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@Pink Floyd: I'm not going to revert it since I'm not quite that petty, but note that the H in herb is silent only in some dialects. And also that it's perfectly valid English to say "a historic event", the an in that case is an anachronism. The more you know!
--[[User:Robert|Robert]] 03:55, 29 December 2008 (CST)
The general rule with the usage of 'a' vs 'an' depends on the first actual sound (or phonetic) of said word, not the written form. ''Historic'' starts with the ''h'' sound, so ''a historic''. ''Honorable'' starts with the ''o'' sound, so ''an honorable''. ''One-track'' starts with the ''w'' sound, so ''a one-track''.
That said, problems do arise with pronounciation in different areas, or dialects, such as American English and British English. ''Herb'' is pronounced “erb” in American English and “herb” in British English.
When this is a problem, use the form used by the majority of readers. Course the usage of any language changes overtime. It keeps the dictionary manufacturers in business. >.< --[[User:Klaa|Klaa]] 21:44, 31 December 2008 (CST)
