Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
a vs. an with hierarchy / hierarchichal
English answer:
both are possible, but a is preferable
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
Jul 26, 2011 12:29
12 yrs ago
7 viewers *
English term
a vs. an with hierarchy / hierarchichal
English
Art/Literary
Linguistics
Which do we use: "a" or "an" ?
'a hierarchy' vs. 'an hierarchy'
'an hierarchical schema' vs 'a hierarchical schema'
The more I think about this the faster my head spins.
'a hierarchy' vs. 'an hierarchy'
'an hierarchical schema' vs 'a hierarchical schema'
The more I think about this the faster my head spins.
Responses
4 +5 | both are possible, but "a" is preferable | Charles Davis |
4 +7 | a if you pronounce the h | Jenni Lukac (X) |
Change log
Jul 27, 2011 20:04: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Responses
+5
10 mins
Selected
both are possible, but "a" is preferable
The use of "an" before a word beginning with an aspirated h, such as hierarchy, is not wrong, but it is not common practice nowadays. It was formerly more common and some still regard it as more appropriate in careful style, but they are certainly in the minority, and most now see it is an archaic curiosity. It is more often found with "historical" than with other words ("an historical account").
I think the following note from the Oxford Dictionary online expresses it well:
"Is it ‘a historical document’ or ‘an historical document’? ‘A hotel’ or ‘an hotel’? There is still some divergence of opinion over which form of the indefinite article should be used before words that begin with h- and have an unstressed first syllable. In the 18th and 19th centuries people often did not pronounce the initial h for these words, and so an was commonly used . Today the h is pronounced, and so it is logical to use a rather than an. However , the indefinite article an is still encountered before the h in both British and American English, particularly with historical: in the Oxford English Corpus around a quarter of examples of historical are preceded with an rather than a"
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/an#DWS-m-en_gb-msdi...
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Note added at 13 mins (2011-07-26 12:43:33 GMT)
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Note, by the way (as I forgot to mention) that "an" is possible before a word like "historical", in which the first syllable is not stressed, and this is also true of "hierarchical", but with "hierarchy", in which the first syllable is stressed, it should be "a hierarchy" in any case.
I presume we are talking about written language here. Those who drop their hs will naturally use "an" in speech without thinking about it.
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Note added at 58 mins (2011-07-26 13:28:01 GMT)
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I think we're in danger of getting confused unless we distinguish firmly between spoken and written usage. People who say "an hotel" or "an hierarchical distinction" are very rare nowadays, and likely to get funny looks. It still depends a bit on the context; a few old-fashioned academics still do it in academic contexts, but even there it has almost died out (though it was still fairly common when I was an undergraduate, and I'm not THAT old). Up to the mid-twentieth century, however, as Jack says, it was common, and those whose didn't do it in formal situations were regarded as somewhat uneducated.
In written usage, however, the question is not so clearcut. Again, an before a word beginning with an h is fairly rare and getting rarer all the time, but there are certainly people who would say "a hierarchical distinction" and write "an hierarachical distinction".
Let me say firmly that I don't do this and I don't recommend it should be done. There is no rational justification for it; it's a hangover from an earlier era. My comments are intended to be descriptive, not normative. But it would not be difficult to show that there are still people who follow this practice. I say forget it, and use "a".
I think the following note from the Oxford Dictionary online expresses it well:
"Is it ‘a historical document’ or ‘an historical document’? ‘A hotel’ or ‘an hotel’? There is still some divergence of opinion over which form of the indefinite article should be used before words that begin with h- and have an unstressed first syllable. In the 18th and 19th centuries people often did not pronounce the initial h for these words, and so an was commonly used . Today the h is pronounced, and so it is logical to use a rather than an. However , the indefinite article an is still encountered before the h in both British and American English, particularly with historical: in the Oxford English Corpus around a quarter of examples of historical are preceded with an rather than a"
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/an#DWS-m-en_gb-msdi...
