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?

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

Stupidest thing I've ever read in here. Yes, the population of a whole big area ALL day something 'incorrectly'.

Please look up dialect in the dictionary.

Well it might be frequently used but it's still incorrect. Aitch is what it is, despite many people not saying it that way. It doesn't mean that they have to love hearing it. It doesn't mean that they are bigoted or arseholes.

What is the difference between aitch and haitch?
They sound so interceptibly different can you really tell the difference?

Haitch is totally valid in Ireland.

And no disrespect to Aitch, but I would not be taking elocution tips from him.

I wouldn't expect a national institution to use regional variations outside regional settings.

I presume this is because H - haitch is also used more widely internationally? Would HBSC have much American business? They'd sound the H.

I suspect but would like to know for sure - is the Haitch form more common in International English, incl Hong Kong / China?

I'd expect Bank of England to use aitch in official pre-recorded messages. But International English is the world's business language - not British English.

They sound so interceptibly different can you really tell the difference?

It's not really about the way they sound, it's just an opportunity to feel superior and sneer at someone.

Well it might be frequently used but it's still incorrect.

No it's not.

Are those languages? I was under the impression that Scots was the language, and Doric was a dialect of Scots?

@ClaudiusTheGod Maybe you should research rhoticity and linguistics more generally, it's really interesting.

When Radio was first broadcast many regions couldn't understand the home counties public school dialect.

Irish people pronounce it as haitch because in the Irish language H is called héis, pronounced haysh.

And no disrespect to Aitch, but I would not be taking elocution tips from him.

It's not really about the way they sound, it's just an opportunity to feel superior and sneer at someone.

This.

But HSBC isn’t based in Ireland. Nor is it an Irish bank. So why should they use Haitch which is incorrect in the country they’re based in?

Although, saying that, I literally just phoned and the message clearly says Aitch S B C

Check it out

03457404404

💯

<bangs head against wall>

Incorrect by what measure? Would you say someone saying baaahth instead of bath (or vice versa) is incorrect? Or dove instead of dived? Same principle.

God imagine being dyslexic if you can. You would see a totally different dimension on life. University educated and could not give 1/1000th of a fuck. Get someone from Eton to do the message then cry about mid class white privilege.

It's aitch in the US, or it was where I studied. I don't know about HK though, would be interested.

It’s also not a British bank so should they all speak in Chinese?

Only on MN in English could both Haitch and dropping the "h" sound in words beginning with H be so wrong 😆

Round here parents who think they're a bit posh correct DC and tell them it's Haitch!

Main thing I've taken from this thread is that that the musician Aitch is not H from Steps.

I'm elderly now.

It's a well-known (and documented) phenomenon, especially regarding language use. Those who claim to know "the rules" and are most stringent in applying them, know far less about language than they think.

i remember being very surprised by this fact. Bizarrely, after hearing his music I still didn’t click that there was quite a direction change.

I can’t say I’ve ever noticed if people use Aitch or Haitch.
I think I use both interchangeably, if I was spelling ‘house’ out loud I would use Haitch but if I say ‘NHS’ I use Aitch.
But then, I am northern and working class, so probably part of the uneducated proletariat who can’t speak correctly.

It’s also not a British bank so should they all speak in Chinese?

No, this number and this HSBC office is based here therefore it uses English.

There’s no such language as Chinese

Who gets to decide what is correct? Not you. It does however mean they are ignorant when it comes to linguistics.