[Dean's World] Naftali: Martin's Hypothesis

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Posted by Naftali:
Martin's Hypothesis
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1196628822.shtml


   "I have an hypothesis: no matter how grammatically correct it seems,
   "an hypothesis" just sounds stilted.

   And though I was taught that rule, [1]it's [2]not [3]so [4]clear. The
   real rule is 'an' before vowel sounds, including silent 'h'; 'a'
   before consonant sounds, including voiced 'h'. (This gets more complex
   as you move from region to region, because silent 'h' vs. hard 'h'
   sometimes varies by dialect.)

   What's interesting to me is that the more uncommon or academic the 'h'
   word, the more we accept 'an' as correct. No one balks at "a hat", "a
   horse", "a house". But to many ears, "an hypothesis" and "an
   historical event" sound proper."

References

   1. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/a-versus-an.aspx
   2. http://www.alexcommunications.com/style_guide.htm#an
   3. http://www.painintheenglish.com/post.php?id=330
   4. http://www.grammarcheck.com/archives/04-2005.htm