Pronunciations

[nera at rconnect.com]

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Probably, for the same reason that we drop the H in hors deurves, but 
I don't know the reason for that one, either.

How is "hour" pronounced in UK? With or without the "H" sound?

I always wondered about "an historic event" ... is it "an" because it 
*sounds* like a vowel following the "an"? 

English is very difficult to learn ... hard enough for the Americans, 
let alone anyone else. My friends do seem to have the most problems 
with prepostitions and homonyms. (they are the ones that sound alike 
but are spelled differently, correct?)

Doreen
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--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
> Catherine wrote:
>  
> > One that I have always wondered about is Anthony.  In the UK, the 
> > majority pronounce it An-tony.  In the US, IIRC, it is An- 
THony.  
> > Anybody know why?
> >
> > Another one is herbs.  Why do most Americans drop the H?
> 
> No idea on either of these, though the Anthony makes some kind of 
> intuitive sense--a move, perhaps, from the original (Italian, I 
> guess?) to a more phonetic pronunciation.  My surname is 
Americanized 
> this way.  Probably the early immigrants stick to the original 
> pronunciation, but by later generations it's been given up under 
the 
> pressure of constant mispronunciation.
> 
> Someone, somewhere must have written a thorough history of English 
> pronunciation.  There is certainly no firm logic to the 
pronunciation 
> of English in any country.  People who learn it as a second 
language 
> must go nuts.
> 
> N.B.:  We don't drop the H in the name Herb, just the plants.  
> Important to remember if you're talking to a Herb.
> 
> Amy Z