Why do we say 'a unicorn' instead of 'an unicorn'?

The article(a/an) that precedes a word is largely dependent on the way the first syllable of that word is pronounced, though many people follow the rule that words beginning with vowels must be preceded by 'an' and words beginning with consonants must be preceded by 'a'. read more

Because unicorn does not begin with a vowel sound. It begins with the consonant sound of “y”. It is pronounced just like it was spelled “yunicorn” (with a long “u” sound). read more

The word-initial"y" sound ("unicorn") is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring"a." a union, a united front, a unicorn, a used napkin, a U.S. ship, a one-legged man. read more

Try saying a sentence like"I saw an unicorn running quickly" very fast then say"I saw a unicorn running quickly". The former is a LOT easier to say if you are speaking fast, or even slowly. Looks like the other answerers have the answer to the name of the word. read more