HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said its name can be pronounced using “aitch” or “haitch” to respect diversity and different accents.
Recent adverts for the tax, payments and customs authority have showed actors using both pronunciations.
Speaking to The Telegraph, HMRC explained this move was to show respect for different speech habits, noting that the department has no official policy on how to pronounce its name.
A spokesman said: “At HMRC we respect diversity, and this extends to idiolect, accent and pronunciation.”
HRMC explained this move was to show respect for different speech habits
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The Cambridge Dictionary however advises that the word HMRC should be said with an “aitch.”
Both the Cambridge Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary’s websites also offer audio clips showing that same pronunciation.
There has been an on-going debate in Britain on how to pronounce the letter H, making it the most controversial letter in the English alphabet.
Although “aitch” is the standard British English pronunciation, shifting accents in modern day Britain have seen an increase in the use of “haitch”.
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The Oxford Dictionary says that the pronunciation of the letter has become regarded as a “kind of shibboleth of social position” or background.
For example, Catholics in Northern Ireland typically say “haitch” while Protestants drop the first letter, pronouncing it “aitch”.
“Aitch” has also more typically been associated with the middle and upper class, while “haitch” is considered to be a clear sign of a cockney accent.
This past April, Amol Rajan, host of University Challenge was hit with complaints from viewers after saying “haitch.”
The Oxford Dictionary says that the pronunciation of the letter has become regarded as a “kind of shibboleth of social position” or background
PA
Rajan then admitted he was wrong, writing in an article for the BBC: “All my life I’ve pronounced it ‘haitch’, dimly aware that I was getting it ‘wrong’. Everyone I grew up with says ‘haitch’. My mates say ‘haitch’. But, dear reader, I’m here to tell you: it’s ‘aitch’.”
However, while the English Dictionary says “aitch” is correct, experts argue that pronouncing the letter “haitch” is beneficial for the education of children.
Kate Burridge, a professor of linguistics at Monash University, and Catherine McBride, a University of Freiburg fellow wrote in a 2018 article fot The Conversation that using the “haitch” pronunciation means children have an “easier time learning its correspondence as they learn to read”.
Others have said it also makes it less difficult to confuse H and the number eight over the phone.
Although there is no reliable data on how popular the “haitch” pronunciation is across Britain, linguists have claimed it is growing – especially amongst younger generations.
