Do you pronounce the 'h' in words such as 'whip' and 'while' ?

[TheTecknician]

If you do, hwy ?

Seriously, this is something I've noticed in people's speech as I've got older. I'm fairly sure I was taught at school that the 'h' in these and other words was silent but maybe it's not necessarily so. Perhaps it's a matter of regional pronunciation or dialect.

Stevie Griffin says 'coolhwip' in Family Guy.

Maybe read what countless Scots on this thread have written?

No,I don't,but I have noticed that Scottish people tend to. Incidentally,does anyone else find that people who say the letter 'H' as 'Haitch' instead of 'Aitch' really annoying?! Sorry,not trying to derail the thread!

That’s almost everyone in Ireland (ROI) so 😁
Haitch is the standard here. It’s the pronunciation taught in schools etc.

Apparently our objection to it stems from racism. We were taught it was correct to say ‘aitch’ and incorrect to say ‘haitch’ out of racism/snobbery against the Irish. It’s shibboleth, I believe.

It is a shibboleth in Northern Ireland, but not in ROI where it’s nearly always haitch.

I didn’t even realise aitch vs haitch was a thing until I read it on MN. I must have heard people saying aitch on TV multiple times before that, and listened to English friends/colleagues saying it, but I never really picked up on it. It was just part of a different accent 🤷‍♀️

I was actively taught it was wrong, @Inspirel . And struggle with it as a result.

Yes, haitch is extremely annoying. People are capable of saying NHS without it, so a pity they can't do so in other words. I know it's normal in many regions but it is still annoying to hear.

I am Scottish and can’t work out how to pronounce the Hs in those words!?

Yes, I know that from other posts on MN. Thanks for being so thoughtful on the subject. Some of the comments on other threads have been hard to hear, as well as unfair I think.

If you pronounce witch and which differently (do you?) you’re pronouncing the h in which.

Not this again. It's a regional thing and perfectly fine. I pronounce H in NHS as haitch as that is how I pronounce H. So I have a P haitch D. I think it's just showing contempt for former colonised and more peripheral people to go on about it.

Yeah witch and which are the same for me! I’m going to listen out for how folk pronounce them now though.

This link has people pronouncing which, so it might help. Some pronounce it like witch and others have that extra h sound in there.
forvo.com/word/which/

What!!!!
posters are talking about ‘regional accents’ as if they are lesser to the accent in south of England
i remember many years ago the bbc saying the best received (if that’s the right word) English was found in Inverness. They certainly have a lovely gentle accent.

i would say the Estuary English accent that dominates the media (well they’re near the studios) is not an admirable accent and not what the rest of the U.K. should aspire to.

I think it's because we don't so much pronounce the H, it's just a different W sound

how do you pronounce whom? That's the sound

how do you pronounce whom? That's the sound
Is it?
I just pronounce whom as hoom (and who as hoo) even though I do pronounce a h in which, whine etc.
I’m Irish not Scottish though.

Scottish too - whip, not wip

I would say it’s a blowing between lips w not just a wu.

It's an old English word, it isn't Scottish. It's just used up there a bit more often now, but can be used anywhere.

People get confused about accents and how the language is pronounced.

There is a way to pronounce words. And it should be taught, you don't get taught accents in schools. Accents are then natural variation in everyday life. But everyone with any accent, should know and learn how words are actually pronounced as part of the language not just their accent.

South west English here. I pronounce it.

Listen to the original version of Red Red Wine by Neil Diamond. Wine has no 'h' but he still manages to pronounce the word as 'hwine'!

There's not actually a way to pronounce words. There are different ways to pronounce words depending on where you live.

There is no such thing as speech without accent. Teachers in schools have accents. What are they supposed to do? Teach pronunciations that differ from their own accent?

Received Pronunciation in British English and its rough equivalent in American English, General American, are accents just as much as American Southern or regional accents in the UK.

This is how I think of the difference between w and wh.

I'm scottish and teach phonics and spelling.

I get the kids to hold their palm up in front of their mouth. When they say Wales, they don't feel anything, but when they say whales they will feel their breath on their hand.