Scholars have identified many forms of /h/ pronunciation in English. Let’s discuss some of them.
a. /h/-full words: These are words with letter h representation and where the h is also realised as a sound, e.g. heaven, hell, hammer, horror
b. /h/-less words: These are words with letter h but which are not meant to be pronounced, e.g. honesty, heir, hour, historian
c. Variable /h/: Here we have words where the h may or may not be pronounced, e.g., hotel and grammatically motivated examples like his, her
d. h-dropping: Here is a situation where we drop the h in h-full words, e.g., house, hammer.
Awonusi(1988) adds categorical /h/ to the list. Categorical /h/ is the pronunciation or insertion of /h/, a kind of /h/- intrusion in /h/-less words like: order, egg, orange, apple. Awonusi further confirms in his study that many Yoruba insert /h/ in h-less words and drop the /h/ in h-full words. Many pronounce Oral English as (Horal English) and pronounce house as (aus).
It is important to practise and master these pronunciations for the sake of fluency.
Have a terrific week ahead!
