tuaz wrote:You drop your aitches in "humble" ???!!!!
Yes.
I had never realised it, but I think I may also drop the "h" in "humble" I also usually drop it on "him" but not on "her".
In the news, you will hear people say "an historic event", and when they say it like that they're supposed to drop the "h", but they don't, and it just sounds stupid.
tuaz wrote:You drop your aitches in "humble" ???!!!!
I don't, but my father worked for the Humble Oil and Refining Company (Esso/Enco/Exxon), and we dropped the "h" in the company name.
It drives me crazy when people drop the "h" in "history" and related words. I cringe when I hear something like, "This was an historic moment."
If a person is to use "an" as an article, then they should drop the "h" sound from the word. If they use it as an article an still don't drop the sound, that's what bothers me. It just doesn't make sense that way.
I suppose that I'm just surprised by the selective dropping of aitches, that's all.
My original question regarding "herb" was why it was pronounced "erb": did the English use to do it long ago when they were first colonising America? French or other influence? Some other historical reason?
tuaz wrote:I suppose that I'm just surprised by the selective dropping of aitches, that's all.
My original question regarding "herb" was why it was pronounced "erb": did the English use to do it long ago when they were first colonising America? French or other influence? Some other historical reason?
In less than formal dialects, the English seem to drop quite a bit of "H"-es.
Another International question, and quite off topic, anybody know how come the product called Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the United States is called Kraft Dinner in Canada?
I might theorize that it doesn't meet government guidelines as cheese, except that, on the Kraft Canadian web site it refers to it as a brand of macaroni and cheese.
Cranberry wrote:I am apparently 81% Dixie. I could have told you that, though.
I get an 84, but it's an awfully brief test.
Yes, I'm 65% Dixie, apparently....
I had to ignore a few questions where none of the answers applied to me. Why would anyone throw toilet paper over a house, and do they mean all over the inside, or over the roof?
TPing. Refers to a delightful prank, usually perpetrated by fun-loving teens who have eaten all the pizza and are tired of playing DDR. Numerous rolls of toilet paper are tossed about in a "friend's" yard. With any skill at all, you can get them to unfurl in the higher branches of trees so that it will take several strong rains to completely dissolve all the stringy little bits which are too high to reach. This is an "after-dark" activity.
emmline wrote:TPing. Refers to a delightful prank, usually perpetrated by fun-loving teens who have eaten all the pizza and are tired of playing DDR. Numerous rolls of toilet paper are tossed about in a "friend's" yard. With any skill at all, you can get them to unfurl in the higher branches of trees so that it will take several strong rains to completely dissolve all the stringy little bits which are too high to reach. This is an "after-dark" activity.
Aha, someone else's house! That makes a bit more sense, I guess.
tuaz wrote:You drop your aitches in "humble" ???!!!!
I don't, but my father worked for the Humble Oil and Refining Company (Esso/Enco/Exxon), and we dropped the "h" in the company name.
It drives me crazy when people drop the "h" in "history" and related words. I cringe when I hear something like, "This was an historic moment."
If a person is to use "an" as an article, then they should drop the "h" sound from the word. If they use it as an article an still don't drop the sound, that's what bothers me. It just doesn't make sense that way.
Ditto to Cranberry.
On the topic point, here in Australia and Queen's English speaking Oceania in general we do not pronounce the the h in "wh" words but we pronounce it in history, herbal, humble etc
I think the h dropping (in words such as herbal etc) in North America is due to the French influence in the South and in Canada. Such influences can be contagious.
Caru wrote:On a related note, you might want to try this quiz. It's mostly looking at north/south distinctions, but uses a lot of the words that have been mentioned.
Martin Milner wrote:
So, DDR is? Poor confused Englishman here.
Poor confused Englishman! DDR=dance,dance, revolution, a video game which is played with floor mats taking the place of the usual hand held controller. Following music, and cues on the screen, you score by stepping on the correct part of the mat at the right time.
It's a good way to measure the relative mind/body nimbleness of various family members, eg the teenage girls blow everyone away, the 12 year old boy works hard to keep up, and mom can only beat dad. The dog "helps" by stepping on the mat at inopportune moments.
I'm apparently 68% Dixie, but that's because I ignored 4 questions where I either had no clue what the answer was, or disagreed with all the answers.
No.11 - I don't call shoes gym shoes just because they're used in a gym. They could be cross-trainers, tennis shoes or track (running) shoes. If forced to give an answer, I would say trainers.
No. 13 - had no idea actually.
No. 17 - had seen it once in a tv show, didn't know what it was called.
Caru wrote:On a related note, you might want to try this quiz. It's mostly looking at north/south distinctions, but uses a lot of the words that have been mentioned.
Poor confused Englishman here.
