Why is it called Aitch?

The name "Aitch" derives from the pronunciation of the letter 'h', which is the first letter of his given name.

Why is H called Aitch?

The earlier Latin pronunciation is uncertain. And the name “aitch” for “h,” the OED says, goes back through the Middle English ache to the Old French and Spanish ache, then probably to the late Latin accha, ahha, or aha. The earlier Latin name was ha and the Greek name was heta.

Why do some Brits pronounce H as Haitch?

The name of the letter H comes from the french name "hache" which was /atʃə/ in Old French, which middle english adapted as /aːtʃə/ and which became /eɪtʃ/ in modern english. The pronunciation "haitch" is just adding a [h] sound back to "aitch" because most letters start with their sound.

Is the letter H pronounced aitch or Haitch?

For most English speakers, the name for the letter is pronounced as /eɪtʃ/ and spelled "aitch" or occasionally "eitch". The pronunciation /heɪtʃ/ and the associated spelling "haitch" is often considered to be h-adding and is considered nonstandard in England.

Why do Australians pronounce H Haitch?

Given that Irish immigrants in Australia were predominantly working class, to say 'haitch' rather than 'aitch' (runs the folk etymology) marks you as some mixture of proletarian, Irish and Catholic-educated. This is to be avoided, lest you appear rude or—worse—poor.

Aitch Reveals The Story Behind His Name

Is H silent in England?

Many British English speakers never, ever say /h/; so they pronounce 'hill' and 'ill' identically – /ɪl/. These speakers are known as 'H Droppers' and it's a clear feature of most regional British accents – London included, altogether now: “Harry has hairy hands”.

How is H pronounced in Ireland?

The oddly named letter H is usually pronounced 'aitch' /eɪtʃ/ in British English, but in Ireland we tend to aspirate it as 'haitch' /heɪtʃ/. This haitching is a distinctive feature of Hiberno-English, one that may have originated as an a hypercorrection but is now the norm in most Irish dialects.

Why do British people say Zed?

English speakers in other Commonwealth countries also prefer the pronunciation zed. As zed is the British pronunciation and zee is chiefly American, zed represents one of the rare occasions in which most Canadians prefer the British to the American pronunciation.

Is Z pronounced zee or zed?

It's not just the British that pronounce “z” as “zed”. The vast majority of the English speaking world does this. The primary exception, of course, is in the United States where “z” is pronounced “zee”. The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, the Greek letter “Zeta”.

Why H is silent in honest?

The words hour and honest come from French, and in these cases English took over the French pronunciation as well as the word. Not all such words that have come into English from French still have a silent h, however.

Why is it Aitch not Haitch?

In imitation of the French, the English name is commonly aitch, but this means the name does not contain the sound of the letter. Those who pronounce the word as haitch and spell it accordingly as haitch, are in a sense restoring its original purpose.

Is H silent in Irish?

Gaelic has only eighteen letters in its alphabet, so no J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y or Z. A consonant + H denotes a completely different sound to the same consonant without an H following it. Gaelic has a system of broad vowels (A, O, U) and slender vowels (E, I).

Why do people not pronounce the H in Humble?

The rule explaining the different pronunciations of a history versus an historical is that in unaccented syllables the H is dropped. However, in today's word the H appears in an accented syllable, so it should be pronounced. Still, if you are from the US South, you may pronounce today's word umble.

Why do Americans say H differently?

Our American cousins seem sometimes to arbitrarily decide that they shall pronounce a word in the French style even if it has been an English word for nearly a thousand years. Thus they leave the "h" silent in herb, just as the French do.

Why do British people say mum?

Originally Answered: Why do most British people say 'mum' and most American people say 'mom'? Because vowel sounds change with accent. That's it.

Why do Americans say aluminum?

The American Chemical Society adopted “aluminum” because of how widely it was used by the public, but the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially designated the metal as “aluminium” as recently as 1990.

Why do the British pronounce lieutenant with an F?

Over time the word "locum" evolved into the French word "lieu", which is pronounced in French as it is spelled. It is possible that when the English heard the French pronounce the compound word lieutenant, they perceived a slurring which they heard as a "v" or "f" sound between the first and second syllables.

Why do British say pants?

In British English, pants means underpants or, informally, nonsense. In American English, pants means trousers; the singular form is used as adjective. [BrEn] He thought we were going to be absolute pants. [AmEn] His pant leg was broken.

Why is Ralph pronounced Rafe in England?

However, some Ralphs in the UK, like the actor Ralph Fiennes and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, have pronounced their name as if it were spelled “Rafe.” Words were pronounced as they were spelled in Old English, which was spoken from roughly 450 to 1100. There were no silent letters.

Why do British people say maths?

Math is an abbreviation of mathematics, which is a count noun in British English because there are different types of maths (geometry, algebra, calculus, etc.) and a mass noun that happens to end in an 's' in American English (like gymnastics in both dialects).

Is FH silent in Irish?

fh (broad) = silent.

How do you pronounce the name Siobhan?

Pronounce the "Sio" portion of the name as "Shi" with a soft "ih" sound. Pronounce the "bhan" portion of the name as "vawn." "Vawn" should be pronounced to rhyme with "lawn" or "gone." Combine both syllables of the name to pronounce "Siobhan" as "Shi-vawn."