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The indefinite article "a" is changed to "an" if the following word starts with a vowel or and silent "h". Now I read "an FFP2 mask" everywhere. Is this correct, and if so, why?

holyschmoly
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    Because the letter F is pronounced eff, so it is treated like a word beginning with a vowel. – Kate Bunting Nov 25 '21 at 09:53
  • The a/an issue is 99.9% controlled by the sound when the next item is read out aloud by a proficient reader. So some write 'an NP' while others who treat the abbreviation as a purely orthographic device write 'a NP' because they expand on reading aloud to 'a noun phrase'. But few would expand 'an FAQ' or 'a UGV' on reading out the initialism. // And acronyms are pronounced as words: 'a UNESCO ruling'. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 25 '21 at 16:20
  • Very succinct, @EdwinAshworth. A good example of an acronym starting with a consonent would be the Federation Against Software Theft or FAST. One would refer to a FAST initiative since the acronym is pronounced as a word but if the acronym was not well established one might refer to it as an eff, ay, ess, tee initiative if the acronym were to be spread out like that. – BoldBen Nov 26 '21 at 02:48
  • @BoldBen The default definition of 'acronym' (check all the usual online dictionaries; there may be one not in agreement) mandates the 'pronounced as a word' (whether now lower-cased like 'radar', or not, like 'FAST') requirement. This has been covered on ELU. 'Initialisms' is the term for those abbreviations consisting of some or all especially salient initial/near-initial letters of the expanded form ... which are 'spelled out'. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 26 '21 at 11:58

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