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What is the correct sound of the letter H when reading the alphabet - is it 'aych' or 'Haych' ?

tchrist
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nicholas ainsworth
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5 Answers5

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The Cambridge Online Survey of World Englishes has the question, "How do you pronounce the letter 'H'?"

Their current results:

aitch (85%)
haitch (12%)
I use something else (2%)

You can see a clearer (and navigable) image of this response map at the link above by registering and taking the survey:

COSWE results

CJ Dennis
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Callithumpian
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    I am curious to know what that 2% says :D ahah – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 13:12
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    @Alenanno Maybe "huh", as in when kids learn the sounds the letters (are supposed to) make: ah, buh, cuh, duh, eh, ff, guh, huh. – MSpeed May 04 '11 at 14:21
  • If it is indeed a hypercorrection that Francophones are susceptible to, I would have expected to see more "haitch"s closer to the south-eastern coast of England, not up near Ireland... – Uticensis May 04 '11 at 14:58
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    super +1 for the link, another super double +1 for the data. – Mitch May 04 '11 at 14:59
  • @Mitch, you upvoted twice? :D @Callithumpian: Was the survey already available or you asked that question? Very useful tool! @billynomates: I didn't think of that, but you might be right... I was wondering if they had some "impronunciable pronunciation" lol – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 15:31
  • @Alenanno: Already available, and apparently ongoing. – Callithumpian May 04 '11 at 15:42
  • @Alenanno: if only. A possible SO new feature: allowing you to spend your allotment of 30 votes per day in any fashion you see fit (that is, possibly all 30 in one place). – Mitch May 04 '11 at 19:04
  • @Mitch: lol what if you realise you were mistaken? You gave that guy 30 upvotes, which means 300 reputation all at once, by mistake. lol – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 19:59
  • I'm Irish, with a hybrid Irish/British accent, and would say haitch. – TRiG Jul 06 '11 at 13:48
  • I moved to Australia. My surname has an H in it. When I asked to spell it and say "aetch" everyone always thinks I'm saying A. I have to force myself to say "heytch". It feels so foreign to me to speak that way. The same happened with those Irish or Indian call centers to active Microsoft keys. If they key has an H in it and I say "aetch" they take it as an A. – dfmetro Oct 19 '16 at 06:41
  • My (Scottish) grandmother used to say itch. Have never heard anyone pronounce it like that before or since, though, even other Scottish people of the same generation. – calum_b Sep 08 '17 at 16:19
  • There are many English-speakers in India; they don't seem to be represented. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 24 '20 at 15:10
  • @calum_b The Scottish pronunciation does sound like itch. – WS2 Feb 24 '20 at 15:14
  • If one takes the test and navigates the map, it is clear that "haitch" is widely prevalent in the north of England and Ireland. – WS2 Feb 24 '20 at 17:16
  • Among the 2% are the Russian speakers who say "kheych" – nomæd Jan 12 '22 at 10:29
8

According to the OALD, the standard way to pronounce the H is this one, which is without the "H" sound in its pronunciation.

Although on Wikipedia, it says there is also the other pronunciation (with the "H" sound at the beginning) which, anyway, is considered to be nonstandard.

Alenanno
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    FWIW, here in the U.S. I have never heard any other pronunciation but "aitch". – Robusto May 04 '11 at 10:53
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    @teylyn: yes it does matter. If it didn't matter a site like this about English, or any grammar/site/whatever about languages wouldn't exist. :) – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 10:58
  • @Robusto: I guess that also works for UK, as you can see... I've always pronounced it without the "h" sound, as far as I can remember. – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 11:06
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    I don't understand all the fuss. It's clearly a regional thing whether or not the h is aspirated or not. In some countries/dialects, people say "haitch", in others they say "aitch". English has different pronunciations in different countries/regions. Unlike a prescriptive pronunciation, like German and the Duden and all, English has always upheld regional differences. So why make a fuss about it? "hat" is pronounced totally different in UK and US and NZ. No prescription. Every regional pronunciation is correct. So why prescribe how to pronounce the letter H? [flamebait removed] – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:10
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    @teylyn: No, it's not regional. The standard pronunciation is aitch, whether you want it or not. – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 11:15
  • Sorry, I don't mean to be insulting. I just happen to live in a corner of the world where many standard UK/US pronunciation rules don't seem to apply, and it's still rated as perfectly correct English. I'm not speaking from an academic perspective, but rather from empirical evidence in New Zealand. I realise that the population pool here is rather small, but nevertheless large enough to warrant its own spelling dictionary in software like MS Office. Thus, I think that NZ English and its variants in spelling as well as in pronunciation may well be heard in discussions like this. – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:25
  • continuing comment above... I've often heard people say "haitch". I've also heard people say "aitch". Both are perfectly acceptable in my country, but my country is a bit mixed up between UK and US conventions. I repeat: What's the fuss? As long as everybody understands that it's the letter "h" we're discussing, does it really matter how it is voiced? – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:25
  • @aleanno: >> No, it's not regional. The standard pronunciation is aitch -- I'm amazed at your comment. Have you lived in all the English speaking communities around the world long enough to be able to state in such a definitive way how something is pronounced correctly in every individual English speaking community? If so, I bow to your experience. If not, I think you may be jumping the gun. – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:31
  • @teylyn: I didn't, I simply rely on an official source, which is the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (the NOAD and the OED confirm this as well), and also on my 13 year-old experience with English. – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 11:39
  • I don't believe in books when what I hear all around me all day is different. In German, there is a prescriptive authority for spelling and pronunciation, the Duden Institute. English has always been a descriptive approach instead, taking into account what's actually happening in the living language. There may be a time delay until the facts make it into print, but that does not mean that the language used is incorrect, just because it has not yet been set in print. Language is a living thing. Printed documentation is bound to lag behind the real thing. Sorry. – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:45
  • Yeah Language is a living thing. But at the moment, the "haitch" pronunciation is far less used than "aitch". And this is a living thing, because up to now, only you are supporting this. An American contributed saying he only heard "aitch", and the Oxford's Dictionaries confirm that. If you want I can ask to some people from UK about their pronunciation, if I'm not reliable enough for you. – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 11:48

