Way OT-- For the Linguists in the House

[dogdriver]

Why "an" historian?

Been hearing this a lot on podcasts lately. Its not "an horse", "an hotel", or "an ham". The letter H is, last I checked, a consonant, an thus should be preceded by an "a". Is this a linguistic overreaction the likes of the over-use of "well" when "good" would be correct? Or maybe I should just stop listening to podcasts while riding bikes...

[eddief]

i do hope you are an happy person now.

from google:

general: http://www.antimoon.com/forum/2005/7245.htm

specific:

The "formal" rule is:
- when an h-word is stressed on the first syllable ("hat", "heritage"), "a" has to be used over "an"
- when an h-word is not stressed on the first syllable ("historic", "heroic", "horrendous"), then either "a" or "an" can both be used

This is why "an historic..." is acceptable but "an hat" is not.

But you're right, it does sound rather pompous to use "an" before an h-word.

[dogdriver]

Many thanks, Mr Eddie.

Cool thread you referenced. I particularly enjoyed an entry farther down the page:

Further to Lazar's first entry, I'd be curious to know where the 'formal' rule he refers to comes from. After all, do we say "that was an hilarious movie" or "it was only an hallucination" or "he's an homosexual" or "she brandished an harpoon", or even "that was an hypocritical statement"? In all these words the emphasis is not on the first vowel yet we would not use 'an' in front of them.

No, the purpose of using 'an' in front of some 'h' words appears to be simply to impart an air of erudition on the part of the speaker. It is always pompous and should be avoided.

An holistic wannabe, Chris

[jblande]

My guess: Aspirated vs non-aspirated h's.

Non-aspirated h's will take an, not a.
Historian probably in earlier pronunciation patterns was non aspirated.

[Peter P.]

I'm with jblande. If the "h" is silent, use "an". If the "h" is aspirated as jblande calls it, then it's "a".

That's the way I was taught.

[Cat3roadracer]

"James, you always have been a cunning linguist."

[Frankwurst]

"James, you always have been a cunning linguist."

:) :beer:

[pbarry]

The "H" issue has geographical, (cultural?), roots in the U.S. Mid-westerners keep it silent, while others pronounce it. Tough call there. H is silent in French, no?

[slidey]

Am I to understand that there is a consensus forming about the 'h' in historian being silent?

[akelman]

Am I to understand that there is a consensus forming about the 'h' in historian being silent?

Oy, I could use a wee dram of 'istorian, guv!

[akelman]

Also, I find the use of "an" before "historian" almost impossibly twee.

[mnoble485]

I would think that anyone that used an before historian made an honest mistake.
See what I did there?

Mike:banana:

[corky]

All languages evolve......

but please just refrain from 'I could care less' when what you really mean is 'I couldn't care less'

c

[goonster]

"James, you always have been a cunning linguist."
So is Col. Angus.

[fiamme red]

Why "an" historian?

Been hearing this a lot on podcasts lately. Its not "an horse", "an hotel", or "an ham". The letter H is, last I checked, a consonant, an thus should be preceded by an "a". Is this a linguistic overreaction the likes of the over-use of "well" when "good" would be correct? Or maybe I should just stop listening to podcasts while riding bikes...http://grammartips.homestead.com/historical.html

[jblande]

http://grammartips.homestead.com/historical.html


aspiration (breathing).

[tch]

speech. It has to do with the ease of speaking. We want to smooth out language as we speak, and we create elisions unconsciously. It's easier to say "an historian" than "a historian" because the mouth slides to the new word more smoothly rather than having to pronounce two aspirated syllables in a row. It's the same process we use to create contractions.