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Pronounciation of the letter H

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  • Depends on the word I guess but the English language is changing rapidly.
    As for Scone - Scon is the "posh" pronunciation whilst we plebs pronounce it with the long "o".
    Not surprising when "levelling Up" is bandied about by all and sundry.  I just heard the other day that the Labour Party even have a Shadow Levelling Up Secretary.
    Take a leaf out of @Pete.8's book and it becomes Sad(owld) ?  Sounds about right  :D
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fairygirl said:
    No Scot would say scone as in loan
    Interesting comparison word when stone is so close in spelling  ;) One of Terry Pratchett's books has a 'Scone of stone' which always sounded wrong to me as I was brought up to say scon, as in the joke 'What's the fastest cake in the world? Scone.'
    Also it's definitely aitch in this 'ouse.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    That is such an interesting article @pansyface - who knew about housewifery? I would have pronounced that house-wiffry.  Scone is of course skon (with the jam on first).  Aitch is aitch but not pronounced unless speaking properly.  Jane Austen referred to one of her characters who was at pains to talk what we call posh as 'talking on stilts'.  I like that!
    A local lady I know well (what lives in the big 'ouse) has such an RP accent it is difficult to understand her sometimes.  She was talking about putting flows on the chairs at an event.  Did she mean flowers?  No - she meant fliers.  And she pronounces words with double oo (like room) as 'uh' (like rhum).  But she is a dear.  And I realise I pronounce days of the week as eg Saturday, rather than Saturdee.  But Bungay, where I live, is Bungee.

    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    When will hoi polloi complete its 180° turn? I still use it in the original meaning of Greek for the many but the sense of plebs is increasingly being substituted with the nobs, the posh (and Port Out Starboard Home is complete tosh). Perhaps hoi polloi is melding with hob nob.
    Rutland, England
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    Fairygirl said:
    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  :)
    Yes to all of those Fairygirl but the Scots have got it wrong.  :* Ok I'll get me coat.

    I'll agree to Skoon for Scone Palace, well it's their house so they can call it what the want, even though it's wrong.

    This debate is regularly debated which proves I'm too old or auld for this world. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I remember this debate a while ago, too, @Fairygirl.
    I say aitch and scon. Harassment always bugs me nowadays, before "Some Mothers do 'Ave 'Em" the emphasis was on the first syllable, now it's on the 2nd. It was supposed to be funny in that programme when it was on the 2nd, now it seems to be normal.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I must be posh then @philippasmith2  ;)

    Of course - a Glaswegian talking about a scone would say scoan, because of the accent, but that's a totally different conversation.  :D  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Fairygirl said:
    I must be posh then @philippasmith2  ;)

    Of course - a Glaswegian talking about a scone would say scoan, because of the accent, but that's a totally different conversation.  :D  
    I'll let you off on this occasion being Scots and all  :D
    Must admit OH's Cheese scones are too delicious to waste time worrying about their correct pronunciation.  
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Was it in here or somewhere else that I found out that in northern Ireland , you could tell their religion by how they pronounced H? Sickening.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    Yes, @B3. See my post at the end of p.1. And, yes, as I get old I repeat myself repeat myself.
    Rutland, England
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