From 'hwhat' to 'what': Tracing a letter's disappearing act. Barkhouse.
966. We explore the rise and fall of the letter H: Debates over its name ("haitch" or "aitch"?) and why a once-prestigious pronunciation like "hwhat" now seems old-fashioned.
The "haitch" segment was written by Kate Burridge, a professor of linguistics at Monash University, and Catherine McBride, a professor of psychology at Chinese University of Hong Kong. It originally appeared on "The Conversation" and appears here through a Creative Commons license.
| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/letter-h/transcript
| Share a recording of your familect story with me on Threads…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.