This made me smile (wryly)

Lovely!

There seems to be a strange inability among traffic reporters to use the short a. So many times, they come out with statements such as there is ai three mile tailback at the Dartford tunnel due to ai broken down lorry. Ai recovery vehicle is now on the scene and blah blah blah".

I sometimes wonder if they go home and offer their spouses ai cup of tea after their meal or ask their children for ai goodnight kiss!

That made me chuckle Scribbles

?

If I hear anyone else say pewt-un rhyming with Hootun tootun, shootun I ll scream surely its always been Pew tin until Trump came along, now they all do it

How does Mr Putin say it?

I cringe at ashoom and conshoome and wait for the follow up ashumption and conshumption.

As far as I know a lot of Americans do not distinguish between the short and long a. I have no idea whether not doing so is considered correct in American English.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach children that you say a with the short a before a consonant and ai - the long vowel only when emphasising something , as in " Was that your cat in the road?" "No, there was a (ai) cat, but it wasn't one of mine." An in front of a vowel seems to be disappearing too. I find it physically difficult to say a apple, but plenty of people seem to manage all right.

Didn’t ‘an’ used to come in front of hotel and a few other aitches too which I can’t recall?

grandtanteJE65

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach children that you say a with the short a before a consonant and ai - the long vowel only when emphasising something , as in " Was that your cat in the road?" "No, there was a (ai) cat, but it wasn't one of mine.""

I wonder, is that because it is more usual to emphasize the word 'was', rather that 'a', in such sentences?

Yes because the h in hotel was silent, being a French word originally (the English equivalent is hostel.) So it was pronounced an 'otel. Actually I still tend to say that and the family make fun of me. Its just the same as saying an hour where the h is silent. No-one says a Hour (sounding the h.)
Words like apron and orange have gone the other way. It use to be a napron and a norange.

Yes I say an hotel as well pollyperkins due to the silent aitch. It's a minefield

An historian anyone? I don't know why.

I can't accept the posh American an herb

I get a lot os stick from family &friends because i pronounce garage to rhyme with massage not porridge. Bu its just the way I learnt it, Im not trying to be posh or affected!

I'd say 'erbs or a herb.
I do say an 'otel though

Shoot me now

Gosh, I never knew this. You learn something new most days. Life is one big school.

norange. and is still 'naranja' in Spanish

Our Canadian relatives say kwiche when we say keech.

As a dyed-in-the-wool pedant, I'd like to point out that the 'h' at the beginning of the word hotel is not silent. Would you talk about an hospital or an host? (Both these words are derived from the Latin, as was the French word hôtel.)

I was taught to use the indefinite article 'a' before a word starting with a consonant or a 'you' (u or eu) sound. Otherwise put 'an' before a word starting with a vowel or a silent 'h'. Sorry, I know I will upset some of you but this is Pedants' corner.

I will now take cover and wait for someone to point out the mistakes in the above!

I agree with your second paragraph but not the first. The English word hostel is pronounced with an h as is hospital. The French words hotel and hopital (i cant do the circumflex on my phone) have lost an s and are pronounced with a silent h.

pollyperkins, do you actually say that you are going to stay in a hotel or an 'otel and how would you write it? Are you French or English? Hotel has been in English use for such a long time and the use of 'a' or 'an' is about ease of pronunciation. I'm happy to be convinced, but there are lots of French words that have been anglicised. Why not hotel? I'm not trying to be awkward, I'm just curious.

Yes I say I am staying on an hotel (pronounce with no h). Thats how my parents said it. I do it without thinking .
My only explanation is what i said earlier. The French word hotel and hopital (with cimcumflex accenrs which i cant do on my phone are pronounced with a silent h. The equivalent english words hospital and hostel have no accent, an s and are pronounced with the h sounded. Thats what I was taught. I think it used to be correct but is dying out now. Im probably put of date but I forget -a hotel just sounds wrong to me!

We do say an hour with n silent h of course.

I'm with you Pollyperkins think we are in a minority now though.

Well this is Pedants' corner. For what it's worth, I really don't think it matters. I used to say an hotel sometimes but would prefer to go all French and say un hôtel. If you say an or un who cares and it practically sounds the same anyway (unless you are a French pedant)?