H-dropping

H-dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "H sound", [h]. The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a purely historical development or as a contemporary difference between dialects. Although common in most regions of England and in some other English-speaking countries, H-dropping is often stigmatized and perceived as a sign of careless or uneducated speech.

The reverse phenomenon, H-insertion or H-adding, is found in certain situations, sometimes as a hypercorrection by H-dropping speakers, and sometimes as a spelling pronunciation or out of perceived etymological correctness. A particular example of this is the spread of 'haitch' for 'aitch'.

In English

Historical /h/-loss

In Old English phonology, the sounds [h], [x], and [ç] (described respectively as glottal, velar and palatal voiceless fricatives) are taken to be allophones of a single phoneme /h/. The [h] sound appeared at the start of a syllable, either alone or in a cluster with another consonant. The other two sounds were used in the syllable coda ([x] after back vowels and [ç] after front vowels).

The instances of /h/ in coda position were lost during the Middle English and Early Modern English periods, although they are still reflected in the spelling of words such as taught (now pronounced like taut) and weight (now pronounced in most accents like wait). Most of the initial clusters involving /h/ also disappeared (see H-cluster reductions). As a result, in the standard varieties of Modern English, the only position in which /h/ can occur is at the start of a syllable, either alone (as in hat, house, behind, etc.), in the cluster /hj/ (as in huge), or (for a minority of speakers) in the cluster /hw/ (as in whine if pronounced differently from wine). The usual realizations of the latter two clusters are [ç] and [ʍ] (see English phonology).

Contemporary H-dropping

The phenomenon of H-dropping considered as a feature of contemporary English is the omission, in certain accents and dialects, of this syllable-initial /h/, either alone or in the cluster /hj/. (For the cluster /hw/ and its reduction, see Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩.)

Description

H-dropping, in certain accents and dialects of Modern English, causes words like harm, heat, and behind to be pronounced arm, eat, and be-ind (though in some dialects an [h] may appear in behind to prevent hiatus – see below).

Cases of H-dropping occur in all English dialects in the weak forms of function words like he, him, her, his, had, and have. The pronoun it is a product of historical H-dropping – the older hit survives as an emphatic form in a few dialects such as Southern American English, and in the Scots language.[1] Because the /h/ of unstressed have is usually dropped, the word is usually pronounced /əv/ in phrases like should have, would have, and could have. These can be spelled out in informal writing as "should've", "would've", and "could've". Because /əv/ is also the weak form of the word of, these words are often spelled as should of, would of and could of.[2]

History

There is evidence of h-dropping in texts from the 13th century and later. It may originally have arisen through contact with the Norman language, where h-dropping also occurred. Puns which rely on the possible omission of the /h/ sound can be found in works by William Shakespeare and in other Elizabethan era dramas. It is suggested that the phenomenon probably spread from the middle to the lower orders of society, first taking hold in urban centers. It started to become stigmatized, being seen as a sign of poor education, in the 16th or 17th century.[3][4]

Geographical distribution

H-dropping in the English language in England (based on Upton and Widdowson, 2006). Dialects in the regions marked no /h/ feature (variable) H-dropping, while those in the regions marked /h/ generally do not, although there is some local variation within these regions.[5]

H-dropping occurs (variably) in most of the dialects of the English language in England and Welsh English, including Cockney, West Country English, West Midlands English (including Brummie), most of northern England (including Yorkshire and Lancashire), and Cardiff English.[6] It is not generally found in Scottish English. It is also typically absent in certain regions of England, including Northumberland and East Anglia.

H-dropping also occurs in most of Jamaican English, and perhaps in other Caribbean English (including some of The Bahamas). It is not generally found in North American English, although it has been reported in Newfoundland (outside the Avalon Peninsula).[7] However, dropping of /h/ from the cluster /hj/ (so that human is pronounced /'juːmən/) is found in some American dialects, as well as in parts of Ireland – see reduction of /hj/.

Social distribution and stigmatization

H-dropping, in the countries and regions in which it is prevalent, occurs mainly in working-class accents. Studies have shown it to be significantly more frequent in lower than in higher social groups. It is not a feature of RP (the prestige accent of England), or even of "Near-RP", a variant of RP that includes some regional features.[8] This does not apply, however, to the dropping of /h/ in weak forms of words like his and her, as described above – this is normal in all varieties of English.

