Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

You're spot on about how we say "an herb" in the US. Interestingly, it seems "hotel" is the exact opposite... I've never heard someone in the US drop the "h" . We say "a hotel".

EDIT: Wow, five overlapping replies in two minutes, all correcting the "hotel" thing... Just goes to prove the aphorism that the best way to get help on the internet is to post an incorrect answer (perhaps Cloudflare should have tried that...)




In the UK we say "a herb" and pronounce the H.


Don't you also pronounce the "h" in hotel? I always say (and write) "a hotel" instead of "an otel".


Depends what part of the UK you're in, where I grew up the H would be dropped. But yes, the proper English pronunciation would be "a hotel".


Thanks. English is not my first language and I never heard it with the H dropped before, so I was afraid I was just chronically exposed to an error and copied it.


Right, and occurring to the GP, you _don't_ pronounce the H in Hotel. The exact opposite is true in the US.


The neat thing is (to me), his rule still makes sense. If I were listening to someone who spoke a dialect of English different than mine, it would still sound natural if they chose their "a" vs "an" in the "right" way:

# yes a hotel an 'otel

# no an hotel a 'otel




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: