Why do Aussies pronounce H as "haitch" instead "aitch"?

Acoustic Warfare · Post by **Acoustic Warfare** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:08 pm

So why do they? I think it must be an Aussie thing because not many NZers pronouce H like haitch....

Hers is what wikipedia says:

In most dialects of English, the name for the letter is pronounced /eɪtʃ/ and spelled aitch [1] or occasionally eitch. Pronunciation /heɪtʃ/ and hence a spelling of haitch is usually considered to be h-adding and hence nonstandard. It is however standard in Hiberno-English[citation needed] and Singaporean English. In Northern Ireland it is a shibboleth as Protestant schools teach aitch and Catholics haitch.[2] This has also been indicative of Catholic school teaching in Australia.[citation needed] The perceived name of the letter affects the choice of indefinite article before initialisms beginning with H: for example "an HTML page" or "a HTML page". The pronunciation /heɪtʃ/ may be a hypercorrection formed by analogy with the names of the other letters of the alphabet, most of which include the sound they represent.

......

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:14 pm

Well... not all do. I don't.

ADD_Boy · Post by **ADD_Boy** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:15 pm

we're too busy drinking beer to worry about grammer.

youthful_implants · Post by **youthful_implants** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:22 pm

correct pronunciation is very important IMO.

innit.

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:23 pm

Acoustic Warfare wrote: The pronunciation /heɪtʃ/ may be a hypercorrection formed by analogy with the names of the other letters of the alphabet, most of which include the sound they represent.

......

I thought this was the pretty obvious answer btw

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:35 pm

Hardy wrote:Well... not all do. I don't.

Either do I.

same o · Post by **same o** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:36 pm

youthful_implants wrote:correct pronunciation is very important IMO.

innit bruv.

fixed

witty_pseudonym · Post by **witty_pseudonym** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:37 pm

Direkt wrote:
Hardy wrote:Well... not all do. I don't.
Either do I.

f4iL

calstro · Post by **calstro** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:45 pm

ADD_Boy wrote:we're too busy drinking beer to worry about grammer.

lolz.

ShiKung · Post by **ShiKung** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:53 pm

Whilst i agree with all the rather whiity comments on this page I think the answer that the original poster is looking for is actually in his original post at this bit

Protestant schools teach aitch and Catholics haitch

Catholic's were always ostracized in early Australian society due to the fact that it wasn't very English, like Aborigines, which lead to them being like a permanent underclass as far as the early aristocracy of Australia was concerned. This actually lead to the rise of some many Religious based schools in Australia as Catholic's wanted to look after their own. And they probably taught Haitch.

Being an outsider naturally bonded them with other Outside (non-english) groups like Convicts, Labour Unions and Communists. All of which probably pronounced Haitch

All these group eventually combined to form the Australian Labour Party which now rules the country! Shouldn't we all be saying Haitch!

Acoustic Warfare · Post by **Acoustic Warfare** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:04 pm

I just find it kind of interesting anyway, so in conclusion if you say "haitch" you are a decendant of a religious convict.

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:11 pm

Acoustic Warfare wrote:I just find it kind of interesting anyway, so in conclusion if you say "haitch" you are a decendant of a religious convict.

Phew, that's me in the clear!

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:17 pm

I think the answer actually has to do with the obvious one already outlined.... and that is that The pronunciation /heɪtʃ/ may be a hypercorrection formed by analogy with the names of the other letters of the alphabet, most of which include the sound they represent.

I think the Catholic school thing is a bit far fetched though - as Catholic school teachers aren't just trained at Catholic institutions (ACU) and the same goes for State/Private schools, as ACU trained teachers can teach in State schools.

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:23 pm

I agree with the hypercorrection theory. And yes, it irks me when I hear it.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:24 pm

agree direkt, fucking

@ it being religious schools that perpetuate it!

sheesh!

on another note, same same but different, it shits me when i am spelling over the phone to some dumb company,
and they do not understand "Zee" as pronunciation of the letter "Z"

i mean, i get it that aussies say "Zed" but REALLY, arent we a little more multicultural than that?

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:27 pm

Sort of related but I cringe when I hear people say yous, as in "yous guys"

instant

nic · Post by **nic** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:32 pm

bloody foreigners
aussie workers - aussie jobs

almax · Post by **almax** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:33 pm

b iatch

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:34 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:agree direkt, fucking @ it being religious schools that perpetuate it!

sheesh!

on another note, same same but different, it shits me when i am spelling over the phone to some dumb company,
and they do not understand "Zee" as pronunciation of the letter "Z"

i mean, i get it that aussies say "Zed" but REALLY, arent we a little more multicultural than that?

