Height or Heith

[Richard Savage]

Why do all the kitchen designers/fitters and most 'handymen' pronounce height as if it were spelled 'high-th'?

Curiously,

Richard

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On Wed, 13 Aug 2003 18:35:46 GMT, Richard Savage wrote

It's an interesting survival: I suspect it continues in vernacular use because it's so consistent with "width", "breadth" and "depth". One often finds that words which have been banished in "proper" usage survive in common use -- sometimes out of simple inertia, but in this case because of consistency with other forms.

(Incidentally, it used to be a perfectly acceptable form: Burchfield, in _The New Fowler's_, says it was in common use in the 17th century. Milton, apparently, only used "highth", and not "height".)

[Mary Fisher]

In my experience they say, "highdth".

But I'd rather that than those, esecially some who should no better, say, "haitch".

Mary

[Paul Mc Cann]

Be VERY careful on this one. It depends on how one was educated. In Northen Ireland for some unknown reason one religious section pronounces 'H' as 'aitch' and the other large group pronouncs it as 'haitch'. Consequently the pronouncement can tell what religion one is.

Only in Nornirland !

Paul Mc Cann

[Christian McArdle]

Does that mean when saying the letter, you have to pronouced it "haitch aitch", rather like "DerryLondonDerry"?

Christian.

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:10:57 GMT, Julian Fowler wrote

I'm not too sure about that; we could raise it in alt.usage.english to get some AmEng input.

I think that it may well be a *common* US pronunciation[1], in the same way that it's a common pronunciation here in the UK. It's not listed as even a dialect or non-standard form the dictionaries I have access to, though -- including the standard US reference of Merriam-Webster online. (I tried both "heighth" and "highth" and came up dry.)

It apparently was indeed the 17th century (and the Old English) form, but given that Merriam-Webster have no listing for it, I think the survival on both sides of the great watery divide is in "uneddicated" rather than conventional circles.

[1] I won't point out your spelling error.....oops; I just did ;)

[Gnube]

You might want to be careful asking about this; when I was about 6 years old, my dad used to say it that way all the time, and since it wasn't what I was being taught at school, I asked him about it, all I got out of it was a clipped ear! ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 12:14:18 GMT, Gnube wrote

Good advice; I had similar experiences, but at least they taught me to run. Real fast.

[andrewpreece]

Indeed, as "gotten" instead of "got" is frowned upon as an Americanism, but it's merely Old English and I hear it quite a lot in my neck of the woods. I've heard "heighdth" and "haitch" before as well.

Really annoying stuff? Try:-

"must of" "goverment" "wensday" "firty-free I fink"

Andy

[Mary Fisher]

I've never heard the haitch one from any of my Northern Irish friends - of any colour.

Not challenging - but there are exceptions to every rule!

Mary

[Richard Savage]

Regret that the pedant in me wishes to point out that there is an exception to almost every rule.

Sorry, Richard

[Richard Savage]

Ah! Pet hates: air miss or near miss all seem to me to be hits - they are both 'almost' misses and, therefore, hits. IMHO

Secetary, P'lice , Ter'ism, Tempory (as in tempoRAry)

and so on . . . .

Richard

[Bob Eager]

Febuary.

[PM]

Ooh, another one. Vunnerable instead of vulnerable (hang your head Alastair Stewart!)

[The Natural Philosopher]

And burglarised instead of burgled. :-)

[S Viemeister]

SickSth

[S Viemeister]

I've heard it more often as 'axe'.

[Andy Hall]

I've noticed that quite a lot of Americans have difficulty with the words "nuclear" (saying "nucular") and "literature" ("littature").

Dubya does this for one. He obviously doesn't have a very good Alastair as a minder.

I've also seen both written. This isn't a "color at the center of the theater" issue either

.andy

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