“A historic” or “an historic”
前两天又遇到这个问题：该用“a historic (moment, event etc)”还是“an historic”？
我从来都只用a historic，而且一直想不通这有什么可争论的。h在这里根本不是元音，干吗要用an啊？在我看来，h只有在单独作为字母使用的时候，前面才会加an（因为字母h的确是元音打头）。比如：I can’t spell the word, but it definitely has an “h” in it somewhere.
但这回又遇到这个问题的时候，两个人异口同声地跟我说“是an historic，不用an根本读不顺畅。”其中一个还说语法书里明确提到过这一点，他肯定学过。这下不由我不动摇了。
找了一下，竟然发现这么个结论：Both usages are sufficiently common to be considered correct in modern English. 晕。
You probably know the grammar rule that says you use an before vowel sounds (e.g. an accident, an item, an hour) and a otherwise; e.g. a book, a report, a hotel.
Following this rule, we would say “a historic”, not “an historic”.
Words of three or more syllables that start with h are treated differently by some speakers, though. For example, which of these pairs of sentences sounds correct to you?
* It is a historic occasion.
* It is an historic occasion.* We can’t agree on a hypothesis.
* We can’t agree on an hypothesis.A quick bit of Googling reveals that — as of August 2007 — the phrase “a historic” is used on 2.47 million pages (51%), and “an historic” on 2.39 million pages (49%).
This is a very even split and supports the view that which form you use is little more than a personal preference. Both usages are thus sufficiently common to be considered correct in modern English.
P.S. For the record, I still prefer “a historic”. It doesn’t sound awkward or weird to me at all. Can’t say that about “an historic”.
更新：http://www.theslot.com/a-an.html（感谢aliensooner提供）
# The Chicago Manual of Style gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The Associated Press Stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The United Press International stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The Washington Post stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The New York Times stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The USA Today stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
# The U.S. News & World Report stylebook gives the straight vowel-sound-vs.-consonant-sound explanation.
哇，有这么强大的后盾，我要百分百坚定地“a historic”下去！
Bonus video: Janet Jackson - Feedback
March 5th, 2008 at 1:16 am
想到了a university…:)
March 5th, 2008 at 7:22 am
http://www.theslot.com/a-an.html
March 5th, 2008 at 7:25 am
另外，用google搜索结果多少作为论据，时下似乎很风行，可是非常非常没有说服力。那样如果可以的话，我看《新华字典》是不是也可以考虑在“偶”字下加一条“我”的释义了。
Yan:
同意，不过有时google搜索结果还是很有参考价值的。某种说法是否别扭，往往可以通过数量多少来判断。
March 6th, 2008 at 2:04 am
“在我看来，h只有在单独作为字母使用的时候，前面才会加an（因为字母h的确是元音打头）。”
你忘了 hour 了，呵呵。
Yan:
那啥，你误解我了。我是指h这个字母真正发音的时候。hour里的h不发音。
March 7th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Weird enough, my first reaction is “an historic”, I don’t know why.