Grammar police I need your help please [title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

[CareBear50]

First world problem I know, but this conundrum is driving me slightly batty. Is it "a Hawaiian" pizza or "an Hawaiian pizza"??

I understand that if a noun or adjective starts with the letter h , if the h is silent eg heirloom, you would say an heirloom. However, if it's a hard h sound then you would say eg a hairline fracture.

However a Hawaiian pizza is harder to say than an Hawaiian pizza....so which is correct please??

Always pause when you say “A Nazi,” so people don’t think you’ve said “An Nazi.”

“An hotel” is accepted because it’s a French word and in French the “h” is silent.

There is a smudgy grey area (even ignoring variations of regional accent).

What about 'Hair'? I would say that with a hard H sound - but "I'm going for an haircut" just sounds pretentiously wrong.

I also object to the casual use of Nazi.

I didn’t say it casually there.

I used an ominous booming voice.

Odd use of the word 'Nazis' OP.

I take you are aware of what the Nazis did?

Even if you must use such an expression, does a knowledge of the English language make someone a grammar 'Nazi'?

You're going to get more posts about your title than the question, OP. Maybe ask @MNHQ to amend it to 'pedants'? (I'm not offended, by the way).

Hi folks

We've changed the title at the OP's request.

Why not just call it Pizza Hawai and avoid the issue ?

I have asked them to change the title as I absolutely meant to cause no offence

Oh no someone said “Police!”

I’m triggered, whatever that means.

'A' before words that start with consonant sounds and 'AN' before words that start with vowel sounds. So - a hospital, an honourable man. If the word starts with with the ‘you’ sound, it's ‘a’ - a university, a united front.

Why not just call it Pizza Hawai and avoid the issue ?

Because Hawaii is spelled with two I s at the end, not one?

Is it really that offensive to say 'Nazi' now unless you're referring to actual Nazis? I find that a bit... I don't know. Surely we're all mature enough to grasp concepts like 'context' and 'hyperbole'.

I say a.
I also say hotel pronouncing the h so say a hotel.
yes, agree with daisy above.

We were always taught
A before consonant and silent vowels
An before vowels.
And you sound exactly as @daisym00n said.

Is it really that offensive to say 'Nazi' now unless you're referring to actual Nazis? I find that a bit... I don't know. Surely we're all mature enough to grasp concepts like 'context' and 'hyperbole'.

You'd have thought so wouldn't you. Seriously have people never seen it used in this way? Hardly new.

Is it really that offensive to say 'Nazi' now unless you're referring to actual Nazis?

I'm guessing it must be, and as a proud National Socialist Hodgeheg3 felt it was a cheap jibe.

Fair enough. I'd hate to think I'd accidentally upset a Nazi - it's much more fun to do it on purpose ...

Maybe MNHQ should add a "Nazis" board, where like minded people can get together and discuss all the things they plan on doing to non like minded people ?

It is 'a' not 'an' in your example OP. However many of the people who really should know better like IMPORTANT people on the news say things like 'an historic day' and I wince every time.

Is it really that offensive to say 'Nazi' now unless you're referring to actual Nazis? I find that a bit... I don't know. Surely we're all mature enough to grasp concepts like 'context' and 'hyperbole'.

I think it is.

Being likened to a bunch of evil totalitarian bastards who murdered millions of innocents because of some demented philosophy/science about racial purity - just because I know how to use an apostrophe correctly - is pretty insulting.

Having said that, I can put up with being insulted. What I do object to is the casual use of the word lessening and making commonplace fascist crimes.

If I call someone a' Nazi' I will mean just that. I want it to mean something; I want it to mean that they - or the ideas that they are espousing - are fucking evil.

I don't want 'Nazi' to become just another mild insult.

I don't want 'Nazi' to become just another mild insult.

Sadly, there's nearly a century of history behind you that has sort of allowed that to happen.

And I really, really, really don't see attempts to "reclaim" the word Nazi are going to meet with anything other than widespread ridicule, possibly making it even more of a joke ...

Glad to see the title of this thread has been changed. I clicked on this thread earlier to see if it was something I could answer out of curiosity, saw that it was, and then clicked away without bothering to help the OP out of principle. I do this with every single thread I see with a similar title.

If an MNer can't be bothered to think about the ramifications of minimising the mass murder of milions of people, then I can't be bothered to help them with their grammar queries.

• Oh no someone said “Police!”

I’m triggered, whatever that means.*

Ah, come on now. Sting & his mates weren't that bad.