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UK newspapers all seem to agree on 'a hotel' but disagree on 'an historian'. http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-h http://www.theguardian.
by sambeau 12y ago
UK newspapers all seem to agree on 'a hotel' but disagree on 'an historian'.
http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-h http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-h
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/1435307/Telegraph-style-book-Aa.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/143530...
http://www.economist.com/styleguide/a#node-21532141 http://www.economist.com/styleguide/a#node-21532141
I've generally used the Economist in my past writing and they say:
An
An should be used before a word beginning with a vowel sound
(an egg, an umbrella, an MP) or an h if, and only if, the h
is silent (an honorary degree). But a European, a university,
a U-turn, a hospital, a hotel. Historical is an exception:
it is preceded by an, the h remaining silent.
Which begs the question — what was my victorian-style, Scottish primary school teacher on about when she insisted on 'an hotel'?
- dm2 12y agoTeachers can be wrong, but maybe some words are pronounced differently with a Scottish accent. And the "or an h..." part is redundant because "honorary" starts with the sound "on". I've never heard "historical" pronounced with a silent "h" though.
- vidarh 12y agoPronunciation is highly regional, an if you pronounce "hotel" without voicing/aspirating the "h", then "an" is appropriate. When newspapers use style-guides, they are after consistence as well as "emulate" a certain spoken voice consistent with their profile and target demographics.
- KMag 12y agoIt certainly raises a question, but how is this circular reasoning?[1] [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
- sambeau 12y agoIt's not. Note the second paragraph where it mentions modern usage. In modern vernacular usage, "to beg the question" is sometimes used to mean "to raise the question"