Charlie Bernstein
VIP Member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2009
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- United States
Sure. I'm just stating how it's said in standard (that is, ordinary, generally accepted as correct) English. There are only two ways. Using an before 'istoric isn't standard. That's all I'm saying.
Olympian asked a simple question. That's the simple answer.
To understand why, review the uses of a versus an. You won't find any reference to exceptions. That's because there aren't any. So use the N if the H is silent and don't if the H is pronounced. Anything else is non-standard.
In written English, you do often see an historic. Since reading is silent, there's no need for an apostrophe, and an apostrophe would be wrong. When we read "an historic," we understand that the writer doesn't pronounce the H when she says it aloud.
People say "an 'istoric" as a short-cut - less work than saying "a historic." If you want a short-cut there, it would be self-defeating to go to the trouble of adding an N and then go to the trouble pronouncing the H anyway.
It just wouldn't make sense. (Enter Alex Trebek!)
