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Today is the day that Barack Obama becomes the President of the United States and that event's historical significance is not lost on me.

What is lost on me is how so many people think that it's "an historic" rather than "a historic." The "h" in historic is not silent, and therefore you use "a" and not "an." If you go around calling things "istoric" and talking about "istory", then by all means, call it "an historic day": But for the rest of us, it is simply "a historic" day. Take a look:

The Hickory Daily Record reports that "All hopes rest with the man at the center of an historic inauguration."

A FoxSports columnist tells us that "This week marks an historic time for our country as our first ever African American President is getting sworn into office."

According to Examniner.com, "Packing for an historic swearing in is not unlike packing for a Super Bowl tailgate party- mind the weather and keep the unique qualities of the occasion in mind."

MSNBC brings us the news that "It is certainly an historic event, no doubt, but also a pricey one. . ."

I'm not normally a stickler for grammar at all, and I'm as prone to make mistakes as anyone. But saying "an historic" doesn't even make sense unless you don't pronounce the "h." I can't seem to find anything definitive saying that "an historic" is improper but that doesn't mean it isn't stupid: "An historic" just doesn't make sense.

So enjoy this historic event and take comfort in the fact that 'istorically, markets do better when a Democrat is in the White House.

A historic day to remember proper grammar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>GrammarInaugurationObamaTue, 20 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST