Grammar question-- a or an mp3?

[BlakeTyner]

Polycarp had it right. The initial voiced phoneme is a vowel sound, so it takes “an”.

[MannyL]

with my friends It’s “A MP3” when you talk about the file and “AN MP3” when you talk about the player

[pulykamell]

@DrDeth

There are no “rules of Standard American English”. There are various stylebooks, some are prescriptive and some are descriptive. The descriptive ones would all agree with me- if the use is common and it is understandable, then it’s OK. Since I do not work for any companies that require the use of any of the prescriptive books, I don’t give a damn what they say. You might prefer one of the various descriptive stylebooks and that’s perfectly OK. You can then say “according to the Chicago Manual of Style…”. But you can’t say according to “rules of Standard American English” since there is no such thing.

I though Standard American English (SAE) existed as the form of English that is used in formal contexts–you know, the type of English you use in university papers and when talking to make yourself sound “educated.” Formally, “a mp3” is not considered “correct.”

I’m not trying to make value judgments or anything here–don’t worry, I understand the whole descriptivism/prescriptivism debate and if you search on my name, you can see that I defend constructions like double negatives, “to borrow” meaning “to lend,” “literally” as a figurative intesifier, “I could care less” as an idiomatic construction and not a sign of stupidity, etc…

I’m just saying, in a formal context, the answer to the OP is an unambiguous “an mp3.” “A mp3” is as correct as “a elephant,” which is to say that it may be used by some people and is absolutely understandable, but would be flagged as “incorrect” by any editor of English.

[gigi]

@jjimm

MP3 is an abbreviation, not an acronym. An abbreviation uses the letters as they are pronounced (e.g. “em pee three”), whereas an acronym uses the word spelled by the letters (e.g. Nasa, Laser).

Specifically, it’s an initialism except for that pesky 3. An acronym is also an abbreviation.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@DrDeth

I found that “a mp3” gave me 1,870,000 hits. Thus, the usage is common. The usage included several site devoted to grammar but none where “a mp3” was used as an example. “An Mp3” revealed 1,170,000 hits, so the usage is slightly less common but still common enough.

Okay, I just now tried this and got 1,530,000 hits for “a mp3”—but not all of them had “a” being used as a definite article—and 1,400,000 hits for “an mp3.”

I’m having trouble imagining someone pronouncing “a mp3.”

[DrDeth]

@pulykamell

I though Standard American English (SAE) existed as the form of English that is used in formal contexts–you know, the type of English you use in university papers and when talking to make yourself sound “educated.” Formally, “a mp3” is not considered “correct.”
.

There is no such thing. Or rather, there are several such things, according to which Style guide you prefer. Sometimes even the prescritive style guides disagree- in which case which one is “Standard American English”?

Oxford accepts either, but they are decsriptive.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@Thudlow Boink

but not all of them had “a” being used as a definite article

(Yes, I know: “a” is an indefinite article. Sorry.)

[Khadaji]

I asked this question in the broader sense a few months ago. Here is the result.

[pulykamell]

@DrDeth

There is no such thing. Or rather, there are several such things, according to which Style guide you prefer. Sometimes even the prescritive style guides disagree- in which case which one is “Standard American English”?

Oxford accepts either, but they are decsriptive.

This is understood, DrDeth, but I do not believe there exists a style guide which would permit the usage of “a mp3” any more than “a elephant.” I believe there is a consensus on this issue, so it’s not necessary to define one definitive Standard American English.

I mean, would you consider “a elephant” “correct” English in a formal setting?

[Chief_Pedant]

@Omega Glory

The “m” is pronounced “em,” so the word an should be used, correct?

Use “an” mp3.
Do not use “a” mp3.

I’m not gonna get sucked into an endless cycle of discussion about why.
You may use me as a reference if you are challenged; let the polloi carry on pooling their ignorance if they disagree.

[pulykamell]

@DrDeth

Oxford accepts either, but they are decsriptive.

By the way, Oxford accepts either what? And Oxford what? Oxford English Dictionary? Oxford Guide to Style? The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar? The first is certainly descriptive (which it should be, as that’s what dictionaries are supposed to do) and the latter two are certainly prescriptive, and I’d be surprised if they permit the “a mp3” usage, unless it’s some weird quirk of British English which I’m fairly certain it’s not.

[pulykamell]

@Thudlow Boink

Okay, I just now tried this and got 1,530,000 hits for “a mp3”—but not all of them had “a” being used as a definite article—and 1,400,000 hits for “an mp3.”

I’m having trouble imagining someone pronouncing “a mp3.”

A better gauge of usage would be Googling the article and word in a complete phrase.

For example:

“dowloaded a mp3” OR “downloading a mp3” : 1,510
“downloaded an mp3” OR “downloading an mp3”: 22,300

“to a mp3 player” : 16,300
“to an mp3 player” : 86,000

“to a mp3” : 108,000
“to an mp3” : 338,000

“a mp3 player” : 854,000
“an mp3 player” : 1,230,000

And so forth… The more common usage seems to be “an,” but “a” is certainly in use.