H-dropping in English is widely stigmatized, being perceived as a sign of poor or uneducated speech, and discouraged by schoolteachers. John Wells writes that it seems to be "the single most powerful pronunciation shibboleth in England."[9]

Use and status of the H-sound in H-dropping dialects

In fully H-dropping dialects, that is, in dialects without a phonemic /h/, the sound [h] may still occur but with uses other than distinguishing words. An epenthetic [h] may be used to avoid hiatus, so that for example the egg is pronounced the hegg. It may also be used when any vowel-initial word is emphasized, so that horse /ˈɔːs/ (assuming the dialect is also non-rhotic) and ass /ˈæs/ may be pronounced [ˈˈhɔːs] and [ˈˈhæs] in emphatic utterances. That is, [h] has become an allophone of the zero onset in these dialects.

For many H-dropping speakers, however, a phonological /h/ appears to be present, even if it is not usually realized – that is, they know which words "should" have an /h/, and have a greater tendency to pronounce an [h] in those words than in other words beginning with a vowel. Insertion of [h] may occur as a means of emphasis, as noted above, and also as a response to the formality of a situation.[10] Sandhi phenomena may also indicate a speaker's awareness of the presence of an /h/ – for example, some speakers might say "a edge" (rather than "an edge") for a hedge, and might omit the linking R before an initial vowel resulting from a dropped H.

It is likely that the phonemic system of children in H-dropping areas lacks an /h/ entirely, but that social and educational pressures lead to the incorporation of an (inconsistently realized) /h/ into the system by the time of adulthood.[11]

H-insertion

The opposite of H-dropping, called H-insertion or H-adding, sometimes occurs as a hypercorrection in typically H-dropping accents of English. It is commonly noted in literature from late Victorian times to the early 20th century that some lower-class people consistently drop h in words that should have it, while adding h to words that should not have it. An example from the musical My Fair Lady is, "In 'Artford, 'Ereford, and 'Ampshire, 'urricanes 'ardly hever 'appen". Another is in C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew: "Three cheers for the Hempress of Colney 'Atch". In practice, however, it would appear that h-adding is more of a stylistic prosodic effect, being found on some words receiving particular emphasis, regardless of whether those words are h-initial or vowel-initial in the standard language.

Some English words borrowed from French begin with the letter ⟨h⟩ but not with the sound /h/. Examples include hour, heir, hono(u)r and honest. In some cases, spelling pronunciation has introduced the sound /h/ into such words, as in humble, hotel and (for most speakers) historic. Spelling pronunciation has also added /h/ to the British English pronunciation of herb, /hɜːb/, while American English retains the older pronunciation /ɜrb/. Etymology may also serve as a motivation for H-addition, as in the words horrible, habit and harmony; these were borrowed into Middle English from French without an /h/ (orribel, abit, armonie), but all three derive from Latin words with an /h/ and would later acquire an /h/ in English as an etymological "correction".[12] The name of the letter H itself, "aitch", is subject to H-insertion in some dialects, where it is pronounced "haitch". (In Hiberno-English, "haitch" has come to be considered standard, even though it is not an H-dropping dialect).[13]

List of homophones resulting from H-dropping

The following is a list of some pairs of English words which may become homophones when H-dropping occurs. (To view the list, click "show".) See also the list of H-dropping homophones in Wiktionary.

