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1. hiccuphippo · 1789881620 · focus · HN ↗

   So is it "a historic" or "an historic"? I've heard Stephen Colbert use "an historic" with a non-silent H.

   1. n4r9 · 1789887843 · focus · HN ↗

      Yes, this is an exception to the rule in British English, although possibly old-fashioned and becoming obsolete. Some British people put "an" before any word starting with "h" and longer than three syllables.

      EDIT I'm wrong here - I don't think anyone ever says "an Halloween celebration" for example. But I was sure there were other "h" counterexamples than historic.

      1. n4r9 · 1789980579 · focus · HN ↗

         I asked Claude and it showed me various examples of other words that may well be preceded with "an", such as heroic, habitual, and hereditary. It's to do with how strongly the "h" is pronounced.

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