# Regional pronunciation? "w" for 'wh' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881 "2010-10-30T16:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/1 "2010-10-30T16:35:54Z")
In words like “whisper” and “when,” there’s an initial aspiration for most speakers (so a closer phonetic renerinw would be “hwisper” and “hwen,” respectively). However, I have heard a minority of people omit the “h” sound. Is that a US regionalist, and if so, where? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/2 "2010-10-30T16:39:20Z")
[Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_wh): If you’re an American, you must be southern: outside of the South, only a few patches in the Midwest have the aspiration. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/3 "2010-10-30T16:44:11Z")
So far from the merger of the two sounds being an Americanism, the non-merger is only found in a minority of Americans as well in nearly all Scots and most Irish. In the rest of the English-speaking world, the merger is pretty well universal. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/4 "2010-10-30T16:46:08Z")
I’m from the USA Midwest and I never say the “hw” sound, and frankly I have difficulty hearing it. The only time I use it is to distinguish whet from wet ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/5 "2010-10-30T16:51:05Z")
Fascinating!:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/6 "2010-10-30T17:01:59Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > However, I have heard a minority of people omit the “h” sound. Is that a US regionalist, and if so, where? A minority? It’s the other way around. I do remember being taught the initial aspiration, but I don’t really know anybody who does it, outside of NPR. This was even a gag on [Family Guy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lich59xsjik#t=55). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/7 "2010-10-30T17:15:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_wh): If you’re an American, you must be southern: outside of the South, only a few patches in the Midwest have the aspiration. Cite, please? Not that I;m doubting you, but I’ve lived in an assortment of places and always heard them aspirated – I;m curious what are the bounds of the dialectal regions. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/8 "2010-10-30T17:41:24Z")
Look at the map in the Wikipedia entry. For a more precise answer, look at this map: [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono\_atlas/maps/Map8.html](http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/Map8.html) The distinction is made in much of southeastern U.S. and scattered parts of the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/9 "2010-10-30T17:51:50Z")
I knew a girl in college who pronounced the aspiration, and that was over 40 years ago. There might have been a few since then, but they’d still be a tiny minority. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/10 "2010-10-30T18:08:34Z")
I do sound that h occasionally, but only for humorous effect. I am unaware of anyone who does it naturally. If they do, I don’t hear it. Of course, one doesn’t usually hear sounds one doesn’t say. For me, from Philadelphia, “sad” and “bad” don’t even close to rhyme, but most people never notice that I say them differently. Same with “can” (modal) and “can” (noun and verb). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/11 "2010-10-30T18:14:32Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Cite, please? Not that I;m doubting you, but I’ve lived in an assortment of places and always heard them aspirated – I;m curious what are the bounds of the dialectal regions. Ontario, Canada here. It’s wisper, weet, and so on here; I don’t aspirate the H and know nobody who does, at least not to any _noticeable_ extent. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/12 "2010-10-30T18:16:54Z")
Wow. I knew the “hw” sound went back at least as far as Old English. You see it in the very first word in Beowulf,“Hwæt”. Apparently it likely goes all the way back to Proto-Indo-European, though. At some point in the transition from Old to Middle English, the “hw” got inverted to “wh” in writing, but pronunciation remained the same until the 18th century. Interesting article on it [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_wh). ETA: According to the above article, most speakers began using the ‘w’ pronunciation, and the folks who use ‘hw’ are in the minority. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/13 "2010-10-30T18:23:37Z")
Another Canadian (grew up in Newfoundland)…never heard anyone do the aspiration in person. First time I ever heard it was an episode of Star Trek (Metamorphoses, IIRC), and the guest character responded to Kirk with a shocked ‘what?’ and I was momentarily bewildered by his aspirated pronunciation of it. That was likely partially since it was overpronounced, due to the shock - ‘HHHWAT?’ - but still, I had never heard anyone say it with the aspiration at all, even a minor one. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/14 "2010-10-30T21:40:40Z")
Incidentally, the “wh” you’re speaking of is not so much aspirated as voiceless (a [voiceless labio-velar approximant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_labio-velar_approximant)), as opposed to the “w” which is voiced. The voiceless w is represented in the IPA as an inverted w. Aspiration refers to the quality of the p in English pit /p[sup]h[/sup]It/, as opposed to spit /spIt/: the voicing of the vowel engages slightly after the articulation of the vowel does, so that you get a brief moment of /h/ or similar before the vowel becomes voiced. This doesn’t obtain in a word like spit. In some languages, such as Cambodian, /p[sup]h[/sup]/ and /p/ are different phonemes. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/15 "2010-10-30T22:03:57Z")
It’s a recurring joke on _Family Guy_ that Stewie (who sounds like Rex Harrison) uses the “hw” sound, and Brian finds it affected and unnatural. [Thus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9u-yx53YRI). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/16 "2010-10-31T02:50:16Z")
All choirs aspirate the “w,” or should. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/17 "2010-10-31T03:39:46Z")
I’ve always done it naturally and I wonder if some of you do it and don’t notice. Light a candle. Put your lips about three inches away in a direct line from the flame. Say the word “what.” Then say the word “watt.” Does the flame flicker on one of these and not on the other? There is an old song called “Where or When.” I’ve never heard a recording of it without the aspiration. Either pronunciation is appropriate, of course, since it is a matter of dialect. But I believe that broadcasters are coached to aspirate. See if you can notice one way or the other on a national broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/18 "2010-10-31T03:54:10Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Look at the map in the Wikipedia entry. For a more precise answer, look at this map: > > [Map 8](http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/Map8.html) > > The distinction is made in much of southeastern U.S. and scattered parts of the rest of the country. You realize that map represents only 62 speakers in the whole country making the distinction, and only 26 of those in the South? This is not especially rigorous or convincing (though it doesn’t conflict with my own impressions). ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/19 "2010-10-31T04:03:42Z")
When I’m speaking carefully I do pronounce the wh, but more often than not I’m speaking lazily and _whether_ sounds exactly like _weather_. In the same manner, when I’m not making conscious choices about pronunciation _our_ rhymes with _are_ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881/20 "2010-10-31T04:29:20Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > All choirs aspirate the “w,” or should. Not those that are pushing towards using natural English–ones that I generally think are better, since getting everyone to listen and blend their actual dialect with their neighbor is a lot harder than just being told a specific vowel to use. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-pronunciation-w-for-wh/558881.md?page=2)