Re: using "an"

Jim from Ross Town****p wrote:

<snip>
> 
> I am curious, however..."an historical fact"?
> 
Thisn is a relic of earlier pronunciation. The "h" in "history", "hotel" 
and a number of words where it is now usually pronounced was silent in 
earlier times, just as it still is in words like "hour" or "honest". 
There are even a number of words where the "h" is pronounced in standard 
speech in one part of the English speaking world and not in another, 
e.g. the "h" in "herb" is pronounced in Britain but not in large parts 
of the US.

BTW I'm not talking about the insertion or dropping of "h" in some 
dialects such as Cockney English.

REgards, Einde O'Callaghan