Haitch in HSBC phone message

[ClaudiusTheGod]

Phone HSBC. A voice will thank you for calling Haitch S B C.

This is all kinds of wrong, isn’t it?

One of my relatives says "itch" which is even more annoying than h-aitch.

Haitch is regional? What region would that be then?
No, haitch is not regional, it's just incorrect. It goes in the same catergory as pacific for specific, bought for brought etc....just poor literacy.

Arks for asks might be regional (generational even) but I wouldn't expect hear that either. You're correct, HSBC is international. All the more reason to get it right.

Northern Ireland.
It's a linguistic shibboleth.

I've just listened to the HSBC message and don't think the voice is saying "haitch".

I think you mean NOT pronounce.

Looked it up on dictionary.com

Definition of aitch
No definition of haitch

Aitch is strictly correct.
Haitch is found increasingly often.

People some Some people are also lazy and don't think double checking what they post is important

Haitch is regional? What region would that be then?

Try reading the thread. Several regions have been mentioned.

Absolutely a fair point! Mea Culpa.
I deserved that!

No, haitch is not regional, it's just incorrect. It goes in the same catergory as pacific for specific, bought for brought etc....just poor literacy.

Imagine banging on about literacy but not even being literate enough to RTFT

Haitch is regional? What region would that be then?

Try reading the thread. Many posters have explained this.

It's correct in Hiberno English but don't let that stop you being racist.

Well Aitch obviously. Haitch sounds terrible and puts me off any professional company that says it. It’s akin to allowing Ain’t to be used professionally.

So you wouldn't work with an Irish business? how embarrassing. Replace "Irish" with some other words and think how that sounds.

No, haitch is not regional, it's just incorrect. It goes in the same catergory as pacific for specific, bought for brought etc....just poor literacy.

and catergory for category?

South Wales has also been mentioned on the thread. I'd add East Central Scotland to that, though after may decades away from there I tend to say "aitch" now. I must go back to refresh my accent soon!

You never hear Haitch spoken by an American. Some of their pronunciations sound off but at least they always say Aitch.

www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/haitch-or-aitch-pronunciation-letter-h-old-english-a8393766.html

Every day's a school day.

A view from Australia:

citynews.com.au/2022/to-aitch-or-haitch-and-what-it-tells-about-you/

But why do supposedly egalitarian Australian “aitchers” look down their noses at “haitchers”? One theory is that it’s deep-rooted class snobbishness based on the “haitch” pronunciation being associated with poor Irish Catholic working-class immigrants.

I mean, it's telling on yourself with the pathetic snobbery, really, isn't it?

I say aitch and I don’t really like hearing "haitch" but I also don’t care enough to get mad about it. It's a letter, you'll live.

It is aitch.

People who say haitch are muddling the phonic sound with the name of the letter.

RTFT.
They really aren't.

Christ I used to work in a call centre and we had to say an "aitch" in our greeting. Occasionally "haitch" would slip out, or some of the staff just said it by default, it genuinely felt like it flowed better with the greeting as haitch in some accents too. The number of uppity losers we had go "IT'S AITCH" down the phone at us was hilarious. Ok Susan, take a breath, the world won't end because someone pronounced something slightly wrong. Do you want help with your insurance or not?

I used to love deliberately slipping other mispronunciations in, just to hear their blood frothing over the phone. Pacific instead of specific, probly instead of probably, if I could fit an expresso in there I would.

In essence, who actually cares? Language is forever evolving anyway, no one answers the phone with AHOY HOY anymore, we don't use eths and thorns anymore, "alright" wasn't in the dictionary in the 70's but is widely accepted now... and honestly if an erroneous haitch instead of aitch is enough to get your back up I really think you need to lighten up.

No they're not.

In Kent where I grew up were incorrect when they said 'haitch' if we were in Ireland and were catholic then they would be correct.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/haitch-or-aitch-pronunciation-letter-h-old-english-a8393766.html%3famp

As per the Linguistics Professor who wrote this article, it was originally Haitch, the H was dropped by nouveau-riche keeping-up-with-the-Joneses trying to show how French they could be.

So all you "aitchers" are incorrect, as am I, being of the minority in Ireland who grew up saying aitch, but I wouldn't dream of being rude enough to cast aspersions on anyone else's pronunciation of it.