Has anyone looked up the letter 'aitch' in the dictionary, but still insists on pronouncing it 'haitch'? Why?

Question

I have yet to come across a single person that will believe me when I advise that the letter 'aitch' (H) is actually spelt out in the dictionary and that there is no 'H' before it.
I even showed a couple of people the word 'aitch' in a dictionary, and on both occasions they suggested the dictionary must be wrong!

If there is anyone else out there who has the same opinion (that 'aitch' is wrong, and 'haitch' is correct) despite what is spelt out in every English dictionary, could you explain why this is please. Thanks!

Answer 1

The mistake people make is in putting the aspirant before the word 'aitch'. As you say the word does not start with the letter 'h' so should not be pronounced that way. It originates from the old french word 'ache' and the earlier Latin word 'ahha'. There are, of course other anomalous names of letters of the alphabet such as ''double u' or 'double-you', nether of which has the letter 'W' in the name. For that matter neither does 'eye for 'I' or yew for 'U' or Ecks for 'X' have the alphabetic letter in their names.

Good on you for highlighting the 'h' problem.