Grammatical question: Which is correct?

[battleknight24]

Which sentence is correct?

1. Right now, we are witnessing > a < historic event.

2. Right now, we are witnessing > an < historic event.


I always thought #1 was correct, since the "h" in historic is NOT silent, but I have heard a lot of people say the phrase like #2.


Peace,

[Goldmund]

1. #1

"h" is neither a vowel nor a silent consonant.

[WildClarySage]

2. #2

[LisaM]

3. #2

is technically correct.

[Goldmund]

4. hm -- how come?

:shrug:

[battleknight24]

5. How is number 2 correct?

?

[JVS]

6. My dad insists on 2, fuck that bullshit

I say that 2 is antiquated because we don't sit around like bloated old British historians and say " an 'istoric event" an really only works when one speaks in such an accent and we don't. Written English already has enough irregularities in its rules. So, in the name of using an iron fist to make English conform to its rules, #1 should be used.

[yewberry]

7. I've heard both.

The Chicago Manual (14th ed) prefers "a" historic event.

[JVS]

9. Yay! Long live the revolution.

[bicentennial_baby]

8. #2

N comes before words starting with H

[battleknight24]

15. Can I have an hamburger?

?

[Shredr]

18. LOL! Good point.

[kanrok]

29. Only if it's an historic hamburger.

[qanda]

10. Here's a very good explanation

http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/historical.html

[JVS]

11. Woohoo #1 wins. H in historical is not silen like hour or honor, thus "a"

[redqueen]

12. #1 is correct.

IF the "h" sound is not silent, you use "a"... if it's silent (e.g. "honest"), you use "an".

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Correct version

3. Right now, we are witnessing a disaster.

Seriously, if the "H" is silent as in "hour", the article is an. Otherwise general practice these days is the article a.

[caty]

14. #1

You only use "an" if the following word starts with a vowel or the first letter of the following word is silent leaving the next letter a vowel.

[hyphenate]

16. Technically

the second one is correct. The "h" is always treated as a vowel therefore the "an" takes precedence. However, it's one of the many grammatical errors which seems to slip by without much hoopla.

[battleknight24]

19. But the "h" in historical is fairly clear...

...

[hyphenate]

25. The "h" is articulated more

in that word than in others, yes. And through time, many changes have taken place to accommodate for the Americanized form of the English language. If it weren't for Daniel Webster, everyone in the country would still be spelling center "centre", theater "theatre" and so on. British spellings are also more popular in Canada as well--"harbour" instead of harbor, "ardour" instead of ardor, "connexion" instead of connection.

English is a living language and is forever evolving. Many words that were once common are now considered archaic--you don't find many people using "ye" instead of "you" or "an" instead of "if" even though these words (and many others) were once the norm.

If anyone has studied Latin, which is considered a "dead" language, you can tell the difference. Latin's heyday is gone, and because it is no longer a language that is spoken, all of the rules for Latin hold, because there is no longer any growth to the actual language as it was once spoken. While some might say that Italian is the modern day derivative of Latin (and one can often translate Italian if they are familiar with Latin) the changes which happened are too vast and too widespread to consider it an evolved language. Italian and all the other "Romance" languages have been melded from many different sources, Latin being only one of many.

As far as Americanized English, meanings and popularity of words change over time to the point where the original meanings are almost forgotten completely. Young people will often use words as "code" words, and invent definitions for already accepted words--it becomes their own word as a result.

The "a" versus "an" argument is one of those areas where there is lots of room to grow and evolve, and while they are currently interchangable with certain "h" words, the argument that scholars keep trying to make people aware of is not that it is set in stone as to which to use, but if people 100 years from now will understand a phrase with the older article. If anyone has read The Canterbury Tales, they will understand the need to at least recognize the alternative spellings and meanings so that there isn't a language barrier the result of forgetting words in a different context than what is currently popular.

[caty]

22. The "h" in historic

is not silent. It's not istoric--it's Historic. It's #1. Since when did "h" become vowel. It's a e i o and u.

[Left Is Write]

17. Both are acceptable.

#2 sounds more pleasant to my ear.

If I were writing, I would use the technically correct #1. If I were speaking, I would use #2.

[MichiganVote]

20. either / or

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Only A Guess

I think the use of "an" comes from the fact that when SPOKEN it flows more easily to add the "n" to the article. It's simply easier to SAY "an historic" than "a historic" because the stop between "a" and the "hist. . ." is stilted.

When written it doesn't matter at all, since we can read it perfectly smoothly.

Since it's easier to flow the words when talking with "an" it transfers to written form.

What do you think?
The Professor

[despairing optimist]

23. An aspirate h requires an "a."

Aspirate = pronounced.

From "Modern American Usage: A Guide," by Wilson Follett, a standard reference work for grammarians and copy editors: "Some very Anglophile or very bookish Americans, and perhaps others influenced by them, are addicted to _an_ before _historical_, _homiletic_, _humble_, and other words with a formerly silent _h_ and before words beginning with the consonantal _y_ sound (Eurasian, euphonious, unique); also sometimes before _w_ sounds (one, once). The practice is traditional . . . but it is no longer current."

(See the section on "a, an, the.")

[redqueen]

27. Thank you!

I'm surprised so many here are so confused by this! :crazy:

[texastoast]

32. I'm not confused

But I would be if I didn't have my trusty little geek book to help me answer life's questions like this one.

[caty]

24. The letter "h" is only considered a vowel when it is the last letter

of the word and is silent.



When a word ends in H after a vowel, it no longer is a consonant (a shaper). It is a signal letter (like the silent e) and therefore could be considered a vowel or part of a vowel digraph as in the words, bah, uh huh, and oh. Compare the h with the y when it follows a, e, o, or u as in the words say, key, boy, and buy.

[khashka]

26. Depends

on how the "H" is pronounced.

Historically, in the US it's "a" before an "h", in Britain it was "an" before an "h". I prefer "an" over "a", but I was once upon a time an English major. However, it's usually "a" with a hard "h" and "an" with a soft one.

I'll stick with "an" all the time and I'll slap the hell out of anyone who tries to "correct" me.

Khash.

[texastoast]

28. It depends

The Gregg Reference Manual, Eighth Edition, William A. Sabin, page 253.

1101: Use an before all vowel sounds except long u and before words beginning with silent h.

NOTE: In speech, both a historic occastion and an historic occasion are correct, depending on whether the h is sounded or left silent. In writing, a historic occasion is the form more commonly used.

[Redstone]

30. 2 ONLY if you're British,

otherwise you sound like a twit.

Kinda like you sould if you say "rawther" or "shan't."

Well, you asked for an opinion.

Redstone

[mr blur]

33. #1 - and I'm British!

[caty]

31. Checked with my friend, Judye.

She is an English teacher. The correct answer is #1 "a". However, the next question is whether to pronounce it as a "hard a" or a "soft a". I think a "soft a" sounds better when said before the word "historic".

[redacted]

34. Try looking it up in a style manual, I prefer Chicago Manual of Style

But it's #2.

[Shell Beau]

35. #1