Homophonous pairs

/h/	/∅/	IPA	Notes
habit	abbot	ˈæbət	With weak vowel merger.
hacked	act	ˈækt
hacks	axe; ax	ˈæks
had	ad	ˈæd
had	add	ˈæd
hail	ail	ˈeɪl
hail	ale	ˈeɪl	With pane-pain merger.
Haim	aim	ˈeɪm
hair	air	ˈɛə(r), ˈeɪr
hair	ere	ˈɛə(r)	With pane-pain merger.
hair	heir	ˈɛə(r), ˈeɪr
haired	erred	ˈɛə(r)d	With pane-pain merger.
Hal	Al	ˈæl
hale	ail	ˈeɪl	With pane-pain merger.
hale	ale	ˈeɪl, ˈeːl
hall	all	ˈɔːl
halter	alter	ˈɔːltə(r)
ham	am	ˈæm
hand	and	ˈænd
hanker	anchor	ˈæŋkə(r)
hap	app	ˈæp
hare	air	ˈɛə(r)	With pane-pain merger.
hare	ere	ˈɛə(r), ˈeːr
hare	heir	ˈɛə(r)	With pane-pain merger.
hark	arc	ˈɑː(r)k
hark	ark	ˈɑː(r)k
harm	arm	ˈɑː(r)m
hart	art; Art	ˈɑː(r)t
has	as	ˈæz
hash	ash	ˈæʃ
haste	aced	ˈeɪst, ˈeːst
hat	at	ˈæt
hate	ate	ˈeɪt
hate	eight	ˈeɪt	With pane-pain merger and wait-weight merger.
haul	all	ˈɔːl
haunt	aunt	ˈɑːnt	With trap-bath split and father-bother merger.
hawk	auk	ˈɔːk
hawk	orc	ˈɔːk	In non-rhotic accents.
hay	A	ˈeɪ
hay	eh	ˈeɪ
he	E	ˈiː
head	Ed	ˈɛd
heady	Eddie	ˈɛdi
heady	eddy	ˈɛdi
heal	eel	ˈiːl	With fleece merger.
hear	ear	ˈɪə(r), ˈiːr
heard	erred	ˈɜː(r)d, ˈɛrd
hearing	earing	ˈɪərɪŋ, ˈiːrɪŋ
hearing	earring	ˈɪərɪŋ
heart	art; Art	ˈɑː(r)t
heat	eat	ˈiːt
heathen	even	ˈiːvən	With th-fronting.
heather	ever	ˈɛvə(r)	With th-fronting.
heave	eve; Eve	ˈiːv
heave	eave	ˈiːv
heaven	Evan	ˈɛvən
heaving	even	ˈiːvən	With weak vowel merger and G-dropping.
hedge	edge	ˈɛdʒ
heel	eel	ˈiːl
heist	iced	ˈaɪst
Helen	Ellen	ˈɛlən
Helena	Eleanor	ˈɛlənə	In non-rhotic accents.
Helena	Elena	ˈɛlənə
hell	L; el; ell	ˈɛl
he'll	eel	ˈiːl
helm	elm	ˈɛlm
hem	M; em	ˈɛm
hen	N; en	ˈɛn
herd	erred	ˈɜː(r)d, ˈɛrd
here	ear	ˈɪə(r), ˈiːr
here's	ears	ˈɪəz, ˈiːrz
heron	Erin	ˈɛrən	With weak vowel merger.
herring	Erin	ˈɛrən	With weak vowel merger and G-dropping.
he's	E's	ˈiːz
Heuston	Euston	ˈjuːstən
hew	ewe	ˈjuː, ˈ(j)ɪu
hew	yew	ˈjuː, ˈjɪu
hew	you	ˈjuː
hews	ewes	ˈjuːz, ˈ(j)ɪuz
hews	use	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
hews	yews	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
hex	ex	ˈɛks
hex	X; ex	ˈɛks
hey	A	ˈeɪ
hey	eh	ˈeɪ
hi	aye; ay	ˈaɪ
hi	eye	ˈaɪ
hi	I	ˈaɪ
hid	id	ˈɪd
hide	I'd	ˈaɪd
high	aye; ay	ˈaɪ
high	eye	ˈaɪ
high	I	ˈaɪ
higher	ire	ˈaɪə(r)
hike	Ike	ˈaɪk
hill	ill	ˈɪl
hinky	inky	ˈɪŋki
hire	ire	ˈaɪə(r), ˈaɪr
his	is	ˈɪz
hit	it	ˈɪt
hitch	itch	ˈɪtʃ
hive	I've	ˈaɪv
hoard	awed	ˈɔːd	In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger.
hoard	oared	ˈɔː(r)d, ˈoə(r)d, ˈoːrd
hoarder	order	ˈɔː(r)də(r)	With horse-hoarse merger.
hocks	ox	ˈɒks
hoe	O	ˈoʊ, ˈoː
hoe	oh	ˈoʊ, ˈoː
hoe	owe	ˈoʊ	With toe-tow merger.
hoes	O's	ˈoʊz, ˈoːz
hoister	oyster	ˈɔɪstə(r)
hold	old	ˈoʊld
holed	old	ˈoʊld	With toe-tow merger.
holly	Olly	ˈɒli
hone	own	ˈoʊn	With toe-tow merger.
hop	op	ˈɒp
hopped	opped	ˈɒpt
hopped	opt	ˈɒpt
horde	awed	ˈɔːd	In non-rhotic accents.
horde	oared	ˈɔː(r)d, ˈoə(r)d, ˈoːrd
horn	awn	ˈɔːn	In non-rhotic accents.
horn	on	ˈɔːn	In non-rhotic accents with lot-cloth split.
hotter	otter	ˈɒtə(r)
how	ow	ˈaʊ
howl	owl	ˈaʊl
how're	hour	ˈaʊə(r), ˈaʊr
how're	our	ˈaʊə(r), ˈaʊr
Houston	Euston	ˈjuːstən
Hoyle	oil	ˈɔɪl
hue	ewe	ˈjuː, ˈ(j)ɪuː
hue	U	ˈjuː, ˈ(j)ɪuː
hue	yew	ˈjuː, ˈjɪuː
hue	you	ˈjuː
hues	ewes	ˈjuːz, ˈ(j)ɪuz
hues	U's	ˈjuːz, ˈ(j)ɪuz
hues	use	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
hues	yews	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
Hugh	ewe	ˈjuː, ˈ(j)ɪuː
Hugh	U	ˈjuː, ˈ(j)ɪuː
Hugh	yew	ˈjuː, ˈjɪuː
Hugh	you	ˈjuː
Hughes	ewes	ˈjuːz, ˈ(j)ɪuz
Hughes	U's	ˈjuːz, ˈ(j)ɪuz
Hughes	use	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
Hughes	yews	ˈjuːz, ˈjɪuz
hurl	earl	ˈɜː(r)l	With fern-fir-fur merger.
Huston	Euston	ˈjuːstən
Hyde	I'd	ˈaɪd
whore	awe	ˈɔː	In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger and pour-poor merger.
whore	oar	ˈɔː(r), ˈoə(r), ˈoːr	With pour-poor merger.
whore	or	ˈɔː(r)	With horse-hoarse merger and pour-poor merger.
whore	ore	ˈɔː(r), ˈoə(r), ˈoːr	With pour-poor merger.
whored	awed	ˈɔːd	In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger and pour-poor merger.
whored	oared	ˈɔː(r)d, ˈoə(r)d, ˈoːrd	With pour-poor merger.
who's	ooze	ˈuːz
who's	Ouse	ˈuːz
whose	ooze	ˈuːz
whose	Ouse	ˈuːz

