What does ''u'' means in a sentence Luis u Olivia? Thanks

Question

What does ''u'' means in a sentence Luis u Olivia? Thanks

Answer 1

It means or just like "o". However, think about how funny "Luis o Olivia" sounds. The "o" and the "Olivia" kind of blend together. In order to prevent an extreme tongue-twisting disaster, we change "o" (or) to "u" before words starting with "o" or "ho". The same concept is seen in the changing of "y" to "e" before words starting with "i" or "hi".

Note that some words start with "hi" and "ho" and do not change. It is a matter of how that word is pronounced. If "hi" has the "i" sound, it changes. If "ho" has the "o" sound, it changes.

And since it is a matter of tongue twisting the i (hi) or o (ho) must have the sound of the y or o. There are words beginning with i (hi) o (ho) that do not evoke a change. - 0074b507, Nov 11, 2011

Good point, Q. Thanks so much. I'll add that in - SonrisaDelSol, Nov 11, 2011