Why do people say Haitch

[tubeway]

This is my pet moan

The eighth letter of the alphabet is pronounced aitch - so why are so many people saying haitch now. You can't use the arguement that it starts with the same letter as c f i l m n r s u w x and y do not start with the sound that they make.

[Kay]

You're right tubeway. Aitch is the correct pronounceation but many people have pre fixed the H to it,dont ask me why:--)

[smudge]

I agree!

[heathfield]

I think it's 'orrible

[momalito]

Couldn't agree more. The most infuriating thing is, one of my three children (all educated to the same standard in the same school and brought up the same) pronounce it haitch!! Work that one out!!!

[Quizmonster]

'Haitch' is just an uneducated version of 'aitch'. It's rather like the not very cultured army NCO who - apocryphally - told recruits that rifle-butts were made of "hoak, hash or 'ickory". Note the insertion of an 'h' where it is not required and its absence where it is, just to make the point!

[whiskeysheri]

My mum and I were talking about this the other day, I don't know anyone who pronounces it properly x

[smurfchops]

Some people think they are more posh than what I am .. that's why they pronounce it with an 'H'.

[Azimov]

I totally agree, this is one of my pet hates too and one that seems to be growing!
I live in Scotland where this used to be almost non-existant, yet now it seems all the kids are saying "haitch" while they're misspelling every word they text their little chav/ned/skater mates.

I console myself with the following explanation.
The educators of today are simply passing on the lazy teachings of the educators of the last two decades.
It may have seemed like smart thinking (certainly trendy) to explain that the letter "H" (aitch) would be easier to remember if we pronounced the leading H.
eg; Ay, Bee, See, Dee, Ee, Eff, Jee, Haitch, Aye, Jai, Kay... and so on.

Unfortunately the "Haitch" pronunciation stuck with the hard of thinking and the rest fell away like the Ahh, Buh, Kuh, Duh... etc, before them.
We are apparently,therefore, reaping what was sowed in the previous generation now that they have become teachers.

I fear it's only a matter of time before the next generation go on to teach Jay and Zee instead of Jai and Zed.

[Sally]

Well, i'm from Ull and I never pronounce mi aitches anyow.

I agree with Judiewudie it does sound posher when pronounced with an Haitch, so maybe its just people thinkin they're better but really they're not.

[crosso]

It is called 'hypercorrection' by linguistics boffins, I think

[crispynugget]

I dont have much of a problem with this, but I usually say aitch but occassionally say haitch. Ive never really noticed it and so it has not seemed much of an annoyance. No ones perfect and everyone does things differently, we jst have to accept this.

[Azimov]

I applaud your candour Crispy!
It's not often we have someone so unencumbered with something so embarrassing as dignity, that they would state openly that they couldn't care less how ignorant or stupid they sounded, or that they were happy to contribute to the ignorance of future generations!
I look forward to your treatise on the positive implications of phonetic spelling!

[crispynugget]

Thanyou very much Azimov, You have brought a smile to my face. x

[Azimov]

Very welcome Crispy, always glad to spread the happiness!

[denisegordon]

Why do people use "an" before a word starting with H such as "an hotel"? Maybe I'm wrong but I thought "an" was only for words starting with a vowel.

[Quizmonster]

Denise...It is optional now whether or not to pronounce the opening �h' in words in which the first syllable is unstressed...eg habitual, horrendous, hotel, historian, horrific etc and therefore whether 'a' or 'an' is used before it. It is the lack of stress rather than any French provenance - as some claim - that matters.
However, �an hotel', specifically, is regarded as old-fashioned though not quite extinct. The other words above are still commonly preceded by 'an'.
The Americans have an example which we do not, in that they pronounce �herb' as if there were no �h' present. Thus, they refer to �an (h)erb' just as we say: �an (h)our'.
I'm sure all we Brits recall the judicial voice-over to the opening credits of Ronnie Barker's �Porridge'..."Norman Stanley Fletcher....you are an habitual criminal who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner...."

[waimarie]

Ah Quizmonster, Your final sentence introduced another mind bending problem. The pronunciation of the word 'casual', some pronounce as spelt with a hard 's'. Others use a softer 'sh' or 'jeu' sounding. the upper classes tend to use the harder 's' whilst plebs invariably follow the softer option. I may be wrong of course.

[Quizmonster]

Waimarie, The Oxford English Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary - two major authorities on British words - offer both pronunciations of 'casual' as acceptable. Personally, I use the 'j' - as in the French words 'je' or 'Jacques' - version, but clearly anyone is welcome to the alternative.

[talldarkattractive]

Because they are THICK!

[talldarkattractive]

The prounounce the word Aitch with an H at the beginning because they are THICK!