A and an are two different forms of the same word: the indefinite article a that is used before noun phrases. Use a when the noun or adjective that comes next begins with a consonant sound. Use an when the noun or adjective that comes next begins with a vowel sound.
Use a when next word begins with consonant, an when it begins with a vowel.
Bij een medeklinker (ook wel consonant genoemd) kan de lucht niet ongehinderd naar buiten komen wanneer je praat. Er is een blokkade door bijvoorbeeld je tong, tanden, keel of lippen. Dit is het geval bij bijna alle letters van het alfabet, behalve de klinkers. Bij een klinker (ook wel vocaal genoemd) kan de lucht dus wél ongehinderd naar buiten komen wanneer je praat. Klinkers zijn de a, e, i, o en u in het alfabet
With vowels, there is no blockage when you say them, opposed to consonants, which seem to block the airway (I tested this, and this is the case: back in school, I never realised this... makes a lot of sense now)
Thus, syllablessuch as ab, ac, ad, ib, ic were practiced for the sake of masteryof the language. When a child could name all of a determinednumber of combinations, he was said to know his ABC's.
When did phonics start as a practice historically? Presumably after Mortimer J. Adler's note here?
The great vowel shift and the variety of admixtures of languages comprising English make it significantly harder to learn to read compared to other languages whose orthography and sound systems (example: Japanese hiragana) are far simpler and more straightforward.