Really? That's mental. It's not that hard to work it out. Especially considering the amount of Aussies that use American terms now anyway.

tee193 · Post by **tee193** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:34 pm

because we are all shapeshifting reptilians morphed from kangaroo's who will take of the world, oh and

ADD_Boy wrote:we're too busy drinking beer to worry about grammer.

THIS.

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:35 pm

nic wrote:bloody foreigners
aussie workers - aussie jobs

deydekerjeerbs!!!

Acoustic Warfare · Post by **Acoustic Warfare** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:36 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:agree direkt, fucking @ it being religious schools that perpetuate it!

sheesh!

on another note, same same but different, it shits me when i am spelling over the phone to some dumb company,
and they do not understand "Zee" as pronunciation of the letter "Z"

i mean, i get it that aussies say "Zed" but REALLY, arent we a little more multicultural than that?

According to wikipedia in British and most dialects of English, with the notable exception of American English, the letter's name is zed, pronounced /zɛd/, reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta. In the U.S., its name is zee /ziː/, deriving from a late 17th-century English dialectal form.

Interestingly, Another English dialectal form is izzard /ˈɪzɚd/, which dates from the mid-18th century and probably derives from the French et zède "and z".

I think im gonna start saying izzard...... T, U, V, W, X, Y and Izzard.

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:37 pm

nic wrote:bloody foreigners
aussie workers - aussie jobs

THE BUCK STOPS HERE

A/S/L?

gnat · Post by **gnat** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:41 pm

haitch is full dero imo

pet hate

also 'pacifically' instead of specifically FFS cmarnnnnnn!

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:50 pm

LOL @ Izzard. will be trying that from now on.
alpha rio bravo delta IZZARD!!!

also hate pacificallly, cannot help guffawing when i hear that.

'yous guys' shits me too.

oh, and this is prolly my derro mates too but 'i done' instead of ' i did' shits me.

but i must admit, i slip into 'yall' now and then and i get a load of shit for it. guess dem aussies dun like deep south as much as east and west coast, south = yokel. east/west = street and hence 'cool'

apophenian · Post by **apophenian** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:53 pm

Snobs

retzie · Post by **retzie** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:57 pm

Scholtzy wrote:Sort of related but I cringe when I hear people say yous, as in "yous guys"

instant

"Youse cunts" is still okay, though, right???

10.15 · Post by **10.15** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:26 pm

retzie wrote:
Scholtzy wrote:Sort of related but I cringe when I hear people say yous, as in "yous guys"

instant
"Youse cunts" is still okay, though, right???

Cant pronounce the 't' though Retzie. Cunce or carnce only.

Post by **Friday** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:36 pm

it's not australians who say 'haitch', it's bogans...

mrj · Post by **mrj** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:41 pm

ADD_Boy wrote:we're too busy drinking beer to worry about grammer.

or spelling evidently

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:17 pm

I don't care if people say haitch really, don't see it as bogan. But - "guess what I done the other day?" can GTFO.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:03 pm

mrj wrote:
ADD_Boy wrote:we're too busy drinking beer to worry about grammer.
or spelling evidently

bassfreak · Post by **bassfreak** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:29 pm

Finally someone has said it. This is a pet hate of mine too. 95-98% of Aussies use the dreaded "haitch". Have heard many well educated, upper class types saying it too. I'm forever correcting people and told that my pronounciation is wrong. When I hear an Aussie pronouncing it correctly I feel the need to congratuate them, because they are a very rare breed!
And why......? Aussies just love to butcher the English language. "Hatich" takes a lot less effort to say then "Aitch". Just like "Barbie" is alot easier to say than Bar-B-Que

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:32 pm

bassfreak wrote:I'm forever correcting people and told that my pronounciation is wrong.
When I hear an Aussie pronouncing it correctly I feel the need to congratuate them

Pot/Kettle stylee...

youthful_implants · Post by **youthful_implants** » Tue May 12, 2009 7:01 pm

ya get me doh

bare innitz

its funny because in london, and the surrounding provinces you will hear kids everywhere talking in pigeon jamaican.

bassfreak · Post by **bassfreak** » Tue May 12, 2009 7:17 pm

Direkt wrote:
bassfreak wrote:I'm forever correcting people and told that my pronounciation is wrong.
When I hear an Aussie pronouncing it correctly I feel the need to congratuate them
Pot/Kettle stylee...

Yeah they're called typos

obliveus · Post by **obliveus** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:05 pm

I find it interesting that you all forget that Americans invented the English language and simply offer rental agreements with English speaking countries to use what obviously took many years to perfect.

Pull your heads in already.

Sociopathic · Post by **Sociopathic** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:18 pm

bassfreak wrote: And why......? Aussies just love to butcher the English language.

