Comments on: The oddest English spellings, part 17: The letter H http://blog.oup.com/2011/05/letter-h/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Sat, 25 May 2013 23:50:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: John Cowan http://blog.oup.com/2011/05/letter-h/#comment-245369 John Cowan Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:06:50 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=16235#comment-245369 Not for <i>Thames</i>, the name of the main river, but for <i>Thame</i>, the name of the tributary river and the town on it, both of which are indeed pronounced "Tame". The letter <i>h</i>, indeed, does not belong in either name, and is what Tolkien called it, "a folly without warrant". Note that the Thames upstream of its confluence with the Thame is sometimes called the Isis, presumably also from the Latin <i>Tamesis</i>, ultimately of Celtic origin. Not for Thames, the name of the main river, but for Thame, the name of the tributary river and the town on it, both of which are indeed pronounced “Tame”. The letter h, indeed, does not belong in either name, and is what Tolkien called it, “a folly without warrant”.

Note that the Thames upstream of its confluence with the Thame is sometimes called the Isis, presumably also from the Latin Tamesis, ultimately of Celtic origin.

]]> By: John W Kennedy http://blog.oup.com/2011/05/letter-h/#comment-227377 John W Kennedy Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:08:13 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=16235#comment-227377 The last I looked, the unvoiced consonant in the IPA is a theta, not a thorn, and I have always been told that OE uses thorn and eth interchangeably. And, of course, E is the most common letter in English; H is about the seventh. Tolkien uses DH in some of his invented languages, and his fairy tale, "Farmer Giles of Ham" includes a fanciful accounting for the H in "Thames". The last I looked, the unvoiced consonant in the IPA is a theta, not a thorn, and I have always been told that OE uses thorn and eth interchangeably. And, of course, E is the most common letter in English; H is about the seventh.

Tolkien uses DH in some of his invented languages, and his fairy tale, “Farmer Giles of Ham” includes a fanciful accounting for the H in “Thames”.

]]> By: We’re still here « Panther Red http://blog.oup.com/2011/05/letter-h/#comment-224903 We’re still here « Panther Red Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:28:56 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=16235#comment-224903 [...] Liberman, the Oxford Etymologist, put up a nice little piece in May about the odd career of the letter “H.”  I must register one small demurrer concerning this piece.  Liberman writes: Everything [...] [...] Liberman, the Oxford Etymologist, put up a nice little piece in May about the odd career of the letter “H.”  I must register one small demurrer concerning this piece.  Liberman writes: Everything [...]

]]> By: Link love: language (31) « Sentence first http://blog.oup.com/2011/05/letter-h/#comment-222828 Link love: language (31) « Sentence first Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:08:39 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=16235#comment-222828 [...] The dramatic history of the letter H. [...] [...] The dramatic history of the letter H. [...]

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