I'm not sure it's that uncommon for the name of a letter to include its sound. As an ESL speaker, I can choose how to say H (as long as my wife, native UK, doesn't hear me say 'haitch' – she hates it!)Īnd why doesn't anybody ever query the strange fact that the 'correct' pronuciation of H doesn't actually contain the sound of the letter? At least 'haitch' is more logical in that respect… on a crackly phone line) to be able to make a clear initial distinction between H and 8.

June 25, 1:17 And when is a language fully learned? Isn't it better to learn to use one variety (from your parents / friends / language teachers) while learning from the start that there are varieties? Otherwise you will get this 'what I say is right and everything else is wrong' the only way to counter that is to acknowledge from the start that there are options.Īs for 'haitch', I find it quite useful (e.g. It's not exactly aimed at an audience of language learners. I'm not sure if it's the Heart they're talking about, but there's a UK radio station by that name. Once the language is fully learned, you can worry about the whole 'some people say it differently and that's ok' thing.įor what it's worth, I only hear 'haich' (or more precisely 'hech') from Indians here in the US. I'm not sure what 'heart radio' is, but I think there is value in certain types of programs such as news and children's shows to be very prescriptivist with the way they use language for the sake of those still learning it, be they children, immigrants, or foreigners. Really hope he has a speedy and full recovery.

Filed by Mark Liberman under PronunciationĪt the end of comments on that post Geoff Lindsey reports that John Wells is in hospital after suffering a minor stroke, but is talking and in good spirits.If you have a friend who is confused about the 'iptivisms - or if you yourself have some doubts about the issues involved - I recommend John Wells, ' ha ha', John Wells' Phonetic Blog.

Wells pronunciation dictionary