Yous got a prob wiv ow we speak? Ain't no friend o' mine, ain't comin' t' my next barbie

I say Aitch but then I was brought up being corrected all the time as to the correct way to pronounce it by my kiwi father.

I chop and change with the zee/zed thing, I had a guy I worked with at one stage who was called "zhi" pronoucned Zee so always had to say "zed" in regards to the letter around him because otherwise he would think you were talking to him.

One thing I hate hearing is "nothink" NOTHING PEOPLE NOTHING there is no K!!! or worse still nuffink

Post by **breaksRbest** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:19 pm

I pronounce it Haitch and I don't consider myself either a bogan or uneducated

farken whatevs, who gives a shit?

edit, this is my logic behind pronouncing it Haitch...

say ANY word that starts with a H: Her, Horse, Hermaphrodite

they ALL have a distinct sound (which I just realised I can't spell) that is alot more akin to Haitch than it is to Aitch

apophenian · Post by **apophenian** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:32 pm

Australians talk funny to begin with. I don't see what the big deal is.

nic · Post by **nic** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:41 pm

bassfreak wrote:Finally someone has said it. This is a pet hate of mine too. 95-98% of Aussies use the dreaded "haitch". Have heard many well educated, upper class types saying it too. I'm forever correcting people and told that my pronounciation is wrong. When I hear an Aussie pronouncing it correctly I feel the need to congratuate them, because they are a very rare breed!
And why......? Aussies just love to butcher the English language. "Hatich" takes a lot less effort to say then "Aitch". Just like "Barbie" is alot easier to say than Bar-B-Que

THIS IS A BIT RICH COMING FROM A NZ'er.

dont like this country?

Post by **huge** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:12 pm

deviant wrote:I don't care if people say haitch really, don't see it as bogan. But - "guess what I done the other day?" can GTFO.

same as "i seen this guy" garrh!

and anythink. garhh!

instant loss of respect.

nic · Post by **nic** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14 pm

this

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:26 pm

breaksRbest wrote:I pronounce it Haitch and I don't consider myself either a bogan or uneducated

farken whatevs, who gives a shit?

edit, this is my logic behind pronouncing it Haitch...

say ANY word that starts with a H: Her, Horse, Hermaphrodite

they ALL have a distinct sound (which I just realised I can't spell) that is alot more akin to Haitch than it is to Aitch

Hearing people say expresso and sumfink, and some of the other ones mentioned here are a lot more worthy of slap on the wrist imo. Hearing expresso said in a commercial on TV makes me wanna call up the ad agency and give em what for

autumnleaves · Post by **autumnleaves** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:41 pm

how is haitch easier to say than aitch?

i say aitch.

bassfreak · Post by **bassfreak** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:46 pm

nic wrote:
bassfreak wrote:Finally someone has said it. This is a pet hate of mine too. 95-98% of Aussies use the dreaded "haitch". Have heard many well educated, upper class types saying it too. I'm forever correcting people and told that my pronounciation is wrong. When I hear an Aussie pronouncing it correctly I feel the need to congratuate them, because they are a very rare breed!
And why......? Aussies just love to butcher the English language. "Hatich" takes a lot less effort to say then "Aitch". Just like "Barbie" is alot easier to say than Bar-B-Que
THIS IS A BIT RICH COMING FROM A NZ'er.

dont like this country?

I'm actually Swiss

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:57 pm

fucking awesome thread

Lephrenic · Post by **Lephrenic** » Tue May 12, 2009 11:50 pm

English really is the stupidest language. The only good thing I have to say about it is that at least it doesn't classify nouns as masculine/feminine/neutral, the way many European languages do.

quick · Post by **quick** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:00 am

breaksRbest wrote:I pronounce it Haitch and I don't consider myself either a bogan or uneducated

farken whatevs, who gives a shit?

edit, this is my logic behind pronouncing it Haitch...

say ANY word that starts with a H: Her, Horse, Hermaphrodite

they ALL have a distinct sound (which I just realised I can't spell) that is alot more akin to Haitch than it is to Aitch

werd Glenny... I say Haich COS IT HAS A H IN IT!!!!

But the word 'hour' has no destinct H sound, sorry Glenny.

and I say yous... I don't say yous guys, cos yous is a combo of the two words, making it quicker to say... I'm efficient.

I also make cat and squirrel noises, so I obviously don't care about how I sound...

Lizkins · Post by **Lizkins** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:03 am

Scholtzy wrote:Sort of related but I cringe when I hear people say yous, as in "yous guys"

instant

went to an engagement in baccus marsh on the weekend, i should have done shots whenever i heard youse. would be smashed.

argh i hate it