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It's an affectation and has no grammatical legitimacy. I believe the habit started in Britain, due to the tendency for most casual Brit dialects to drop the initial "H" as in "'Ey there, 'Enry 'Iggins, 'ow badly are you 'urt?" Since their pronunciation of "historic" would be "istoric" there was a tendency to add the "an" to accommodate what was perceived as a word beginning with a vowel sound. What has always struck me as odd about this annoying habit (which is even heard being used by broadcast journalists who ought to know better) is that these same people who use it would never say "I just read AN history of ancient Egypt" or "that man has AN history of violence."
I usually keep my mouth shut about annoying grammatical misusage but this one bugs the heck out of me, I guess because of the attitude of pretentiousness about such a dumb error.
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∙ 14y ago
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Is it an holistic or a holistic?
There is a difference of opinion on this. Some use "an" in front of certain words that begin with a non-silent "h", but others think it that there is no reason these words should be treated differently from other words that begin with consonants. That is, some would say "an historic" and "an holistic", while others think it is fine to say "a historic" and "a holistic".
What letter is silent in width?
When the word is pronounced correctly there are no silent letters. Though many people say it "with", the proper pronounciation sounds like "wid-th".
What letter is silent in the word doubt?
I think it is the letter b!
Does the word ate have a silent e?
yes it does and if you say a word and you dont actualy say e then its gonna be a silent e...
Which is correct a arrow or an arrow?
Thank you, thank you. ANOTHER pet peeve of mine. An arrow is correct. You can use 'a' before a word that begins with a consonant sound. An should be used with words that begin with simple vowel sounds. It is the sound more than the spelling that should guide your ear.a word (starts with the consonant sound W)a hosean eaglean ionan ironan ouncea European (starts with the sound of the consonant Y)an Asiana yellow submarinea walleta university (starts with the sound of the consonant Y)Many people still say: an historic event. I think the sound of 'an historic' is preferable, but I cannot fault people who would say 'a historic'.
What is Google historic performance?
to help other people to answer questians id say
What is the silent letter in apparatus?
There is no silent letter in 'apparatus', unless you want to say that one of the two letter 'p's is silent. Some people might think that was funny!
Is it an holistic or a holistic?
There is a difference of opinion on this. Some use "an" in front of certain words that begin with a non-silent "h", but others think it that there is no reason these words should be treated differently from other words that begin with consonants. That is, some would say "an historic" and "an holistic", while others think it is fine to say "a historic" and "a holistic".
What does a silent k say?
The silent k says kn.
What is a historic period?
A historic period is basically a historic year say for instance 1200 bc that would be a historic period e.g : the tudors is a historic period, The victorians is another historic period.
What letter is silent in width?
When the word is pronounced correctly there are no silent letters. Though many people say it "with", the proper pronounciation sounds like "wid-th".
When is the event for keldeo?
that is unknown to everybody. lots of people say it will be this summer.
Does the word walk have a silent letter in it?
It depends on how you say it. Some people may say the l, but in the US for the most part, people say wak, with an aw sound instead of an al sound.Hope this helps!
How do you say Historic center in Yoruba language?
You say "Historic center" in Yoruba language of the Western African origin as "Ilu atijo".
What is the silent letter in the word 'duplex'?
The way I say it, 'duplex' has no silent letter.
What letter is silent in the word doubt?
I think it is the letter b!
Does the word ate have a silent e?
yes it does and if you say a word and you dont actualy say e then its gonna be a silent e...
