Queen's English, a Matter of Style?

“When did correct English become a matter of style” asked a reader commenting on the news carried by a famous web site which had the following heading, “ A Historic alliance” with a photo of 10 Downing Street, with the photographs of David Cameron(Conservative) and Nick Clegg(Liberal Democrat) shaking hands . There was a bunch of Letters addressed to the Editor pointing out that his use of the heading, ‘A’ Historic Alliance” was an elementary mistake, grammatical error and poor grammar. Many of the readers suggested that the appropriate heading should have been, ‘An’ Historic Alliance. Their ire was directed at the fact that the use of the indefinite article ‘a’ before ‘Historic Alliance’ was grammatically incorrect while the appropriate article should have been, ‘An’ preceding ‘Historic Alliance’.

There have been professors of the classical English who hold the view that Spelling, grammar, punctuation has deteriorated to the extent of making communication ambiguous and even unintelligent. Does it mean that Queen’s English has undergone an aberration?

Is the use of the article ‘a’ instead of ‘an’ inappropriate in the present context and is it grammatically incorrect (Queens English)? The Cambridge Advance Learning Dictionary and Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘historic’ is pronounced as “hi’stoo; rii.c” as a result, the consonant “an” should not prefix ‘historic alliance’ but a vowel (a.e.i.o,u). When the vowel is pronounced as a consonant, instead of “a” preceding the vowel, “an” is prefixed. For e.g. Unusual (prounced yunusual), or uniform (yu: ni.fo’m) or unilateral, etc. a hourglass (aua®glo: s/), an honest man.

Likewise, the indefinite articles (a, an) precede a noun and imply lack of specificity and (the) which is a definite article, the word preceding a noun and implying a specific or known instance. Even though this is the genesis of grammar regarding use of vowels or consonants before a noun, due to illogical spelling syllabi, the pronunciation is the basis on which these vowels are prefixed.

The Cambridge advanced Learners Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, and Guardian Style Guide, apparently have been quoted by the Editors to justify their usage. They also contend that Guardian Style Guide is one of the more progressive guides and web writing today is mostly in progressive style. According to circumstances specific to writing, Style Guides are adhered and followed. The Editors contend that the correct usage is ‘A History (hi’stroii) of Europe’, ‘a historic novel’, a historical feat, a historical play (‘h’ being silent, it is prounced as ‘isteri’)

If I put my text to a spelling test in the Computer, it will change the words and correct the spellings, airplane will be corrected as airplane, furore will become furor, mummy will be changed as mommy, colour will be changed as color, quin will become quint, naivety (naiveté), specialty (specialty), etc. The British pronunciation is more commonly centered on the verb than the noun, still more in derivatives- buoyant, buoyancy, flavour(flavor), honour(honor), neighbour(neighbor), rumour (rumor), and labour (labor). However, in the stilted invitation cards (Wedding Cards), Americans use the English spelling of Honour and Favour, Space Shuttle Endeavour is the name of a spacecraft where English spelling is adopted, as the spacecraft is named after Cap James Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour. “U” is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable like neighborhood, humourless, savoury.

(Americans) Suffixes are not attached to English words, ‘u’ is dropped – honorific, honorist while British use the words, vigorous, humorous, laborious, invigorate. In American usage, since ‘u’ is absent, they spell favorite, savory, while in words like contour, velour, paramour, troubadour, because vowel is unreduced in pronunciation, ‘u’ is retained. The difference between American and English English that there are no uniform stress and distant stress consequent reduction of the unstressed vowel. Spelling difference is very many in American and British taught English.

According to the almanac, the correct use of the article prefixing Historic Alliance is ‘a’ and not ‘an’. The Editor is 100% right in having prefixed the right article in his heading. .