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Pronounciation of the letter H

tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
in The potting shed
Watching Lingo these days to practise my daily Wordle Puzzle.

I notice that the compere and the most of the contestants pronounce the letter H  as  Haitch.

I was always taught that it was pronounced "aitch".  

Is there a right or wrong way or is it like scone and scone!
A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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Posts

  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    I was taught that too tui but these days it doesn't seem to be adhered to. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Thank you @Uff   It does grate a bit on the old ear, doesn't it?  
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    tui34 said:
    Thank you @Uff   It does grate a bit on the old ear, doesn't it?  
    It does on mine but I'm beginning to think that I'm too old for this world. I call it letting standards slip but others would say I'm old fashioned. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Pete.8 said:
    In Essex we don't pronounce it at all 😁
     :D 

    I say aitch and really dislike the trend for haitch too. The wumman that's doing Countdown just now [ in place of Rachel ] says it.  :|

    Scone is 'scon'. That's it  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    @Uff  I had actually typed exactly that, as we were taught at 'mother's knee', and then I deleted it because I thought maybe that sounded a bit hoi polloi  (la-de-da) !!  Getting old?  I remember my mother reading out all the grammar and spelling errors from the newspaper!  Now, I am doing it - especially on FB and as I also speak French - the spelling and grammatical errors the French make, are hair curling!!  I am not perfect  but just pick up the difference between:  ces, ses, sait, c'est .... - all totally different meanings.  

    I say scone too @Fairygirl (as in gone).  

    Sigh!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • mandyroberts99mandyroberts99 Posts: 235
    Haitch drives me insane, I cringe everytime I hear it
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    edited January 2022
    Well, I'm not la di dah tui, I still have my Derbyshire accent with a bit of Scots chucked in thank goodness.

    I'm pleased to hear that mandyroberts and glad it isn't just me. 

    Oops edited to say it scone Fairygirl not scon  :*
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    There’s a politically sensitive question

    https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/haitch-crime-frank-mcnally-on-ireland-s-most-divisive-letter-1.4368700

    And it’s aitch as far as I am concerned, despite being taught in a catholic grammar school.


    As for scone/scon, I heard an interesting commentary a while back. Essentially, the middle class say scone and the working class say scon. The upper class, hearing what ‘cook’ says, started saying scon as well and so the middle classes, wishing to ape their social superiors, picked up the scon pronunciation too. And there is probably not a jot of truth in that. I say scone, but my wife refuses to bake them unless I call them scon. Sometimes I resort to making them myself!

    What is puzzling me at the moment is how to say omicron. My understanding was that in the UK the regular pronunciation was oh-mee-cron whereas in USA they say om-ee-cron. But then, talking to a classicist earlier this week, he insisted that micro in the middle is indeed pronounced micro (who says mee-cro-scope?) so it should be oh-my-cron.
    Rutland, England
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    No Scot would say scone as in loan @Uff. You'll get sent back to Derbyshire if you're not careful !  :D

    Scone, as in the palace, is completely different of course. It's Skoon   :)

    I think we had this debate a few years ago, if I remember correctly  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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