Reading an old copy of The Green Guide today and one of the letters to the editor was from a lady who was insulted by the TV presenter using ‘haitch’ instead of ‘aitch’. This had me intrigued from the get go as I don’t feel insulted when someone mispronounces it, I feel superior because I know the correct pronunciation but never insulted. I’ve just done some research and I will never feel superior on this issue again. Here’s why:

I can’t explain what I don’t understand but I think the letter ‘h’ comes from the Latin. I’m more than happy to be proven wrong here and have some lovely lengthy comment explaining exactly where it’s from.

There are two variations on how it’s said, ‘aitch’ or ‘haitch’ and why they vary depends on where you come from. ‘Aitch’ is seen as the standard. ‘Haitch’ is used in various countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. I’ve always viewed ‘aitch’ as upper class usage and ‘haitch’ as lower class hence my ‘superior’ feeling. However, in Ireland, Protestant schools teach ‘aitch’ and Catholic schools teach ‘haitch’, two different teachings for one small country.

It also doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense to use ‘aitch’. When you’re teaching someone to read English you teach them ‘aitch’ has the sound of ‘h’ as in ‘hat’ but then when you say the letter you lose the ‘h’ sound. How to make it hard for a new student in one easy lesson.

I’m not going to change, I’ll still use ‘aitch’ as that’s what I’ve used all my life, but I will no longer correct people in my mind and I will no longer feel superior to them just because I know the ‘correct’ way of pronouncing it. As I’ve found, they’re both correct and you can’t correct someone who is already correct.

The bit I don’t get is why the author of the letter felt it was an insult to all the viewers of the programme, she wasn’t speaking for me.