  • But at the moment, the "haitch" pronunciation is far less used than "aitch". -- Can you substantiate that with any empirical data? Even IF only a small community on a South Pacific group of islands prefer "haitch" over "aitch", who/what is the body to govern if this is "correct" or "not correct" pronunciation. [Flamebait removed]

     – teylyn May 04 '11 at 11:49
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    @teylyn: You make a reasonable point when you say that both pronunciations of "h" can be argued to be acceptable, but there is no reason whatsoever to embed insults and flamebait into your comments. Please stop. – Kosmonaut May 04 '11 at 13:17
  • I'm still standing by to see any empirical substatiation of your claim that "haitch" pronunciation is far less used than "aitch". I live in a country where both versions are used every day. Nobody in my country makes a fuss about it. Nor do I. What's your problem that compels you to "flag" this (whatever that means...)? If it's about reputation points, I could not care less, really. I live in a country where the language is spoken in colloquial and in formal contexts. As I understand, you do not. – teylyn May 04 '11 at 13:25
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    @teylyn: Please look at the EL&U FAQ, namely, "treat others with respect" and "What if I see bad things happening? Please use our flagging system to let us know about it." If you continually disregard the guidelines of this site, you may not be allowed to contribute in the future (i.e. it is not just a matter of reputation points). Aside from that, you undermine your ability to convince others when you insult them, which seems counterproductive. – Kosmonaut May 04 '11 at 13:32
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    Also, @teylyn: stop dissing German already. You give Duden way too much credit. Entire Wikipedias are being created in Bavarian, Ripuarian, Plattdeutsch, Alemannic, Palatinate German, Pennsylvania Dutch... Now please point me to the Wikipedias in Indian, New-Zealand, South-African, Texan, or African American Vernacular English. :P – RegDwigнt May 04 '11 at 13:39
  • Hold your horses. As a relatively new member, I may not understand the intricacies of this site yet, because I don't see why everyone seems to get so worked up about this discussion. I don't feel that I've been disrespectful by posting what is customary use in the country I live in and by recommending that people chill out and don't take all this so seriously. BTW, the FAQ does not help much when it comes to posting differing opinions and what the "flagging" thing is all about. If it's about reputation points: I could not care less. I'm about language and actual usage of it, not about points. – teylyn May 04 '11 at 13:49
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    I'd say that in England both pronunciations are relatively common, with "aitch" being more common. – Marcin May 04 '11 at 13:54
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    @teylyn: The philosophy of EL&U is to have a respectful exchange of ideas. Direct insults towards others will be deleted, and repeat offenders who do not show respect for these boundaries are banned from contributing. I believe that you have insightful contributions to make, so I urge you to simply be respectful of others. Nearly all contributors to the site are able to recognize what constitutes an insult and what doesn't, and I'm sure you can too. – Kosmonaut May 04 '11 at 14:08
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    @Alenanno: I can confirm (from my 30+ years of living there and being a native speaker) that "haitch", while probably less common than "aitch", is nonetheless frequently heard in the UK, even among highly educated speakers. (I don't especially like it myself, but it's hard to argue that it's not a common variant! :) – psmears May 04 '11 at 17:51
  • @psmears: It's not me who says it, I took it from the OALD. The "13 year-old experience" was something like "I'm not a noob in general" lol :D – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 19:54
  • @Alenanno: I know - but you said "I can ask to some people from UK about their pronunciation", so I thought I'd save you the trouble of asking :) – psmears May 04 '11 at 20:40
  • Ahah I see I see :D – Alenanno May 04 '11 at 21:45
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How can we say one is more correct than another with evolving pronunciations? At which point does haitch become improper and aych is "correct", or vice versa? An article the BBC ran in October 2010 mentions some interesting class separation issues as well.

Deverill
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OED - entry for "H" (pronounced Brit. /eɪtʃ/, U.S. /eɪtʃ/) has the footnote

The name aitch, which is now so remote from any connection with the sound, goes back through Middle English ache to Old French ache = Spanish ache, Italian acca, pointing to a late Latin *accha, *ahha, or *aha, exemplifying the sound; cf. Italian effe, elle, emme, etc. (The earlier Latin name was ha.) The plural occurs as aitches, aches, hs, h's.

The OED has a β. 18– haitch. but this is entirely a phonetic representation of poor pronunciation. I particularly liked this example:

1939 "Boys' Life" May 33/4 "All the names begin with a haitch. There's 'Orace, 'Erbert, 'Enry, 'Ugh, 'Ubert, 'Arold, 'Arriet, and 'Etty—all hexcept the last one and we 'ad 'er named Halice."

Greybeard
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It's not haitch, it's aitch. People who say haitch are just trying to sound posh.

However, language is dynamic and as we are not French the spelling and pronunciation will most likely change to haitch. But for now those who are trully educated, whether informally or formally, use aitch.

So for those pub owners who like a good quiz this is a good question.

RegDwigнt
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user40150
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  • I don't think people who say haitch are necessarily trying to be posh: in many cases I'm sure they're just using the pronunciation they grew up with. – nnnnnn Feb 25 '20 at 00:21