So Joe Biden told people that there would be enough vaccine for boosters for all (call it boosterism) when the science was leaning toward recommending them. Then, in the rapidly-changing world of Covid, it emerged that the need for them is not so clear, and that not much data has actually been submitted. And, whoa! the Biden administration is following the science. What a scandal!
As for “an historic event,” we’re not in the UK. End of story.
I hope Vice President Kamala Harris is reading your terrific column this morning, and thinking, "Yes, I think I'll take on the filibuster." Fingers crossed. I also want to ask about where your quote that Dems need to 'screw their courage to the sticking place' comes from. I've heard it before, but have no idea of the origin. Thank you, Robert Hubbell.
From Macbeth, delivered by Lady Macbeth, urging her reluctant husband on to action: "We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we'll not fail."
I watched “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns for the first time last night, and it reminded me of who “The People” really are, and how delusional quick gains, economic and political, can be. Thank you as always, Robert, for bringing that message home to me in your columns every day. The filibuster is a fluke that should go, Trump can’t last forever with cholesterol as his daily bread, and Truth will always flush out the rats—hence the stormy September. I learned about flexible usage and the aspirant “h” in school; if all we can do is worry about more rigid grammar rules at a time like this, tsk, tsk.
Funny you should mention that the usage of "a" or "an" depends on whether the H is aspirated. My usage note was initially considerably longer and included a link to a clip from My Fair Lady to make the point about differences in British English vs. American English. My editor thought it was too much!
With apologies to all who don't care about this stuff, here is a response I just sent to a reader who wrote a note saying that "an historic" is preferable when reading aloud. Here is my overly long and tedious response:
You raise an interesting question. I didn’t go into detail on this subject in the newsletter, but since you raised the topic, I will address it.
The change in the usage of “an” is a function of the fact that British English imported many French words that included a silent (non-aspirated) “h.” Hospital, hotel, and historic are examples. Where the h is not aspirated, it makes perfect sense to use “an.” But the British upper classes began to aspirate the h to distinguish themselves from the lower classes that tended to drop the initial h in all words (as George Bernard Shaw observed in Pygmalion). So the upper classes changed the pronunciation of hotel, hospital, and historical by aspirating the h—which then shifted the words to the class that uses “a” rather than “an.” So, for example, we no longer say “an hotel,” or “an hospital” even though that usage was universal in England two hundred years ago—and is still common today in much of England. See H-Dropping dialects in the U.K. See also, Why H is the most contentious letter in the alphabet | Language | The Guardian
So, the general rule is to use “a” before a word beginning with a consonant. The exception to that rule for words like “historical” applies when the h is not aspirated. In American English, the “h” is aspirated, so “a” historic conforms to American English and pronunciation. But the history and usage is so confused and inconsistent that style guides state that either usage is acceptable.
I will note that defenders of “an historic” frequently assert that “an” is preferred because the stress in historic is on the second syllable. While that is a correct observation, that rule seems to be a rationalization that tries to retrofit the historical development of the usage into a preference for “an.” You wouldn’t say that you saw “an hysterical person”—even though the stress is on the second syllable.
Biden could address the nation with a tutorial on how the debt got where it is, including Democrat and Republican contributions, but with focus on Trump, Bush, and Reagan tax cuts; including as you note, that the current debt is independent of his current proposals. And BTW, those Republican tax cuts? There's the justification for taxes on the ultra-wealthy beneficiaries, and funding the means for the IRS to collect.
So Joe Biden told people that there would be enough vaccine for boosters for all (call it boosterism) when the science was leaning toward recommending them. Then, in the rapidly-changing world of Covid, it emerged that the need for them is not so clear, and that not much data has actually been submitted. And, whoa! the Biden administration is following the science. What a scandal!
As for “an historic event,” we’re not in the UK. End of story.
Exactly!
I hope Vice President Kamala Harris is reading your terrific column this morning, and thinking, "Yes, I think I'll take on the filibuster." Fingers crossed. I also want to ask about where your quote that Dems need to 'screw their courage to the sticking place' comes from. I've heard it before, but have no idea of the origin. Thank you, Robert Hubbell.
From Macbeth, delivered by Lady Macbeth, urging her reluctant husband on to action: "We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we'll not fail."
How perfect!! The Dems really need that message. Thank you, Robert.
I watched “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns for the first time last night, and it reminded me of who “The People” really are, and how delusional quick gains, economic and political, can be. Thank you as always, Robert, for bringing that message home to me in your columns every day. The filibuster is a fluke that should go, Trump can’t last forever with cholesterol as his daily bread, and Truth will always flush out the rats—hence the stormy September. I learned about flexible usage and the aspirant “h” in school; if all we can do is worry about more rigid grammar rules at a time like this, tsk, tsk.
Funny you should mention that the usage of "a" or "an" depends on whether the H is aspirated. My usage note was initially considerably longer and included a link to a clip from My Fair Lady to make the point about differences in British English vs. American English. My editor thought it was too much!
As the world falls apart, grammarians prevaricate!
With apologies to all who don't care about this stuff, here is a response I just sent to a reader who wrote a note saying that "an historic" is preferable when reading aloud. Here is my overly long and tedious response:
You raise an interesting question. I didn’t go into detail on this subject in the newsletter, but since you raised the topic, I will address it.
The change in the usage of “an” is a function of the fact that British English imported many French words that included a silent (non-aspirated) “h.” Hospital, hotel, and historic are examples. Where the h is not aspirated, it makes perfect sense to use “an.” But the British upper classes began to aspirate the h to distinguish themselves from the lower classes that tended to drop the initial h in all words (as George Bernard Shaw observed in Pygmalion). So the upper classes changed the pronunciation of hotel, hospital, and historical by aspirating the h—which then shifted the words to the class that uses “a” rather than “an.” So, for example, we no longer say “an hotel,” or “an hospital” even though that usage was universal in England two hundred years ago—and is still common today in much of England. See H-Dropping dialects in the U.K. See also, Why H is the most contentious letter in the alphabet | Language | The Guardian
So, the general rule is to use “a” before a word beginning with a consonant. The exception to that rule for words like “historical” applies when the h is not aspirated. In American English, the “h” is aspirated, so “a” historic conforms to American English and pronunciation. But the history and usage is so confused and inconsistent that style guides state that either usage is acceptable.
I will note that defenders of “an historic” frequently assert that “an” is preferred because the stress in historic is on the second syllable. While that is a correct observation, that rule seems to be a rationalization that tries to retrofit the historical development of the usage into a preference for “an.” You wouldn’t say that you saw “an hysterical person”—even though the stress is on the second syllable.
That was a hell of a grammar lesson. Never to old to re-learn. Again! "A hell," correct?
Biden could address the nation with a tutorial on how the debt got where it is, including Democrat and Republican contributions, but with focus on Trump, Bush, and Reagan tax cuts; including as you note, that the current debt is independent of his current proposals. And BTW, those Republican tax cuts? There's the justification for taxes on the ultra-wealthy beneficiaries, and funding the means for the IRS to collect.