LL-L "Phonology" 2003.09.04 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 04.SEP.2003 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: John Duckworth <jcduckworth2003 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Phonology


Dear Lowlanders,

Sandy wrote:

'Consistently dropped 'h' used to be considered a specifically Cockney
(London) phenomenon, but has now spread by road and train to all major
cities in England (not Wales or Scotland) except Newcastle and the
South West.'

I am not sure that the Cockney origin theory is correct. I come from
Preston in Lancashire ( North-West England), and both my parents and
grandparents dropped their 'h's consistently. They would have said 'an
'otel' rather than 'a hotel', and 'th'otel' rather than 'the hotel'. To
this day dropping 'h's is very common among all generations of native
Prestonians, and it is something that I hear in all areas of the
North-West.

The rules about the sounding or muting of 'h' however seem to have
changed over recent years.Fowler, in his 'A Dictionary of Modern Usage'
(1926 edition) states:
  'Silent h. In _Hunt has hurt his head_, it is nearly as ba! d to sound
the _h_ of _has_ and _his_ as to not sound that of _Hunt_ & _hurt_ &
_head_.'

He also gives a note about _hw_, :
   'WH. The sounding of _h_ in words containing _wh_ (what,whether,
nowhere, &c.) is a matter of locality or nationality,...'

The aspiration of 'w' in such words, by the way, is almost unheard of
even in very educated and deliberate speech in Lancashire.

I am sure I have come across a passage in Fowler that gives a more extensive
treatment of the 'silent h' phenomenon with specific mention of the American
dropped 'h' in 'herbs'; at the moment though I don't seem to be able to
trace it, but if I do find it I will share it with fellow listers.

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