Michael Everson scripsit:
> Um, when was the last time h was aspirated in French?
In native words, [h] was surely gone by the 2nd century
in all the (pre-)Romance vernaculars.
But in French words of Germanic origin (e.g. "hanche"), or those
remodeled under Germanic influence (e.g. "haut"), probably
[h] fell around the 14th century; it's hard to be sure, since
Middle French spelling is very unphonemic. This is the so-called
"aspirated h", which still blocks liaison even though it is
quite silent now.
In Spanish, [h] < [f] fell around the 16th century.
> By the way, I pronounce the h in philharmonic.
Tant pis. :-)
--
John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org
Please leave your values | Check your assumptions. In fact,
at the front desk. | check your assumptions at the door.
--sign in Paris hotel | --Miles Vorkosigan
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