aitch or Haitch?

[Green Aura]

Not under Scrabble rules

[mrsflibble]

I was always told it was aitch.

[MKG]

Both will, eventually, be right. Common usage is one of the definers of the English language. However, common usage does NOT mean that the use of the initial H is linguistically correct. As one of the founder members of the Absolutist League of English (that's ALE for short) I take complete exception to the pathetic attempts of various members of this forum to justify their errors (Hear Hear, I hear from fellow members). Haitch is just not English - more than that, it's not acceptable amongst the cognoscenti ... no, cognoce ... never mind - them that's in the know. Cor Blimey, if us lot who's intelligent can't talk the Queen's English, who can. I mean, what's t'world coming to, eh? If language were left ter daft lads, we'd never o' gotten anywhere.

So there.

Mike

[Green Aura]

Tha'll gerrus shot lad

[mrsflibble]

yoo need 2 spk proper like wot I does.

[spitfire]

ok, if this post offends anyone, my apologies, but just stating the facts as i know them.
growing up a catholic in northern ireland, (belfast to be exact) in the late 50's/60's. the catholics went to catholic schools, the protestants went to public schools. the catholics were taught to say Haitch, and the protestants were taught to say aitch. (some of my best friends were protestants), so during the "troubles" as they were called, (stupid bloody name) for a stupid bloody situation. that is how we used to tell what religion people were by how they pronounced the letter H. sad but true.

[Martina]

Seems it's a regional thing perhaps -

Is the letter H represented by the word aitch, or is it haitch ?

The Oxford English Dictionary specifies only aitch as the correct spelling, and omits haitch entirely. So if you thought aitch should have been haitch, you are a complete plonker, as thick as s--t.

But that doesn't take account of the fact that an awful lot of people in the UK, and other English speaking parts of the world, do say haitch, and have even been taught that it is the correct way to pronounce the letter H.

The origins of haitch appear to be Irish, and has mainly survived through teachings in Roman Catholic schools. It's also in quite common usage amongst Londoners, who while prone to dropping the H from the front of most words, are want to add it in haitch.

Admittedly it does seem to be rather regional, but if the OED is happy enough to take on colloquial words, and many which most of us have never even heard of, be they from before the Ark or newly invented, then why doesn't haitch have its place also ?

Having rejected haitch as an acceptable spelling, it condemns all those who use it to the dustbin of the illiterate and uneducated. Those who hear people using the, alleged, incorrect form, can get on their high-horses, point to the OED and show the 'less well educated' just how wrong they are. Of course, what they're really wanting to show is just how much better they are.

The fact that haitch kept its roots primarily in Roman Catholic education and has now been entirely rejected by the OED, and anyone half respectable, couldn't have anything to do with Protestants thinking themselves to be better than the Pope worshipping mingers in the past could it ?

Taken from: http://www.hippy.freeserve.co.uk/testiq.htm

So maybe BOTH are right?

This explains why I am firmly in the Haitch group. RC upbringing and education and formative speech years in the ROI.

Martina

[Mullein]

ok, if this post offends anyone, my apologies, but just stating the facts as i know them.
growing up a catholic in northern ireland, (belfast to be exact) in the late 50's/60's. the catholics went to catholic schools, the protestants went to public schools. the catholics were taught to say Haitch, and the protestants were taught to say aitch. (some of my best friends were protestants), so during the "troubles" as they were called, (stupid bloody name) for a stupid bloody situation. that is how we used to tell what religion people were by how they pronounced the letter H. sad but true.

Being a Glaswegian of Belfast extraction I was really glad to see you post this. I recognise the "if you say Haitch you're Catholic - aitch you're Protestant"

Funnily enough, I said to my other half just now: "is it H or h"?

Now, he's a Catholic Essex boy, brought up in Oz, by Jesuits...

And he said "Haitch is Irish! but aitch is the correct way to say it"

Funny old world...

Chill with still people...

Does it really matter? Do we understand each other?

Yes we do!

Peace

out...

[Millymollymandy]

It's quite interesting to hear that it's Irish/catholics/Londoners who mostly say Haitch.

It seems that people who don't pronounce H normally are perfectly capable of it when saying the alphabet i.e. many Londoners/estuaries who drop their aitches! I'm not sure whether the Irish pronounce H on its own but I know some don't or can't pronounce TH rather like the French and the Dutch. I don't know if this is a regional Irish thing or whether one is Gaelic mother tongue which would make more sense - learning a language later in life means a virtual impossibility to learn strange pronounciations which don't exist in one's own language.

H isn't prounced in France except after C, but for some reason if your surname starts with a vowel many people will decide that it should have an H put in front of it (this is even after you have spelled out your name for them over the phone)!!! They also, when speaking English, have a tendency to do a sort of aspirated H in front of words which don't have an H sound, yet can't say it where it should be! Funny old world.

[prison break fan]

Really glad I asked this! Learned a lot! Thanks very much everyone! pbf.

[Thomzo]

There's that line from My Fair Lady where the cockney says:

"In 'ereford, 'artford and 'ampshire 'urricanes 'ardly Hever 'appen."

Aitch for me and I'm a Londoner (but not a cockney).

Zoe