Answer: Either, depending on how you pronounce “homage.”

Explanation:

I pronounce it ohm-ahj, and seeing it spelled as “a homage” makes me hear it in hillbilly. But that’s just me, and I do not rule the Internets.

The New York Times doesn’t either, but they certainly come much closer to global dominance than I do, so let’s see what Ben Zimmer (@bgzimmer) has to say:

The New York Times style guide does not specifically address the word homage, and in such matters the copy desk typically turns to Webster’s New World Dictionary for guidance. As with other leading American dictionaries, Webster’s New World currently recognizes two equally accepted pronunciations of the word: either HOM-ij or OM-ij. Since the pronunciation with “h” is listed first, that would favor “a homage” over “an homage.” (The Times has not been terribly consistent on this score, however. Since 2001, “a homage” has appeared in the paper 500 times, but “an homage” has appeared 407 times.) > Read more

OK. No help there.

The Grammarphobia Blog reports on the increasingly common use of the French spelling, hommage, which would always take “an” as the article because there’s no question about its pronunciation. On the other hand, it may be seen as an affectation beyond that of just pronouncing it in the French manner.  So we’re left with “make your choice and take your chances.”

Let’s try a Google poll:

An homage: 1,680,000

A homage: 978,000

Google poll results fairly decisive – maybe I do rule the Internets, after all. All right then — let’s stick with “an homage,” kids.

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Answer: Either.

Explanation:
It all depends on whether you pronounce FAQ as a word (fack) or the individual letters, (eff-aye-kew).

If you pronounce FAQ as a word, the word starts with the consonant f so it’s prefaced by a — as if it were a fack list. On the other hand, if you pronounce it eff-aye-kew, that pronunciation starts with a vowel, so it needs an.

I pronounce FAQ as a word. But then I also pronounce ASAP as aye-sap, probably for the same two reasons: 1. It’s faster to say, and 2. It annoys some purists no end. (I’m a little perverse that way.)

Here’s an explanation from the official FAQ FAQ list (that’s not a typo — it’s a FAQ about FAQs):

FAQ is pronounced three ways:
1. By pronouncing the letters individually: F – A – Q
2. As a word: fack
3. Obscenely:

The first two pronunciations are the most common, and are used about
equally. Some will say F – A – Q if they are speaking with someone
that really doesn’t know the Internet. Those who are lazy (me for
example) will use “fack”, since it is easier to say. Often when
initiating a conversation it is useful to say F – A – Q, and then
once the subject has been established, “fack” should be sufficient.

You will notice that in this document I use the phrase “a FAQ” rather
than “an FAQ”. This is because most of the time I say “a fack”
instead of “an F-A-Q”.

Feel free to use whichever pronunciation you prefer and don’t let
anyone bully you. Both ways are acceptable. If you use the third
way… well, you’re on your own.

Read more: FAQs about FAQs

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