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Friday
March 19, 2010 Since 1922 |
Can you say Humble?
By Wanda Orton
Contributor Published October 17, 2009 Back in the day, when someone sounded the H in Humble Refinery, the locals would say, “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Not a question, just an observation. Most folks who lived and worked in Baytown said ’umble Oil & Refining Co., ExxonMobil’s forerunner that was named for Humble, Texas.
And of course, we dropped the H when referring to the town of Humble.
Should we?
As though I didn’t have enough to worry about these days, what with the weak economy, our troops overseas, health care reform and Michelle Obama’s wardrobe, I’ve been tossing and turning at night over the word “humble.”
To aitch or not to aitch, that is the question.
It all started the other day when I commented about an humbling experience. The hearer of my words made quick note of the dropped H in “humbling” and informed me that, except for Humble Refinery and Humble, Texas, one must not do that. One must sound the H.
OK, let the research begin.
I found my old textbook, “The Origins and Development of the English Language,” from Professor Donald W. Lee’s class in linguistics at the University of Houston in the late 1960s. Renowned in his field, Dr. Lee was a dynamic teacher and I learned a lot about language in his class.
But I couldn’t remember whether he favored “humble or ’umble.”
The textbook addresses the subject, noting that the H sound gradually has come to be pronounced in all English loan words from the French except honest, honor, hour and heir. It also states, however, that it not uncommon in American usage to omit the H in the words “herb” and “humble.”
According to the textbook, even the British novelist Charles Dickens deemed the sound of H as old-fashioned if not vulgar in the word “humble.”
HHHHmmmmmm…..
Let’s Google.
Language guru Charles Hodgson, on his web site, wrote that the word “humble” came to England’s shores with the French in the 13th century. “The French aren’t always so good at pronouncing H and this was true in the case of ‘humble’ so most people back 800 or 900 years ago pronounced the word ‘umble.’ ”
Hodgson got to the root of the matter, explaining that the word came from the Latin “humus” meaning ground. Anyone who is humble then is “low as the ground.”
Mark Dunn, another wordsmith, said the practice of H-dropping has been going on for centuries and he blamed “sloppy Romans, zealous scribes and the slow pace of the change in the English language.”
Proper names fall into the mix, and this is where it gets personal. Orton and Horton are the same name, going back to Old England where some sounded the H, some dropped it. Thomas Orton, an early settler in New England, also was known as Thomas Horton.
Again, what about “humble” with the silent or sounded H.
Finally, I asked Adiene, an acquaintance whose last name is Humble and whose family, in fact, is related to Pleasant Smith Humble, namesake of the town of Humble. If anyone ought to know, Adiene Humble ought to know.
She replied that either pronunciation is correct.
Well, that settles that. At least I can sleep at night.
Wanda Orton is a retired managing editor of The Baytown Sun.
Contributor Published October 17, 2009 Back in the day, when someone sounded the H in Humble Refinery, the locals would say, “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Not a question, just an observation. Most folks who lived and worked in Baytown said ’umble Oil & Refining Co., ExxonMobil’s forerunner that was named for Humble, Texas.
And of course, we dropped the H when referring to the town of Humble.
Should we?
As though I didn’t have enough to worry about these days, what with the weak economy, our troops overseas, health care reform and Michelle Obama’s wardrobe, I’ve been tossing and turning at night over the word “humble.”
To aitch or not to aitch, that is the question.
It all started the other day when I commented about an humbling experience. The hearer of my words made quick note of the dropped H in “humbling” and informed me that, except for Humble Refinery and Humble, Texas, one must not do that. One must sound the H.
OK, let the research begin.
I found my old textbook, “The Origins and Development of the English Language,” from Professor Donald W. Lee’s class in linguistics at the University of Houston in the late 1960s. Renowned in his field, Dr. Lee was a dynamic teacher and I learned a lot about language in his class.
But I couldn’t remember whether he favored “humble or ’umble.”
The textbook addresses the subject, noting that the H sound gradually has come to be pronounced in all English loan words from the French except honest, honor, hour and heir. It also states, however, that it not uncommon in American usage to omit the H in the words “herb” and “humble.”
According to the textbook, even the British novelist Charles Dickens deemed the sound of H as old-fashioned if not vulgar in the word “humble.”
HHHHmmmmmm…..
Let’s Google.
Language guru Charles Hodgson, on his web site, wrote that the word “humble” came to England’s shores with the French in the 13th century. “The French aren’t always so good at pronouncing H and this was true in the case of ‘humble’ so most people back 800 or 900 years ago pronounced the word ‘umble.’ ”
Hodgson got to the root of the matter, explaining that the word came from the Latin “humus” meaning ground. Anyone who is humble then is “low as the ground.”
Mark Dunn, another wordsmith, said the practice of H-dropping has been going on for centuries and he blamed “sloppy Romans, zealous scribes and the slow pace of the change in the English language.”
Proper names fall into the mix, and this is where it gets personal. Orton and Horton are the same name, going back to Old England where some sounded the H, some dropped it. Thomas Orton, an early settler in New England, also was known as Thomas Horton.
Again, what about “humble” with the silent or sounded H.
Finally, I asked Adiene, an acquaintance whose last name is Humble and whose family, in fact, is related to Pleasant Smith Humble, namesake of the town of Humble. If anyone ought to know, Adiene Humble ought to know.
She replied that either pronunciation is correct.
Well, that settles that. At least I can sleep at night.
Wanda Orton is a retired managing editor of The Baytown Sun.