# Stop enunciating the fucking "h".... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114 "2015-05-15T16:04:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/21 "2015-05-15T19:52:36Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > No, we’re doing it right and you, with your “wut” and “wenn” and “Y” babytalk, just sound silly. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/22 "2015-05-15T20:04:08Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > That’s the way I was taught to pronounce those in second grade: “hwy,” “hwen.” I don’t disagree that doing so makes one sound pretentious. (and I’ll add: _I_ never pronounce those words in that manner) I wonder if kids are even taught to pronounce those words that way anymore? This was my third grade teacher’s approach, but probably even worse than what you’re illustrating. I can handle the aspirated-w sound, but my third grade teach would pronounce them more like, “hhuhwat,” “hhuhwere,” “hhuhwy,” etc. I’d be thinking, “COME ON! NO ONE EVER PRONOUNCES THOSE WORDS LIKE THAT EVER!” Drove me up the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/23 "2015-05-15T20:09:45Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > ve-Hickle (vehicle) always gets on my nerves. Coming from the South, I always pronounced it VEE-HICK-uhl. I think my pronunciation shifted to the more damn Yankee pronunciation VEE-uhkle when I started singing the Ides of March song, “Vehicle,” at karaoke. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/24 "2015-05-15T20:19:05Z")
This is normal in a lot of Irish accents. It’s no more pretentious than you having the nerve to have whatever accent you grew up with. > [@Claverhouse](#): > > In Britain this would be common with some Irish accents. Irish accents aren’t from Britain. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/25 "2015-05-15T20:22:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > ve-Hickle (vehicle) always gets on my nerves. > [@Strainger](#): > > Coming from the South, I always pronounced it VEE-HICK-uhl. I think my pronunciation shifted to the more damn Yankee pronunciation VEE-uhkle when I started singing the Ides of March song, “Vehicle,” at karaoke. Irish police notoriously pronounce it ‘VE-hickle’, with a short e like in ‘bet’. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/26 "2015-05-15T20:24:44Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Irish accents aren’t from Britain. Britain, Ireland, Scottland. Its all the same. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/27 "2015-05-15T20:26:09Z")
I double-dare you to walk into a pub of my choice and say that. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/28 "2015-05-15T20:32:49Z")
Pubs…aren’t pubs what they have in places too benighted to boast proper bars? ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/29 "2015-05-15T20:39:25Z")
Say it once Say it loud WE’RE BENIGHTED AND WE’RE PROUD ---
**Author:** ![Nuveena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@Nuveena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuveena)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/30 "2015-05-15T20:39:36Z")
It would always irritate my mom when Worf would pronounce weapons as wHeapons - “There’s not even an h in it!” on Star Trek: TNG. I was disappointed it didn’t come up when the Enterprise crew appeared on that one episode of Family Guy. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/31 "2015-05-15T23:31:17Z")
> [@Nuveena](#): > > It would always irritate my mom when Worf would pronounce weapons as wHeapons - “There’s not even an h in it!” on Star Trek: TNG. I was disappointed it didn’t come up when the Enterprise crew appeared on that one episode of Family Guy. You’d think that could be his way of adding a Klingon accent, but Klingon, as far we know, uses plain [w] Also, there’s a difference between what Stewie Griffin does and what people actually do. It’s just an unvoiced w. There’s no long h in front of it. The only time you would hear that would be in the same place where the voiced w would be extended by those with the wine/whine merger. On a comedy show, they–get this–exaggerated for the purpose of comedy. If you emphasize the voiceless nature with an h, you sound pretentious, just like Stewie was supposed to. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/32 "2015-05-15T23:45:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > ve-Hickle (vehicle) always gets on my nerves. Oh man, that always reminds me of my ex, who always used the word and pronounced it that way. And he said “coitus” too. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/33 "2015-05-15T23:57:33Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > That’s the way I was taught to pronounce those in second grade: “hwy,” “hwen.” I don’t disagree that doing so makes one sound pretentious. (and I’ll add: _I_ never pronounce those words in that manner) I wonder if kids are even taught to pronounce those words that way anymore? Your kidding aren’t you? These days kids aren’t even taught words. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/34 "2015-05-16T00:51:12Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Irish accents aren’t from Britain. Debatable ( and I have an Irish name ) \* but I didn’t say that, I said that _in Britain_ we can hear this in some Irish accents. I am not sure whether those Irish in Ireland are necessarily aware of their own accents any more than most of us are. These old weirdos probably thought they sounded perfectly normal: **[U.S. Presidential Audio Recordings](http://www.lib.msu.edu/cs/branches/vvl/presidents/index.html)** Check out old Cal. - And many of our best-beloved cousins from Ulster seem to think they are British. As they will tell one frequently. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/35 "2015-05-16T01:18:31Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Debatable ( and I have an Irish name ) \* but I didn’t say that, I said that _in Britain_ we can hear this in some Irish accents. I am not sure whether those Irish in Ireland are necessarily aware of their own accents any more than most of us are. > > These old weirdos probably thought they sounded perfectly normal: > > **[U.S. Presidential Audio Recordings](http://www.lib.msu.edu/cs/branches/vvl/presidents/index.html)** > Check out old Cal. > > - And many of our best-beloved cousins from Ulster seem to think they are British. As they will tell one frequently. yeah, but Cal was from upper New England (Vermont) and they’re kind of special there. they still talk that way: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FZDpx1aLovc/hqdefault.jpg "Interview with a Maine Lobsterman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZDpx1aLovc) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/36 "2015-05-16T01:21:58Z")
“height” is pronounced properly as “hite” with a long “i” and a “t” sound at the end, like “kite,” NOT “heighth.” NO “th” at the end, damn it! The latter may be considered proper somewhere on this planet, but not in my corner of it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/37 "2015-05-16T01:30:22Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Your kidding aren’t you? These days kids aren’t even taught words. Or the proper spelling of certain contractions. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/38 "2015-05-16T02:34:52Z")
“I’m a ga-nu. I’m a ga-nu. The ga-nicest picece of ga-nature in the zoo. I’m a ga-nu. Spelled gee-en-you. You really ought to ka-now wa-who’s wa-who.” Flanders and Swann ---
**Author:** ![Celan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Celan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/39 "2015-05-16T05:00:13Z")
Reassess what you are calling pretentious. You have no business telling anyone how to speak if you have to use ‘fucking’ in the way you did here. Common as it has become, it is still rude and crude. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114/40 "2015-05-16T06:06:21Z")
If you’re not pronouncing them stop putting the letters in the stupid words. Your writing is supposed to at least marginal phonetic, not ideogramic. wat, wen, wy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-enunciating-the-fucking-h/720114.md?page=3)