Herb..pronounced with or without the "H"?

Question

I notice that, even among the well spoken..some do..some do not.

Answer 1

With - at least in English. The 'h' is aspirate. Anything else is an affectation or not English.
Similarly, the 'h' is sounded in History and Hotel which is why I cringe at talk of 'an hotel' or 'an historic occasion'.

Answer 2

This is one of a set of words that English borrowed from French in which the H was SILENT. Some of them still are (e.g., "honor"), but others went on to start pronouncing the H.

Now this later trend was much stronger and thoroughgoing in eighteenth century England, which of course, came AFTER the American colonizations (mostly 17th century). There are, however, certain British dialects that did NOT follow this lead.

In other words, this is one of those cases where the standard AMERICAN use is historically older. That does not mean that either one is "better". Living languages change, that's all.

(This undercuts the silly notion that American colonists once spoke something like MODERN "Received Pronunciation" but changed after the Revolution. No -- some things in American English reflect the dialects their forebears spoke IN England before they migrated. Differences may reflect differences that already existed between English dialects BEFORE colonization OR changes that took place on EITHER side of the Atlantic. .. or both.)

Answer 3

Im from Jersey and we were taught to say herb but over the years Ive learned erbs
Here are a couple others
Radiator is said rad e ator
kitty corner is said katty corner
Different regions in the USA and around the world use different phonetics

Answer 4

I have a friend from nigeria who always adds an H where it's not supposed to be, and drops it where it is supposed to be.
'I ham an istorian'.
But to answer your question Herbs and Hull ave an aitch!
(odd that because 'aitch' is the correct pronunciation of the word!)

Answer 5

in england u pronounce the H some weird people in the usa dnt tho

Answer 6

Americans tend to say [erb] and British tend to say [herb]. But that's a huge generalisation.

Answer 7

In England definitely with. In the U.S. without.

Answer 8

If you're like me and from Hull, then no :P
i always go 'ull for Hull and ello for Hello lol

Answer 9

British - with the H
Americans - without (for some reason)

Answer 10

With. It sounds like a burp otherwise.