Say the letter H - aitch vs haitch & H pronunciation Saying the alphabet letter H (or /h/) can be more tricky than you think! And so, the English youth restored H to words like hat, and even at the start of many French words like humble, which had entered English H-less (the Romans pronounced their Hs, but the French dropped theirs). When a few letters make a large difference. Tongue twisters highlight the special quality of alliteration for learning as well; who can forget Peter Piper and his pickled peppers, Silly Sally and her sheep, or Betty Botter and her butter? Should we laud or denounce McQueen, eight years after his death? Get yer hand off it, mate, Australian slang is not dying. Logically, W should make the “d” sound (or change its name to wubble-u). Learn a new word every day. Polls have shown that the uptake of haytch by younger native speakers is on the rise. When the letter H is pronounced beginning with the letter sound it makes, children have an easier time learning its correspondence as they learn to read. So too is there a mystery as to why certain pronunciations cause such strong feeling. But it does – the tiny H on “(h)aitch” divides the nation. The letter sounds that are easiest to remember are those that begin with their corresponding letter, such as B, D, J, K, P, or T. Research shows it’s more difficult to learn sounds made by letters that end with their letter sound, such as F, L, and M. Those that have no correspondences to the letter sound are the most difficult. The pronunciation has become something of a social password, a spoken shibboleth distinguishing in-groupers from out-groupers. It was once usual for speakers to drop aspirates at the beginning of words — in fact up until the 1700s, it was fashionable to do so. There is apparently widespread agreement on the notion that the word aitch is a poor choice as the English name for the letter H which, unlike what is true of the Romance languages, reprersents an important sound in standard English (no offence meant, Cockney speakers! It’s really so small / You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all. Haytch is a standard pronunciation in Irish English and is increasingly being used by native English-speaking people all across the country, irrespective of geographical provenance or social standing. A brand-new series of Top Gear has arrived! 'orse, 'ouse, and 'ello 'arry! Dr Seuss (think Aunt Annie’s Alligator or The Butter Battle Book), Walt Disney (such as Donald Duck; Mickey Mouse), and JK Rowling (Godric Gryffindor; Helga Hufflepuff; Rowena Ravenclaw; Salazar Slytherin) all capitalised on this phenomenon. The Egyptian racks showcased designs by Zak Couture, Mula, Danoush, Arabian Princess, THE curtain comes down on the career of Kay, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, Hometown hero Jaykae joins Aitch and Ms Banks on bill for 1Xtra Live, SHEER DELIGHT! Its name in English is aitch, or regionally haitch /ˈheɪtʃ/. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. English speakers find it easiest to attend to and manipulate the beginning sounds of words. In fact there’s solid evidence supporting haitch as the better option. Spellers who weren’t quite sure whether or not to include H added a few extras along the way — umble pie (“offal pie”) turned into humble pie. There’s an ironic wrinkle to this story. Shibboleths die hard — the opprobrium attached to haitch probably derives from its long association with Irish Catholic Education. © 2014 whichenglish.com    He does not want people to put on a "posh" speaking voice. The shift from the "received pronunciation" of the 1930s and 40s is well documented but one example of how far it has fallen out of favour is that in the forthcoming BBC costume drama, South Riding, the Yorkshire accents of the 1930s pass without comment but the voices that would have been classic "RP" in the book have been updated. The pronunciation of common words has changed drastically over time. ‘H-aitch’ begins with an aitch. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. See aitch] Usage (language): The name of the letter h is based on French (h)ache, in which the initial h is not pronounced. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? English speakers find it easiest to attend to and manipulate the beginning sounds of words. It was once usual for speakers to drop aspirates at the beginning of words – in fact up until the 1700s, it was fashionable to do so. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Haitch or aitch? An unspoken class war has long been waged around the pronounciation of the letter "h" - is it haitch or aitch? So, as the British Library begins a quest to record people's articulations, what do the differences in how we pronounce words say about us? The pronunciation has become something of a social password, a spoken shibboleth distinguishing in-groupers from out-groupers. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. Dr Seuss implicitly understood this. Now, according to the British Library, evidence suggests that for people under the age of 35, it is becoming the favoured pronunciation. Someone once reported to us an encounter with haitch is like an encounter with fire ants. Aitch has released three singles that have charted within the top 40 in the UK, including "Taste (Make It Shake)", which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. We also gradually change borrowed words, like village and garage from French, to fit a more English pronunciation - with an -idge sound in the last syllable. Copyright © 2010–2020, The Conversation US, Inc. Felicity Burke/The Conversastion with apologies to Dr. Suess, War of words: why journalists need to understand grammar to write accurately about violence, It’s more natural for us to focus on initial sounds, We often make use of alliteration in names and tongue twisters, these letter names can facilitate children, Get yer hand off it, mate, Australian slang is not dying. An unspoken class war has long been waged around the pronunciation of the letter ‘h’ – is it haitch or aitch? And so, the English youth restored H to words like hat, and even at the start of many French words like humble, which had entered English H-less (the Romans pronounced their Hs, but the French dropped theirs). The Joy of English |, Cannibal – the language and history of the discovery of the New World, Roanoke – the language and history of Early Colonial America. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU. One suggestion is that it touches on a long anxiety in English over the letter aitch. What made you want to look up aitch? For example, it’s easier for us (orally, that is - by sound, not spelling) to take away the “b” sound in beat (to make it eat) or to replace the “b” with a “p” to make it Pete than it is to take away the “t” sound in beat (to make it be) or to replace it with a “k” to make it beak. Indeed the younger you are, the more likely you are to make says rhyme with lays rather than fez, ate rhyme with late rather than bet and to add a whole new syllable to mischievous, turning it in to miss-CHEEVY-us rather than MISS-chiv-us. Languages have always been alive and evolving to suit the users' communication needs, and it's not a bad thing to have change like this. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites, The president says he is returning to the White House, where he will continue receiving medical care. America has perhaps hung on to its aitchless herb because it has less class anxiety attached to pronunciations. That H isn’t so big. Spellers who weren’t quite sure whether or not to include H added a few extras along the way – umble pie (“offal pie”) turned into humble pie. First, you won't find 'haitch' in the dictionary, only the correct spelling aitch.The name of the letter comes from Old French ache of the 1500s and first spelt so in English, when it was related to the Old English word ache, from æce. The letter “H” itself, which is correctly pronounced “aitch”. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Like Dr. Seuss’ Star-Belly Sneetches and Plain-Belly Sneetches, there are two types of creatures — haitchers with H on their 8th letter name and aitchers with “none upon thars”. Long gone from Old English words like hring “ring”, hnecca “neck” and hlūd “loud”, it would have disappeared entirely if writing hadn’t thrown out a lifejacket. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Despite a snobbish leaning to the latter, haitch makes more sense, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. [C16: a phonetic spelling] Collins English Dictionary – … So, if you want to be correct, make it aitch in sound and spelling – but please be correct and make it 'a hotel' and 'a historic' while you are at it. SUPERSTAR ED POPS INTO FAMOUS BRUM BOOZER TO SHOOT NEW VIDEO, Adidas unveils Manchester United 2019/20 away shirt, Man Utd stars model club's new away kit as Red Devils give nod to famous city district; The kits is available to buy from today from adidas stores, Thirteen fashion designers prep for Ramadan in Kuwait, Double century up for Simmonds stalwart Kay.

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