not to want my children being taught to say 'haitch'?

[cutegorilla]

It really annoys me. Now my 4yo DS won't believe me when I say it should be 'aitch' because his teacher says 'haitch' and so does everyone else (perhaps not altogether surprising if that's what they're being taught).

Go on, tell me I'm being a snob.

Those who say 'haitch' do you say N haitch S? I don't think I've ever heard it said that way. Just wondered .

Ffs, you are a load of snobs. I say haitch and I also often say fink as I struggle with the th sound.
I'm not thick and it has not held me back in life.
I would apologise for making anyone's teeth itch, but as that's a physical impossibility, I won't.

YANBU
Just thinking about it being pronounced "haitch" makes me want to hack my own head off with a hacksaw. It's not logical to pronounce it "haitch", in the same way it's not logical to pronounce it "memm" "lell" "yiy" "feff" or "everyone else does so it must be right".

Thanks rinkan, I'm scottish (RC too) and never heard anyone say haitch until I came to England.

Firstly: What sodding difference does it make?

Secondly: I don't think it is a case of correct or not correct. Its a letter. It has a name that it is commonly known by but that isn't a word. In the same way 'zed' is 'zee' in America. They aren't saying the wrong word they are just expressing the letter differently.

But even if it is 'wrong' to say haitch, big fucking deal. If a parent approached me and asked me not to teach haitch I'd have to ask them in return not to judge a child's intelligence or chacter on such a meaningless peice of snobbery.

Not that it matters but I say both I think, I cant say it comes up in conversation much! I certainly say N - aitch - S. But I have been told as a child that it is 'wrong' as I have also been told 'sauce-pan' is wrong and saucepun is correct and forrid is correct and fore-head is incorrect. I was baffled as to why anyone cared or even noticed.

I was brought up Catholic, and say "aitch" because it is proper. Not Irish, though. This would out me if she read it but when I was 16 or so I had a big row with my best friend over this matter. I showed her the dictionary and everything but she would not believe me.

I bet all those ghastly people who say haitch have wedding lists too

"YANBU. 'Haitch' makes my teeth itch, and it just sounds so ignorant."

You know what sounds ignorant? ^^ that does right there. There is no right or wrong way to pronounce the letter H, so long as it's obvious what letter you mean. Different accents are allowed these days, you know - we've come quite a way since RP, and a good thing too.

Also, people who say "x makes my teeth itch" really need to find another way of expressing their irritation with something - it's become such a boring old cliche. Since when do teeth itch anyway?

Of course aitch is a word! It's a group of letters that has a meaning and represents a sound. What else do you require of a word? (And it's a very lovely MNer, too.)

Apparently I'm the token Aussie on this thread, so I'll throw my lot in with the aitch camp. I grew up in the era when the oldies still gave a crap about religion... we were C of E and Dad was a Mason so the Romans were not to be trusted because they'd tell the priest all the state secrets in the confessional and report straight back to the Vatican apparently! :)

So... I was told by my teachers at my independent C of E school that the "haitch" pronunciation was the sign of a middle class Catholic education.

"Firstly: What sodding difference does it make?"

Because where I live haitch is incorrect and makes the speaker sound uneducated (and, I'm sorry to say) thick.

Dd's year 3 teacher used to say haitch and OH and I got sick of telling DD that it is aitch not haitch.

I thought it was an English thing too, having never noticed Scottish people saying it, but i am now having to correct the DS's all the time, I think it must vary across Scotland.

Saying Jie (to rhyme with pie or eye) instead of Jay (to rhyme with may) is very common in Scotland. I have noticed it more around Glasgow but it is one of those things that varies with class too. (Middle class Scot here with English mother who was always correcting my glottal stops etc.)

DDS teacher is teaching her to say" I done PE today" so for me the aitch/ haitch argument would be a very minor battle compared to my constant correction of the past tense in this house ( apologies - probably a whole other thread )

Poppa - that's hilarious - where was there ever a middle class catholic education if you are any older than 30!

I had no idea about this haitch thingy. I say aitch -but does it really matter. Surely depends on where you are from and the english speaking community is massive around the world.

To me it's like friends from asia who insist on calling weights kay gee (and it used to throw me as I'd never heard of that term) when I just say kilo. But who can way which bit of the enlgish language pronunciation is right or wrong. Surely depends on which english speaking country you're from?

Not hugely important really.

I'm in Scotland too, and Haitch really bugs me. Not so much when other people say it, but when my kids do - as taught by a teacher from England.

For those that aregue it should be haitch because of the 'h' sound - what about the letter w? Will it's name now have to be changed, and if so - to what? wubblewoo?

*give", I'd say Kg, kilo and kilogram are about equal here. I had to think about that... then I remembered that the steak for tea tonight was on special for $14 a kilogram... so kilogram! :)

It's a normal part of some regional accents isn't it? I'm in Nottingham and most people who've grown up here seem to say haitch, I don't know how far across the Midlands it extends.

I do find it very ugly and 'wrong' as in deviation from standard English, the letter is 'aitch' after all but that's true of lots of elements of lots of regional accents. I don't think people who use it are thick, they're just from an area that uses that pronunciation.

i'm irish and say haitch - it is the standard pronunciation in hiberno english.

I'm Irish and say Haitch and always thought people were being lazy saying aitch!!

Now I realise I say Haitch because I am "middle-class Catholic". How did I get it so wrong??

As I live in England I have problems spelling anything over the phone. I have to say A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo, C as in Charlie etc etc . It takes forever to spell my name and address. I'm just thankfull there is no Haitch/aitch in any of that. I wouldnt want someone to have a breakdown....

I say haitch. Both parents irish and they said haitch. I am going to show my
ignorance now and say I have never heard it pronounced aitch

Oh crap have just realised I taught my four boys haitch. Never corrected by my husband because he is irish and also says haitch.

It's aitch. End of discussion. Sorry I can't do links atm but just look in a dictionary, it is spelled out and there will be a pronunciation guide too.

And yes, I have heard teachers say 'haitch' grrr.

My son's teacher says 'haitch'

She isn't the sharpest tool and has shocked me with some of her nit-wittedness over the years (my eldest had her for 2 years). This however, is the one thing that I am tempted to have a moan about. I just hate it.