Steve Langasek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Thu, Mar 17, 2005 at 09:04:14AM -0800, Thomas Bushnell BSG wrote: > > Hamish Moffatt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > > (This might be a topic without a possible conclusion!) > > > Funny, but although I'd say "an HTML file" or "an HTTPS url" or > > > similar, I'd say "a history achievement". > > > Ah, in "a history achievement", you accent the first syllable of > > "history", which provokes you to pronounce the H. In "an historic > > achievement", the first syllable of "historic" is weak, and so most > > Americans (at least) do not pronounce the H, and so we use "an". > > The only people I can recall ever hearing say "an historic" in en_US were > idiot politicians, and they *did* pronounce the initial h. > > For that matter, I can't recall ever hearing anyone drop an initial h just > because the syllable was unstressed. > > On what do you base this claim of "most"?
The ones you speak of, who say "an historic" where they *are* aspirating the H are not only idiot politicians, but they're in the set. Yes, that's a silly usage for Americans, though it was correct for some dialects in England not to long ago. I can't speak about now. But "an historic" with no aspirated H, hrm, I hear it all the time. But it's not easy to hear if you start thinking carefully "now how do I pronounce this", because people generally have two ways to pronounce words and phrases; one in rapid speech, and one when they are speaking carefully and distinctly. The way to tell is to start listening to people, or better, give them a paragraph of text to read aloud. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]