On 02/08/2015 3:25 PM, sf wrote:
> On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 11:35:18 -0500, barbie gee >
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, 1 Aug 2015, sf wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, 01 Aug 2015 09:23:47 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Janet wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Only the USA speaks of an erb.
>>>>>
>>>>> Outside of the USA, English speakers aspirate the H in herb,
>>>>> so they say a herb, just like a horse, a hospital etc.
>>>>
>>>> Really? Interesting. I always though worldwide was:
>>>>
>>>> - herb the spice was pronounced erb
>>>> - herb the name was pronounced herb.
>>>
>>> The Brits don't prescribe to that.
>>
>> Where I'm from, it's "an herb", "an hour", anytime the" H" isn't sounded
>> "hard" like in "horse", or ha ha. otherwise it's A home, a hospital, a
>> humidor. or maybe it's always "an" when written before an "h" word? O h
>> hell, someone help me out here....
>
> The point that was lost in the subsequent noise is they pronounce the
> h in herb and we don't, so it's a herb for them and an herb for us.
> The use of a or an depend on the first *sound* of the word, not the
> first letter.
>
Except for the inconsistencies such as "an hotel" not "an 'otel".

--
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy wine,
which is kind of the same thing".