atw: Re: "An H" Verses "A H"
- From: ed_bushby@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 16:32:37 +1100
I know of a different convention, that does not take the aitch/haitch
argument into account.
When I studied history at uni, one of my lecturers told me that "an
historical document" was correct, rather than "a historical document".
The determining factor, according to him, is the emphasis of the syllable
following the 'h'. If the syllable is unemphasised (as in "hisTORical"),
then "an" is required. If the syllable is emphasised (as in "HOSpital"),
then "a" is required.
Try reversing them, and it becomes difficult to pronounce.
Nigel Dawes <NigelD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
17/06/2004 02:45 PM
Please respond to austechwriter
To: "Austechwriter (austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)"
<austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
cc:
Fax to:
Subject: atw: "An H" Verses "A H"
Dear AuzTechies
Can you please explain to me why I so often see "an" precede a word
beginning with H?
When I went to school, only words commencing with a vowel were preceded by
"an".
Has anyone else experienced this annoyance?
Please enlighten me!
Thanks and Regards
Nigel
--
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content
filtering.
http://www.mailguard.com.au/mg
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.
To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.
To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
Other related posts:
