Why is "an" used in front of words that start with H?

Question

In a book I was reading today I read "an history lesson". I've seen this many times. I'm usually very good at English, but I can't remember this.

I know it is used if the H is silent, but I've seen "an" used before history.

Answer 1

In the case of "historic" the "an" is not necessary, but it's not improper either. There are good historical and phonological reasons for it.

BASIC explanation why "an" may appear before a word beginning with /h/:

1) the initial /h/ IS not pronounced
*generally in "hours" hono(u)r"
*American English - "herb"
*some dialects "humble", "hotel"

2) history - that is, the /h/ USED to be silent:
there are a number of words whose initial /h/ was originally not pronounced, esp. those derived from (Old) French, which did not pronounce it (sometimes did not even spell it)
Some of these (examples listed in #1) STILL do not pronounce the /h/ in many or all English dialects. Others that have added a pronounced /h/ may still be treated as if they did not have it -- 'historic(al)' is perhaps the best example of this

BUT this is not enough -- those who say "an historic(al) event" (pronouncing the /h/) ALSO usually say "a history"!
So, there's one other very important factor, which is:

3) The syllable starting with /h/ LACKS an ACCENT (yesk, contrary to Taivo, this CAN have an effect)
--Specifically, if the SECOND syllable is accented, the initial /h/ is WEAKER, perhaps only very slightly pronounced (It seems especially weak if the following vowel is formed in the front of the mouth -- a, i, e (as opposed to vowels made further back -- o, u)

So, if the first syllable HAS an accent (especially the MAIN accent of the word) it is preceded by "a" --thus we say "A HISTORY" (unless, of course, you're Cockney)

To get the sense of how this works, just try saying the word "historic" all by itself. You may notice that you scarcely pronounce the /h/. Even if you do, it may feel like it takes extra energy do so (whereas when you say "history" the 'energy' is already supplied by accenting the syllable)

Some have said 'accented' or 'unaccented', but this is not quite correct. When the SECOND syllable is accented, the first syllable has the LEAST accent; if a LATER syllable has the primary accent the first syllable may still have a SECONDARY accent, and the 'rule' just described does not apply. Examples: 'hospitality' 'hippopotamus'

In fact, in expressions like "an historic..." many find that the inclusion of the /n/ can actually make the words easier to pronounce (though in that case the /h/ is usually only VERY slightly pronounced).

Other examples where "an" may be found (all of which have an accent on the second syllable): "an hereditary title" [vs. "a HERitage], "an habitual liar" [vs. "a HA-bit"], cf. "an hysterical child"

Now if you were to try some of these expressions in a search engine you would likely find that "an historic" and "an historical" are much more common (in proportion to "a historic" "a historical") than these other examples. That leads to the FINAL(?) factor that affects pronunciation.

4) HABIT! That is, we're USED to hearing it that way, and so it just seems right, even if it does not follow the "rules" we may generally us for such cases.

Thus, the reason 'historic' and 'historical' are far more likely to be preceded by "an" than other words that might "qualify" is that they are more COMMON words or expressions. People are used to hearing them this way. This is hardly unusual. In any language the LESS common a word is in everyday speech the MORE likely it is speakers apply the "general rules" to that word. Thus, irregular verbs in a language [forms of to be, come, go, sit, etc.] are COMMON words.

Answer 2

There are those that pronounce "history" with a silent "h", though I think that is just a quirk in some odd dialects. I think it's more common with "historical".
"An" is used as a replacement for "a" when occurring before a word beginning with a vowel, or in this case, a vowel sound. When "an" comes before "h", the "h" is silent, i.e. "honest".
I think this came from the fact that to say another vowel sound after "a" requires a glottal stop, and sounded "bad". Try saying "a apple" and feel the click in your throat. That is a glottal stop.
Finally, it could just be a typo. If you were to type "an history lesson" in Word or somesuch, it would likely say so.

Answer 3

There are multiple accepted ways of using English. For example grey and gray are both accepted spellings of the same word. This is largely because there is no ultimate authority that decides on what is correct in the English language globally. Therefore, different people use different guidelines. I suspect that the book you are reading was published in the United Kingdom where people tend to be more likely to use an before a word starting with a sounded "h" than say the United States. If you listen to the BBC for example, you will hear them interviewing a correspondent for "an historical perspective." They are not wrong, and neither are you. Just like words like program or programme it is not a question of right or wrong, just of a different style of writing and speaking.

Answer 4

I've only seen/heard it with history or historical and "h", like, an "h". Possibly, it has to do with the fact that Greek has no "h" as a letter--it had a little diacritical mark like a backwards comma up until, oh, about the 1980s, but "history" would be spelled istorias or istorikos or whatever. (The letter "H" in the Greek alphabet is "eta", pronounced "ee-ta" in modern Greek.) The backwards comma diacritical mark would put a "hhhh" sound in front of vowels as a pronunciation guide. But in modern Greek, that sound is gone, leaving only chi, which is a palatal fricative and an entirely different sound.

I was watching the miniseries Oliver Twist on PBS, and I didn't realize what I was watching until they named the baby. One person at the workhouse said they were up to "O" names.

The other one said, what about 'Omer?

The other one said, that's got a haitch [the letter "h"] in it.

The first one said, all right, Oliver. Oliver Twist.

So the "haitch" sound sometimes gets dropped, sometimes not. That's a dialect thing in British areas.

But the usual answer for these things is...somebody thought it would be a good idea to put "an" in front of "historical." Istorical. Whatever. English has a number of completely stupid spelling rules that were thought up mainly in the 1800s by "learned scholars" who were trying to sell spelling primers and dictionaries. People that knew a little Greek or Latin would try to apply the rules of those languages to English, with idiotic results.

Like the whole "don't split an infinitive rule." Well, it's two words...so why not? Only because infinitives are one word in Latin...so they're never split. Stupid!

Or what about color/colour? Samuel Webster, an influential US guy (with the dictionary and all) decided to respell a number of good sturdy British words. Who knows why.

This is really more of a linguistics issue. But I'm good at those.

Answer 5

In general, if the accent of a word is not on the first syllable "an" is correct. If the accent is on the first syllable, or it's a one-syllable word, "a" is correct. You can use "a" or "an" but if you are writing a paper or speaking publicly in a formal setting it's good form to use "an" when it's appropriate. Here's a couple of examples of correct usage:
his-TOR-ic - an historic event
HAP-pen-stance - a happenstance of huge proportion

Answer 6

I have never seen an used with history or other words where the h is heard. However, I do believe it is grammatically correct to use an with words like hour and honest where the h is silent.

Answer 7

If the 'h' is pronounced, you use 'a', if the 'h' is not pronounced you use 'an'. It's got nothing to do with stress placement. However, in British English many initial 'h's are no longer pronounced so the 'an' is more common in British English. What you are noticing is a British English usage, not an American English usage. The American rules are much easier to learn and use and British speakers won't quibble about them. (Well, a few British snobs will quibble about them, but there are more speakers of American English in the world.)

Answer 8

not all the time, hon. It all depends.

You say: a house NOT an house
a hardware store Not an Hardwarestore
a horse, Not an Horse

When the H in the word sounds just like the alphabet H does (kinda like you almost have an 'ea' before the 'ch') then you say an. Because of the 'ea' makes it sound like a worh that begins with a vowel!

I hope that answers your question

Answer 9

That book of your is incorrect." An" is only used in front of the letter H if the H makes a vowel sound. Like an hour, the H makes an "ow" sound, so you use an. History, however has a hhhuh sound, so "A" should have been in front of it

Answer 10

"An" is used in front of any nouns that start with a vowel "sound".

An hour
A house

In Great Britain they may pronounce house ouse. Then it would be An house.

I sure some Brits will correct me.