In other languages

Processes of H-dropping have occurred in various languages at certain times, and in some cases, they remain as distinguishing features between dialects, as in English. Some Dutch dialects, especially the southern ones, feature H-dropping. The dialects of Zeeland, West and East Flanders, most of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant, and the west of North Brabant have lost /h/ as a phonemic consonant but use [h] to avoid hiatus and to signal emphasis, much as in the H-dropping dialects of English.[14] H-dropping is also found in some North Germanic languages, for instance Elfdalian and the dialect of Roslagen, where it is found already in Old East Norse.

The phoneme /h/ in Ancient Greek, occurring only at the beginnings of words and originally written with the letter H and later as a rough breathing, was lost in the Ionic dialect. It is also not pronounced in Modern Greek.

The phoneme /h/ was lost in Late Latin, the ancestor of the modern Romance languages. Both French and Spanish acquired new initial /h/ in medieval times, but they were later lost in both languages in a "second round" of H-dropping. (However, some dialects of Spanish have reacquired /h/ from Spanish /x/ and Latin /f/.)

It is hypothesized in the laryngeal theory that the loss of [h] or similar sounds played a role in the early development of the Indo-European languages.

See also

• Phonological history of English
• Phonological history of English consonants

References

1. David D. Murison, The Guid Scots Tongue, Blackwodd 1977, p. 39.
2. van Ostade, I.T.B. (2019). Describing Prescriptivism: Usage Guides and Usage Problems in British and American English. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-55814-6. Retrieved 2020-02-23.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. Milroy, J., "On the Sociolinguistic History of H-dropping in English", in Current topics in English historical linguistics, Odense UP, 1983.
4. Milroy, L., Authority in Language: Investigating Standard English, Routledge 2002, p. 17.
5. Upton, C., Widdowson, J.D.A., An Atlas of English Dialects, Routledge 2006, pp. 58–59.
6. Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2002). The Phonetics of Dutch and English (5 ed.). Leiden/Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 290–302.
7. Wells, J.C., Accents of English, CUP 1982, pp. 564, 568–69, 589, 594, 622.
8. Wells (1982), pp. 254, 300.
9. Wells (1982), p. 254
10. Wells (1982), p. 322.
11. Wells (1982), p. 254.
12. "World of words - Oxford Dictionaries Online". Askoxford.com. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
13. "'Haitch' or 'aitch'? How do you pronounce 'H'?". BBC. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
14. "h". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)