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Note added at 13 mins (2011-07-26 12:43:33 GMT)
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Note, by the way (as I forgot to mention) that "an" is possible before a word like "historical", in which the first syllable is not stressed, and this is also true of "hierarchical", but with "hierarchy", in which the first syllable is stressed, it should be "a hierarchy" in any case.
I presume we are talking about written language here. Those who drop their hs will naturally use "an" in speech without thinking about it.
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Note added at 58 mins (2011-07-26 13:28:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think we're in danger of getting confused unless we distinguish firmly between spoken and written usage. People who say "an hotel" or "an hierarchical distinction" are very rare nowadays, and likely to get funny looks. It still depends a bit on the context; a few old-fashioned academics still do it in academic contexts, but even there it has almost died out (though it was still fairly common when I was an undergraduate, and I'm not THAT old). Up to the mid-twentieth century, however, as Jack says, it was common, and those whose didn't do it in formal situations were regarded as somewhat uneducated.
In written usage, however, the question is not so clearcut. Again, an before a word beginning with an h is fairly rare and getting rarer all the time, but there are certainly people who would say "a hierarchical distinction" and write "an hierarachical distinction".
Let me say firmly that I don't do this and I don't recommend it should be done. There is no rational justification for it; it's a hangover from an earlier era. My comments are intended to be descriptive, not normative. But it would not be difficult to show that there are still people who follow this practice. I say forget it, and use "a".
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Sheila Wilson
: I go along with everything you've said. I personally find "an +h", even if it isn't the stressed syllable, to be used mainly by pretentious and pompous people.
1 hr
|
Thanks very much, Sheila. I was beginning to feel a little lonely :)
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agree |
Neil Mann
: Deleted previous post, as I can't otherwise respond and modify. Having checked Google, especially in printed books, I see that "an hierarchy" is split between modern (almost exclusively computing) & old-fashioned (novels, theology, philosophy).
1 hr
|
Thanks, nmmad, I appreciate it. I'm almost sorry I started this, because I really don't want to encourage this usage, but it does still exist.
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agree |
Joshua Wolfe
: Thank-you for the mini-lesson in the evolution of the language
2 hrs
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Thank you, Joshua :)
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agree |
Thuy-PTT (X)
8 days
|
Thank you, Thuy-PTT
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agree |
Tony M
: I am one of those dinosaurs who still says 'an hotel' — mainly because I was brought up by parents dating from the early 20C who thought it sounded more posh! If Mother had dropped an aitch, she'd certainly have dusted it off when she picked it up again
621 days
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I am embarrassed now to see that I said that people who say "an hotel" are very rare nowadays and likely to get funny looks. I think that was overstating it. But thanks, Tony :)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Brilliant answer. Very detailed, and as Joshua commented, it goes pretty deep too. Your explanation was exactly what I was looking for. I won't ever be confused again :-) Much appreciated!"
+7
6 mins
a if you pronounce the h
This is a bit cultural. In US English, definitely "a"
Note from asker:
Thanks for your answer Jenni, which was of course correct. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Neil Mann
: for British English too. Don't think the "h" is ever unsounded (it's Greek origin, the grey areas are with words of French origin like "hotel" and "herb")
4 mins
|
Thanks. Very good distinction!
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agree |
Jack Doughty
: In UK English too, almost always. But up to around the mid-20th century, "an hotel" was considered by many educated people to be more correct than "a hotel".
6 mins
|
Thanks, Jack. Once in while I catch myself writing or saying an hotel. Old habits!
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agree |
Maria Fokin
7 mins
|
Cheers and thanks, Maria.
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agree |
B D Finch
: Whether or not the "h" is sounded does depend upon one's accent, but the upper-class English fashion for dropping aitches to sound languid probably died out because they feared being taken for cockneys.
15 mins
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Cheers and thanks, BD.
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agree |
Liz Dexter (was Broomfield)
23 mins
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Greetings and thanks, Liz.
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agree |
vierama
: "a", definitely
58 mins
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Cheers and thanks, vierama.
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agree |
British Diana
: ..bis auf das schlechte Wetter in Franken, ja,danke Jenni!
6 hrs
|
Thanks, Diana. I hope that you're having a nice summer.
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Discussion