Could be a regional variation. In Texas, we were told it was a British usage. Of course, I don’t think we even saw it as children; it would have been maybe in high school or even beyond when we would encounter “an” before anything beginning with an H.
Yes, my point was that no one’s saying “istorical,” either – 'cause it isn’t a word.
Unless you’re a certain kind of British. 
So: “a herb” or “an herb”? 
Hah! That’s easy: “A Herb (Herb Smith, in this case) picked an herb from the garden.”
What?
This controversy flared up in 1984, when Time magazine put VP nominee Geraldine Ferraro on the cover with the headline, “A Historic Choice.” The Grammar Police pounced, with many insisting it should have been “An Historic Choice,” but the upshot seemed to be “either is correct,” IIRC.
For myself, I would say “An Historic Choice,” but I wouldn’t call the other option wrong.
Interesting! This is what I was wondering, how it would be written, as in part of the title of my research paper.
Rest assured that whichever you use, it will not be definitively wrong, but half the people reading it will think it is wrong and some of them will let you know.
I hugely reduce the “h” when it’s not the primary stressed syllable.
So, I’m much closer to saying “istorical” than “historical” but neither is completely accurate.
I use “an historical” versus “a horse.”
I’m a certain kind of Ohioan.
Yes, where I’m from, the H in “herb” is silent. Although the Brits pronounce it, don’t they? And so do some regions in the US.
I’m completely on the “a historical” side in modern American usage. If you aspirate the “h” in “historical,” you should write “a historical.” For whatever reason “an historic day” really grates on my ears, since I don’t know anyone who would say that in their natural speech, except possibly for some Brits I know.
Both usages are common, both are understandable- thus both are OK.
That reminds me :
Yes, heaven forbid that there would ever be silent letters in English. :rolleyes:
It’s a joke. He’s a comedian.
Oh. my bad.
It is if you woke up this morning and heard the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow.
Come to think of it, Shakespeare didn’t write, “An horse, an horse, my kingdom for an horse” in Richard III. And he’s had some small influence on English usage over the years…
And come to think of it, “horse” is word with the stress on the first (and only) syllable, so no one would contend the “h” sound should be dropped. :dubious:
So do folks that say “an historical” use “a history” instead of “an history” since the accent is on the first syllable? I would imagine the answer is yes, but I don’t know for sure.
Yes.