Is There A Correct Way To Pronounce The Letter H?
It's an argument that begins when we first learn our ABCs -- as to whether you pronounce the letter H it as 'AITCH' or 'HAITCH'.
If you're a bit of a pedant -- not to say a trifle snobbish -- most people assume that the way you pronounce the 'umble H can reveal a little about 'ow you was brought up.
Or can it? Well, wonder no more, because 10 daily has picked the minds of two wordsmiths in an attempt to settle this battle once and for all.
The French Connection
The origin of the letter can be traced back to France and was spelt HACHE -- which was pronounced as ASH.
According to Professor of Linguistics and Endangered Languages at The University of Adelaide, Ghil'ad Zuckermann, the word made its way to England from the Norman tribes some 1,000 years ago.
"In France, they don’t pronounce the H at the beginning of the word," he explained.
"There are still some words in English which have maintained that style, such as honest, honour, hour and heir."
Zuckermann said that it was only when the English began writing words beginning with the letter H that the pronunciation of the letter came into play.
Suddenly, because you don't know French and you don't follow those rules, you start pronouncing ASH with the H before the word -- like we now do with words such as homage.
The Aristocrats
Now that the English have established this quasi-pronunciation of the letter this, according to Zuckerman, is when the upper vs lower class pronunciations started to come into play.
"There was a period in England when only the aristocrats knew French, so only they would understand the correct pronunciation of a word beginning with the letter H," he said.
However, it was during their interaction with members of the lower class "such as waiters and chefs in restaurants" that the pronunciation of the letter began to change.
Catholic vs Protestant
One of the most prevalent theories surrounding the discrepancy of the pronunciation has somewhat of a religious origin.
According to Zuckerman, Irish Catholics would pronounce the letter as HAITCH, while Irish Protestants would pronounce it as AITCH.
"When I arrived in Australia I realised many people were language hygienists," he said.
"These are people who are very particular about the pronunciation of things. I was surprised at what a big issue it was."
For Tiger Webb, who is the language research specialist at the ABC, the Catholic vs Protestant tale is purely "anecdotal".
"The thing people often say is Irish Catholics in Australia who were educated in a Catholic school say HAITCH," he explained.
"And so accordingly, there was kind of an impulse not to say HAITCH because they said it. But that's purely anecdotal."
So, Is There Actually A Right Way?
No, according to both experts (who have now decided to agree!)
Webb said he believes the tussle comes down to a "deeply felt instinct in the English language that the names and letters in the alphabet should contain the sound they are conveying".
It's funny in that respect because Australians love to think of themselves as larrikins -- but when it comes to these arbitrary rules about how to pronounce something we get quite protective.
Zuckermann agrees, saying that there is no "right or wrong way to pronounce something".
"I would never look down on somebody who pronounced something differently," he said.
"Language does not sit still -- language shifts all the time, that's what I tell my students, so there will always be different pronunciations emerging".