ESL: How to know whether we hear the "h" at beg. of words- any guidelines? or just memorize common words?

Question

thanks.

Answer 1

Generally in English, "h" at the beginning of words are always said, unlike in Spanish where most of the time it isn't.

Answer 2

English is a frustrating language when it comes to all of the different pronunciations of words! Silent letters are tricky - and although there are certainly patterns/guidelines to determining whether or not we pronounce or "hear" certain letters, there are almost ALWAYS exceptions! So a combination of recognising patterns in words, while also memorising the exceptions, is what I recommend.

As for the letter 'h' - this is perhaps one of the less complicated silent letters.

Common words in which we DO NOT pronounce the 'h' include:

- heir (a person legally entitled to the possessions/titles of a dead person)

- heirloom (an object that has belonged to a family for several generations)

- honest (being truthful)

- honour/honor (high respect)

- hour (60 minutes of time)

In some parts of North America, the 'h' at the beginning of the word 'herb' (a plant used for seasoning foods) is not pronounced, but in almost all other English-speaking countries, this is not the case.

Otherwise, in almost every other word beginning with 'h', the 'h' is pronounced! (I say "almost" because I'm sure there would be uncommon words out there that also have a silent 'h', that aren't found in a common dictionary.)







As for WHY these words are like this - the reason is that they are all derived from French - and in the French language, the 'h' is not pronounced at the beginning of words (except in a few exceptions, of course!)





Hope this helps!