Sounds right, doesn't it? "A historic" I mean, because historic has a 'hard' h. Not "an historic" which has become way too prevalent for my taste. Since when did people start adding the 'n' anyway? Does it appear more cultured? The longer one enunciates the 'n' - the more cultured one appears?
And it seems to be the particular word 'historic' with which this happens. Not 'history,' as in "she is an history professor" or "he has an history exam tomorrow." And how would "they were an hysterical mob" or "she is an hippie" sound? But I have no problem with an honest mistake.
One explanation I found on the Internet had to do with the origin of the particular 'h' word, something about whether or not it came from the old English where the 'h' was silent even though the 'h' is pronounced in modern American English. Huh?? Who's got the time to look a word up in the dictionary and find its origin? I think it should really come down to whether or not the 'h' is pronounced or silent, regardless of origin, and what sounds best, even when reading silently to oneself.
Another example of whether or not I think 'a' or 'an' should be used is with acronyms. It depends on how the particular acronym is pronounced when spoken aloud. An acronym that starts with an 'N' such as NBA sounds better with an 'an' in front of it because 'N' is pronounced 'en.'
When I read, I guess I sound things out loud in my mind - I just hope my lips don't move!
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