Challenge of the Day

[AccessBlaster]

Why Don't Americans Pronounce the 'H' in Herb? | #shorts

Here's a look at why Americans don't pronounce the 'H' in the word "herb."Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqabPJa-N6ORAlO5yMBtWXg?s...

www.youtube.com

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Why Don't Americans Pronounce the 'H' in Herb? | #shorts

Here's a look at why Americans don't pronounce the 'H' in the word "herb."Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqabPJa-N6ORAlO5yMBtWXg?s...

www.youtube.com

I have seen many videos by that gentleman. He's quite interesting. But the correct answer for the "H" in "herb" is, as he suggested, Old French, where the linguistic effect known as elision causes the leading letter to sometimes be subsumed by the ending of the previous word.

So when you see - in French - aux fines herbes (meaning "a mix of aromatic herbs used in cooking") you lose the leading H because of the previously trailing S. Given that the USA had many French immigrants, not only the Cajuns (Acadians) but other French settlements as well, some pronunciations just "stuck" and we never picked up the H again. But we were too confused to recognize that there were exceptions to elision, so we just dropped the H altogether. And I must say I've never seen the need to pick it up again.

 

[CJ_London]

Plenty of dropped’h’s in the series ‘allo,’allo

allo, allo at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[jdraw]

Pronunciation of the leading 'h' on words may be French, definitely seen in French Canadians. A co-worker, who is French Canadian, always, when referring to Bobby Orr for example, would say Bobby HOrr plays Ockey. Eggs were Heggs..
(You add some and ignore some)

Also my late grandfather born in Kent England (~1890) used to refer to a 'H'axe.
As Doc said it must be a carry-over from some European pronunciation idiosyncrasy.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Also my late grandfather born in Kent England (~1890) used to refer to a 'H'axe.

If he uses it as he hacks something, the question is was he referencing the object or the haction?

 

[Cotswold]

H is propably the most dropped letter in the English language. Most accents automatically drop it and it's almost impossible not to if anyone talks quickly. Making sure every H is used generally slows the speaker down and adds clarity.

A tiny number of examples from England : 'arry, 'arold, 'ells bells, 'eavy, 'ere, 'istory, 'undred and not forgetting 'erb......the list probably covers every word in the dictionary starting with H. Ireland is different, there they have 'osses, where we have 'orses. There are some parts of the country where they never use H at all in conversation.

What happens in Scotland I've no idea but that doesn't matter as nobody can understand a word they say anyway. It's too damp and dismal to visit and all they do is complain about something. Money, indepenence, the English, more money usually in that order like a continuous tape.

p.s. any Scots out there, nothing personal. Just a general observation.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

From my younger days, I remember one thing about Scotland that I thought was worthwhile. Scotch whiskey.

Entirely too many American whiskeys remind me of some cheap stuff I once drank in a cheap bar. It wasn't called, but should have been called Old Horseblanket because of its odor. Before you ask... I worked my way through college as a musician. Cheap New Orleans bars were a way of life for a while.

 

[Pat Hartman]

How about dropped "t's"? These are also an artifact of using French words in English.

valet
bidet

 

[jdraw]

Agree Pat. And then there is cursive, punctuation and spelling that seems to have dropped off curricula at most levels.
Social devices and communications have revamped splg.

 

[ColinEssex]

Why can't Americans say the word 'aluminium' correctly?
Col

 

[AccessBlaster]

Why can't Americans say the word 'aluminium' correctly?
Col

Maybe we do?

 

[ColinEssex]

Maybe we do?

'Aloominum' is not correct.

OK, one that always puzzles us Brits is 'Kansas' is pronounced 'Kansas' yet stick an 'ar' in front of it and 'Arkansas' suddenly becomes 'Arkinsaw', why not 'Ar Kansas'? Or call 'Kansas' 'Kinsaw'? Seems weird to us.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Sorry to burst your bubble, Col, but we DO say ALUMINUM correctly. As a PhD chemist, I can tell you that Aluminum IS a correct spelling. However, it is not the only way to spell that element's name. Turns out ALUMINIUM is also an accepted spelling. Here's an explanation.

Is it Aluminum or Aluminium? A Fascinating Spelling History

Which spelling is correct, aluminum or aluminium? Both are correct, and this article explains their history to settle the aluminum vs. aluminium debate.

www.gabrian.com

Now, as to Arkansas, turns out that the French named a lot of things using French transliteration of native American names. So Arkansas is the French plural spelling of the tribe name, and in French, through the process of elision, that final "S" is silent.

