"a historic" or "an historic"--Vote

[Snaploud]

Which one do you use? Do you think one usage is more correct than the other one?

I found this link indicating which one is more common online:

http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w005.html

Edit: Here's a link that shows the difference as being cultural:

http://grammartips.homestead.com/historical.html

 

[cultcross]

I use 'an' in most situations, but only because it sounds more 'right' to me, I don't have a grammatical defence for it.

 

[Gepard]

"An historic" is easier to say, though I don't recall using the phrase in either case.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I was always taught to use "an historic" in school. I dunno, it just "sounds" right to me.

 

[Gov Kodos]

An historic as the stress is on the second syllable. The same would happen with historical. 'A' history since the stress is on the first syllable.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Being a silly foreigner, I alternate between dropping the "h" (virtually unknown in my native language), in which care I'll say "an 'istoric sommeting", and overemphasize it in my naive eagernesses to pronounce the sound correctly, in which case I'll say "a hhhhistoric somfing".

But if I need to choose one, I'll say "an historic" because it sounds better to my Italian ears.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Aww i bet your accent sounds super sexy.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Kind of Marcello Mastroianni, perhaps?

 

[Davros]

I was taught to only use "an" when the following word begins with a vowel.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I use "an" but pronounce it "An 'istoric occasion ..."

 

[cultcross]

I was taught to only use "an" when the following word begins with a vowel.

Which is the rule, generally, but sometimes 'h' words 'begin' with a vowel because the consonant is dropped when speaking. As others have said, it is so often pronounced 'an 'istoric' that the 'an' comes naturally.
I guess it depends on whether it's the spelling of the word or the pronunciation that determines whether it's a vowel.

 

[Gov Kodos]

I was taught to only use "an" when the following word begins with a vowel.

Which is the rule, generally, but sometimes 'h' words 'begin' with a vowel because the consonant is dropped when speaking. As others have said, it is so often pronounced 'an 'istoric' that the 'an' comes naturally.
I guess it depends on whether it's the spelling of the word or the pronunciation that determines whether it's a vowel.

I'd say pronunciation trumps spelling as in the case of 'an hour'. 'An istoric' comes naturally as English tends to drop the initial letter as it is in a weakly stressed syllable. H often gets dropped for instance 'and 'e came in' is as natural as 'and he came in' for most speakers, arguably even more so depending on stress and emphasis. A lot of English pronunciation varies based on the stress of the words, and often spelling is of little help. It drives my Korean students crazy since Korean doesn't do that.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Aye. It's not just a matter of vowels and consonants, but also vowel and consonant sounds; e.g., an umbrella, a unicorn, a house, an honest man.

 

[Goliath]

An historic as the stress is on the second syllable. The same would happen with historical. 'A' history since the stress is on the first syllable.

This.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I think more than anything, it shows how much grammar has changed over centuries. Some things change and some don't and so the English language has become very modular as a result. Bill Bryson explains the evolution of the language in his book, 'English: The Mother Tongue and how it got that way', which I recommend to anyone interested in the evolution of the language. It explains why this rule is used in some places depending on the culture as the language has shifted according to region. I think it's fascinating.

Years ago, I used to write for a gaming website which is no longer around, and we got into a conversation on this very subject. He had used An in a sentence, which to my ears didn't sound right in the context of the sentence. I don't remember the exact details, but I do think its use depends on the word it follows. Too many times these days, I see people either use An or A too often without regard for the word, and the result is often jarring. Personally, I'll say An Historian, as 'A Historian' kind of makes you pause while saying it. That link is a good explanation into why some words like Historian sound good to the ear when coupled by An whole words like hotel don't. Generally, I tend to trust my ear. If it sounds right, it probably is.

 

[RoJoHen]

Aye. It's not just a matter of vowels and consonants, but also vowel and consonant sounds; e.g., an umbrella, a unicorn, a house, an honest man.

Indeed, and depending where you live and what your accent sounds like, you may or may not pronounce the H in "historic."

I, for one, say "a historic" because I pronounce the H.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I pronounce the H too and I say "an." "Sabatage."

 

[RoJoHen]

I pronounce the H too and I say "an." "Sabatage."

See, that bugs me.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Aww i bet your accent sounds super sexy.

It does indeed, but that's beside the point.

Kind of Marcello Mastroianni, perhaps?

I don't really know how Mastroianni sounds in English, but if he had a decent grammar and a noticeable yet non-parodic Italian accent, I'd say it would be quite accurate.

 

[Spot's Meow]

As an historian myself, I was taught to use "an." I always use it formally, but in everyday conversation or here I might use "a" in some circumstances. For example, "an historic occasion" sounds correct, but "an historic reference" seems weird, so I would use "a" in that case. Also, when I write it, I say I am an historian, but when I speak aloud I would say that I am a historian.