Functions in the early steps of protein synthesis of a small number of specific mRNAs. Acts by directing the binding of methionyl-tRNAi to 40S ribosomal subunits. In contrast to the eIF-2 complex, it binds methionyl-tRNAi to 40S subunits in a codon-dependent manner, whereas the eIF-2 complex binds methionyl-tRNAi to 40S subunits in a GTP-dependent manner. Belongs to the WD repeat EIF2A family. This gene should not be confused with EIF2S1, frequently called eIF2-alpha in the literature, and with which it shares the alias EIF2A. EIF2S1 is the alpha subunit of the eIF2 translation initiation complex. Although both of these proteins function in binding initiator tRNA to the 40S ribosomal subunit, the EIF2A protein does so in a codon-dependent manner, whereas eIF2 complex requires GTP.