General Archives - Day Translations Blog

www.daytranslations.com

So for Aluminum vs. Aluminium, blame Webster, he of dictionary fame in the USA. For Kansas vs. Arkansas, blame the French.

 

[ColinEssex]

Thanks Doc. We have dozens of other examples in the UK. It just enriches the joy of language.
Col

 

[Pat Hartman]

And then there is cursive, punctuation and spelling that seems to have dropped off curricula at most levels.

Teachers are no longer allowed to correct grammatical or pronunciation errors when students speak lest they make the little darlings feel bad. Not sure how they are expected to learn anything if you can't correct their mistakes.

 

[jdraw]

Good point, Pat. I wonder what the role/duty of the "modern teacher" is.

Schoolmarm:
A female teacher, especially one seen to be old-fashioned and extremely severe and strict.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I don't remember being hurt or embarrassed when a teacher corrected me in public. They were never mean about it and they did it to everyone so I didn't feel singled out. Today, if you disagree with someone, you are everything from aggressive to racist. You are being "violent" and endangering them if you call them out. They seem to be able to disagree with others but you can't disagree with "them".

I had a sadly funny conversation a few weeks ago with some technical folks I didn't know. They were moving my client's Access FE to a different Citrix server and I was in the meeting to supervise. It was a Saturday morning and we were three hours into what should have taken 10 minutes at the outside. And, this was their second shot at it. I had spent 2 hours on line with the four of them on the preceding Thursday with no success. There were a number of firewalls and they couldn't get the security right to get to both SQL Server and Citrix at the same time. You'd think between Thursday and Saturday they might have worked this out but they didn't so I cooled my heels and kept my mouth shut since I had nothing constructive to contribute. Once we got through the firewalls, i saw that they had modified the batch file I gave them so that it only downloaded the FE if it didn't already exist. If I let them leave it that way, NO update would have ever been installed!! I explained to them that I wanted the FE to be download each time it was opened. When I asked them to correct the batch file, they argued with me. Clearly, they didn't understand how Access worked so as politely as I could, I tried to explain why I wanted them to do it my way so it would work safely in a multi-user environment and not succumb to bloat over time especially since updates to the FE were rare. One of the "experts" piped in with "that was aggressive". So, I said "fine, I won't give you an explanation you think you don't need so that you understand the purpose of my instructions. But, you will follow my directions, exactly, or I won't certify the install." Twerps.

 

[Cotswold]

They seem to be able to disagree with others but you can't disagree with "them".

That's the woke brigade for you, offended at everything. Pull yourselves together I say to the lot of 'em.

My guess is that they hadn't a clue, lost and wallowing about. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't change the batch file hoping it would make a difference. They'd spent eight man days from Thursday, plus another dozen hours on Saturday basically punching clouds. Makes you wonder how they keep their jobs. Maybe they just rely on others to make them look good and those guys were away for a few days?

 

[Pat Hartman]

I billed them for the 5 hours of my time that they wasted. If they had been prepared and not messed with the batch file, it would have taken 10 minutes on Thursday and I wouldn't have billed them. Of course it was the client that ended up paying rather than the snowflakes.

 

[murphybridget]

Don't forget the British press and TV, any chance to slag off the yanks is headline news, especially if the wife of Prince Harry is around.

I agree, over the years I've known dozens of Americans, even worked with a few. Never had a problem and I would say 95% of them are incredibly polite and friendly.
America and American ways have always been a source of amusement to us Brits but in a nice way. For example, when I was little I couldn't understand why American cars had a Fender - why have a guitar in a car?
American words? Yes, the complex word 'tap' is much easier if pronounced 'faucet '. Why do you say 'horseback riding'? Is it because without the word 'horseback' Americans have trouble knowing where to sit. It's like 'sidewalk' remove the 'side' bit and Americans wander all over the road.
I could go on especially about your choices of Presidents, but I won't as this just a lighthearted post, no offence intended.
Suffice to say, Americans have given us many fab things over the years and some strange things. But overall, Americans and the USA are good and I have no problem with them, even if they seem weird to us.
Col

It sounds like you're finding solace and joy in the simple pleasures of life, like the beauty of spring and the resilience of nature. With so much negativity in the world, it's understandable that you'd prefer to focus on the positive and meaningful aspects of your own life, like spending time with your wife and enjoying the free bus rides. I guess I'm still young but I find the simple pleasures in life more satisfying.