Pronunciations

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., Jen Faulkner <jfaulkne at e...> wrote:
> On Mon, 7 May 2001 nera at r... wrote:
> 
> > *********************************************
> > Probably, for the same reason that we drop the H in hors deurves, 
but
> > I don't know the reason for that one, either.
> 
> The h is dropped from hors d'oeurves because it's (pronounced as) a
> French phrase and h's are silent in French.  As for why the h in 
herb
> isn't pronounced, it probably has to do with regional variants in 
the UK
> and which one made it to the colonies, since it came into English 
from
> Latin by way of Old French, and is variously spelled in ME and OF 
with
> or without an h.
> 
> > I always wondered about "an historic event" ... is it "an" 
because it
> > *sounds* like a vowel following the "an"?
> 
> The h can be silent in 'historic' and 'historian', though it's 
usually
> pronounced in 'history', I think.  In the variant of US English I 
grew
> up speaking, we said 'a historic', 'a historian', pronouncing the 
h; my
> pronunciation has altered since going to college to reflect the 
(higher
> status in academia) pronunciation with a dropped h (and then the
> necessary 'an')...
> 
> --jen :)
> 
This is getting confusing, now.  In the UK (or the way I was taught 
anyway), an always proceeded a word beginning in H, not a.  This is 
in spite of the fact that we pronounce the H in historic, historian, 
history.  So correct pronunciation would be "an Historic...", 
pronouncing the H.  
BTW: we don't pronounce the H in Hour.

Catherine