the pronunciation of the succeeding word, whether a regular lexeme, a numeral, an initialism, an acronym ... even a parenthetical. And all this has been covered on ELU before; bloat is not useful when people are trying to search for well-authenticated answers (good answers will almost always contain linked and attributed supporting references). Even a/an FAQ is addressed at the duplicate. † There is still some debate over aspirated 'an hotel' .... – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '20 at 15:29

1 Answers1