tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167585665865020265.post6357225693616635557..comments2024-03-29T03:45:15.415+01:00Comments on Random Idea English: Indefinite articles - a or an?Warsaw Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15373568589613033674noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167585665865020265.post-45062462773516373032013-07-28T14:24:08.943+02:002013-07-28T14:24:08.943+02:00Irish I understand, but I'm intrigued at the r...Irish I understand, but I'm intrigued at the religious angle. More importantly for this blog, which is mainly for foreign learners, and as you yourself are a teacher, how would you advise your students, who are learning standard English?<br /><br />I'm thinking of what you've said elsewhere about split infinitives, which are also a shibboleth.Warsaw Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373568589613033674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167585665865020265.post-86537830440052750372013-07-27T23:57:08.686+02:002013-07-27T23:57:08.686+02:00Irish Catholics say haitch. It is a shibboleth.Irish Catholics say haitch. It is a shibboleth.Peter Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10126952453582220381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167585665865020265.post-42937297327699041202013-07-27T22:26:27.025+02:002013-07-27T22:26:27.025+02:00Hi, Barrie - we won't say 'wrong', I d...Hi, Barrie - we won't say 'wrong', I don't think either of us like that word. I also <a href="http://random-idea-english.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-i-ngrammed-historic-occasion.html" rel="nofollow">posted</a> about it some time ago, when I wrote "The consensus of expert opinion seems to be that while 'a historic ...' is more logical, as most of us pronounce the initial 'h', there are enough 'sophisticated' speakers who say 'an historic ...' for both to be allowable." Perhaps I was being too black and white, should have checked back to what I'd written before. I'll add something to that effect in the notes. Warsaw Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373568589613033674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167585665865020265.post-9301336577506858832013-07-27T16:08:23.330+02:002013-07-27T16:08:23.330+02:00As I expected, I got ‘historic event’ and ‘horrifi...As I expected, I got ‘historic event’ and ‘horrific accident’ wrong. I precede both with ‘an’, and I have often heard ‘an historic’ on the BBC. In both words the stress falls on the second syllable, and, although the ‘h’ is pronounced it is quickly passed over. I posted on this myself a couple of years ago: http://caxton1485.wordpress.com/archive/2012-2/igh-haspirations/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com