On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 15:31:55 -0600, graham > wrote:

> 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".

Americans don't say "an" hotel.

--

sf