A or An when the following word is 'holistic'?

[msrisotto]

Question's in the title. Is it because the h is stressed that means I don't need 'an'?

TIA

i say an because a sounds very wrong. But I am probably very wrong...

An

Because it is a h followed by a vowel I think (and it sounds right)

an

ie an holistic appraoch to child development

shame I can't spell approach innit

An

but you wouldn't say 'I'm going to look at an house for sale' would you?
I would say I'm going to look at a house for sale.
I would say 'I am going to a hotel for the weekend'
Why would holistic be different?
A holistic approach to child development.
A holiday romance etc.

I thought it was an too but helpful spellchecker 'corrected' me and I googled it hence the confusion. This is for my thesis which I am hoping to print off and get bound today so I want it to be right. I know 'an' sounds better, rolls off the tongue better, but is it right?

A

You only use "an" with very specific H words which are descended from the French, and the H was therefore historically not pronounced (as in French).

Examples are an hotel, an history.

Holistic does not derive from this root so the an rule does not apply.

Even in cases when it's correct (an hotel) it's now considered rather old-fashioned and over-correct.

OED advice

OED advice even

Google also threw up an old thread on here asking the same question! I am convinced that it is 'a' due to the 'h' being pronounced in this case.

I think 'a'. Perhaps you're allowed both, as for example, you can say 'a historic' and 'an historic'.

Generally speaking, though, if you pronounce 'h' you use an 'a' and if h is silent (an heir) you use 'an'.

Definitely a.

you are not allowed both. An Holistic is incorrect.

Trust me people. It's A Holistic.

Holistic (alt spelling Wholistic) derives from Whole and you wouldn't say "an whole apple" would you?

I use 'holistic' a lot and always use 'a'.

exactly what theyoungvisiter said

I think if you use 'an' you risk sounding like a ponce, inni'.

I love the OED link iklboo and have to quote this bit to you all incase you didn't look it up:

'Let?s go back to those three words that tend to cause problems: historic, horrific, and hotel. If hotel was pronounced without its initial letter ?h? (i.e. as if it were spelled ?otel?), then it would be correct to use an in front of it. The same is true of historic and horrific. If horrific was pronounced ?orrific? and historic was pronounced ?istoric? then it would be appropriate to refer to ?an istoric occasion? or ?an orrifc accident?. In the 18th and 19th centuries, people often did pronounce these words in this way.

Which implies that in the 21st century no one does drop their h's
I don't drop h's but I have met one or two people this century who do! Maybe not in Oxford

But shouldn't the OED say "If horrific WERE pronounced ?orrific? and historic WERE pronounced ?istoric?"??

Oh blimey it should, Acanthus, you're right!

smacs - I know you are joking but being pedants corner I can't resist pedantically taking your post at face value and answering it in full! What they mean is that in the 18th and 19th century it was completely correct to pronounce hotel 'otel.

People do drop their aitches of course (now as then) but we generally agree now that hotel has an aspirated H whereas heir (for example) doesn't, so in writing we usually put a hotel, an heir.

In the 18th and 19th century it was completely correct to say 'otel and 'istory, just as much as 'eir because of the way the words came over from French; they were still in the process of being fully anglicised.

An interesting example that has gone both ways is the word herbs (also from French) which has become aspirated in UK English, but in American English survives in its French form and is usually pronounced 'erbs.

Anyway to go back to the original question, NONE of this applies to holistic which is not a French word but resolutely English to the core

bugger. I know i have said an holistic. I am officially an ignoramus.