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?

I'm sure their "pronunciations" sound fine to them what with it being their dialect and all.

Brought up saying aitch. Then worked in NI and Liverpool where haitch was much used and not just by Catholics. As a linguist I found it much more sensible for eg teaching children since the majority of nouns like horse hatch horrid hate use the aspirated haitch. Unaspirated haitches are usually the ghastly (see what i did there) combos like rough, enough, chasm and phylum (remains of Greek) bough bought etc which need to be learnt. Unless you're the sort of posh who says an (h)otel. IMHO. I think it's fine. Interested in what Welsh and Scots MNers think and especially how those national languages are taught.

I genuinely only discovered that I was supposed to say 'aitch' for H a few of years ago when I joined MN... I'm 40 too! I still say Haitch because I can't get out of the habit.

Snobbery and pedantry when you’re wrong is particularly embarrassing.

Haitch is widely accepted in Ireland.

Worth noting that HSBC have a major call centre in west central Scotland where there is a significant Irish Catholic population.

Read the full thread people, read the full thread.

I know it’s a bit of a pain, but It will be so much less embarrassing in the long run.

I say haitch when saying HSBC but aitch when saying NHS

Wikipedia says it's regional

Aren’t you aware that there are different accents, or that people have different pronunciations?

do you judge someone by their accent or by their actions?

i say aitch. I am aware some people say aitch and some say haitch. One is not better than the other.

using language as a social demarcator is generally done to make the person judging others feel superior.

It can be many things, languages aren't fixed with a single correct version, there are dialects and accents all over. Thinking there is only pronunciation is linguistically ignorant, as well as snobby and discriminatory. Innit.

Which Scottish national language are you interested in? Scots? Gaelic?

what? I know no Irish Catholics that pronounce it incorrectly. Pretty sure the pope hasn’t ruled it. What a ridiculous generalisation.

How is it incorrect if accents are varied and wide in the U.K.? Should we all speak with RP?

It's only regional to say haitch because lots of people all say it incorrectly.

I don't care how people say it. I know what they mean. But it's wrong and you'd expect big companies to get it right, as you'd be shocked if they misspelled a word on a sign.

1000% this!

Quite boggled - and worried - by the number of people coming on to say it's 'incorrect' or 'grating' or 'makes [them] cringe' AFTER the posts explaining about the regions where it's used. In other words, these are people who have no problem with their haitch-hate being, not just bigoted and possibly classist, but sectarian.

I'm an aitch-sayer (so-called 'standard' southern British English accent) but threads like these make me want to adopt 'haitch' in solidarity.

Oh god, more middle-class sobbery and nasty comments on Mumsnet. Loads of working class people pronounce it that way. Get over yourselves.

Scot here, east coast. Until Nicola decrees otherwise, I think my National language is English.

I am in the Aitch camp, but we have our own set of howlers up here, so I cannot afford to be snotty about it.

Lallans?

Doric?

😂😂😂😂

'It's only regional to say haitch because lots of people all say it incorrectly.'

Jesus Haitch Christ.

The H is for Hong Kong. Maybe it's pronounced differently there ?

If I said what I thought you sound like I’d get deleted.

I’m from south east England, I drop my haitches wherever I can

Literal snort, as I say Jesus Haitch Christ all the time.

Exactly.

Irish Catholics (including NI Catholics) do not pronounce it incorrectly.

they pronounce it haitch because that is the correct way for their community

different strokes for different folks.

This