Re: an + h (was: aquamarine demon (was <no subject>))

From: "Nik Taylor"

> Yet, only before unstressed vowels.  I still say "A history".  I think
> part of the reason is that before stressed vowels, my /h/ is pronounced
> with greater force.  Before an unstressed vowel, like "historic", the
> /h/ is very soft, barely there, and is thus not strong enough to force
> "a" to be used.  So, /@ "hIstr=i/ vs. /In (h)Is'torIk/.  That weak /h/
> is ignored in determining the form of the article.
If that's the way you're idiolect works, so be it. I'm not here to trample
on that. Still, I thought there was some reference to the media somewhere
along the way, and from there I often hear an overly exaggerated "an
historic event" (&nhIs"tOrIkI"vEnt), seemingly trying to give "an historic"
importance to an event (that's what American news coverage does). I'm
simply, based on my own experience, surprised that that's normal SAE usage.

Kou