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Pronounciation and Grammar
Delicious Steve
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Registered User regular
Something's been on the back of my mind for a while now, I'll just say the questions and simply as possible
Because if the H is silent, then there is a disparity between the written and spoken grammar, AN preceeds a noun that begins with a Vowel, A preceeds a noun that begins with a Consonant, it's spoken one way and written another.
Just asking because I've learnt it one way, but sometimes I'll notice someone write "an herb" and my brain begins to melt, but then i remember some people say the word with a silent H, which would make sense, if i knew how to pronounce it right.
- Is the word HERB pronounced with a silent H?
- If the word HERB does have a silent H would you use AN or A preceeding it in a statement?
Because if the H is silent, then there is a disparity between the written and spoken grammar, AN preceeds a noun that begins with a Vowel, A preceeds a noun that begins with a Consonant, it's spoken one way and written another.
Just asking because I've learnt it one way, but sometimes I'll notice someone write "an herb" and my brain begins to melt, but then i remember some people say the word with a silent H, which would make sense, if i knew how to pronounce it right.
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However, I could be doing it wrong.
Pronunciation:
\ˈərb, US also & British usually ˈhərb\
So both are acceptable I guess, more so depending on where you live.
If you go with "erb" it'd be "an herb", just like "an hour."
I always pronounce the H and so does everyone else I've heard say it in New Zealand and England, but in my experience US citizens choose not to for some reason.
I believe you are supposed to use "an" for both (and I have written it that way in the past), but it sounds so halting and forced that I just can't bring myself to say it that way out loud.
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Don't even get me started on Oregano.
Decal?
I think that sounds dumb, and use "a" when the H is not silent. I'm a rebel.
As to the original question, the "erb/herb" distinction is entirely regional.
To (mostly faithfully) quote Eddie Izzard, "Americans say 'erb.' In England we say 'herb' because there's a fucking H in it."
I expect you to start pronouncing the H in all words. Starting this hour, be honest about it.
You see, you think you're being clever there but I already do pronounce those Hs. Hell, I pronounce Hs in words that don't even have them.
Civility can be measured by the amount of Hs a man can fit into a conversation.
Who is the classiest dude in Star Wars? Darth Vader. I rest my case.
American English I don't know that well, though I know Americans usually drop the H in herbs and herbal etc.
Generally people choose the article (a/an) which matches their pronunciation. For me (a professional in linguistics/English teacher training) it's a hint as to where they're from.
I say 'a herb' when talking about herbs.
One is plants. The other is losers.
I was always taught that 'an hotel' is correct. Took me ages to figure out why.
Also, for the sake of it, it's spelled (and spoken) "Pronunciation".
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You're also thinking about it too much in what's written on the page. "an herb" sounds a lot better than "a erb"
If you say "an istoric event," that's different from "a historic event." You also say "I read for an 'our a day." Just like there's "an 'onest man"
It's not a disparity, it's simply a reflection that english is a spoken language.
Ridiculous.
I also wouldn't trust a British person to tell me they pronounce it a certain way because the letter is present. Ever.
Now now, you're just letting your prejudices discolour things. :P
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Even when you're trying to pronounce the hard H after "an" it's hard to make it really stand out, which is probably where the practice of "dropping" initial H's came from.
The use of a/an is pretty similar, in my opinion, to the dropping of consonant sounds in french words when the next word begins with a consonant -- it sounds more flowing. Same with the dropping of vowels when the next word begins with a vowel, like "l'enfant." They don't say "le enfant" because it sounds awkward.
But you'll note that every definition of "an" says "before a vowel or an unvoiced H." Do you voice the H? If so, you wouldn't use "an." There's no rule there -- if you voice the H, use "a."
This trick is also used by writers to tell readers how they intend words to be pronounced. Someone saying "give her an 'hello' for me" intends it to be pronounced "'ello." That's all. It's not very complicated. Unless you're trying to maneouvre some weird british intention out of it, but maneouvreability and british pronunciation/spelling don't necessarily coincide ;D
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Or should I even try?
They say Isaiah wrong, too.
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"The power of the weirdness compels me."
Please explain to me why it's "an hotel". Even looking at that makes me boil with rage!...well, slightly. It just looks/sounds so wrong!
Just because it's more common now doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I've seen many writers write "an historic" as well as "a historic." It simply tells you how they themselves pronounce the world.
Unless they have an editor that forces them to do it one way or another.
Although I believe we may be getting into the historical attributes of british/american english, which has had a large amount of material written on each, and is also more a d&d topic ;D
But if we were talking about games, it would be "an RPG," even though "R" is a consonant (since when you say it, it's "an arr-pee-gee").
Also, plenty of super-posh academic types say 'an 'istoric occasion' and 'an 'otel'.
They just say it poshly.
You can't have 'an ham' because, being a one-syllable word, 'ham' is stressed and therefore the H must be pronounced.
'Herb' is a separate issue, since for most North Americans there just isn't an H sound at all - same for 'hour' and 'honesty' and probably a few more.
Noooooooooooooo!
Eye-z-eye-ah!
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"The power of the weirdness compels me."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H#Value
As in: "I gave brother $5 and told him to buy himself a/an ho."
Brits say "EyeZ-eye-uh"
edit: beat.
Can you explain something, Mrs. P (or any British folk for that matter)? Where does zed come from? All the other letters, right, you've got, at most, two different sounds at play. Ay, Bee, See, Dee, Ee, Eff, Jee, Aych, Eye, Jay, Kay, El, Em, En, Oh, Pee, Que, Arr, Ess, you see where I'm going with this, why is there a 'd' on the end of the pronunciation of 'z'?
I'm pretty sure "An historic" is incorrect grammar.
I believe it's because the letter Z is derived from the Greek "zeta"
There's a thread in SE++ about mini laptops, people keep writing an EEEPC and I'm like 'whut?'
I pronounce it triple-e pee-cee but I guess other people pronounce it eee-eee-eee-pee-cee