My MS Word did not like most of the discussion and left only a few sentences legible. For this reason I may be repeating what others have said; if so , my apology. I keep the 'h' in "the historical" and drop it in "an historical." I say "a history." Why do I not say "an history." The very presence of 'an' tells me that the 'h' in historical is silent-but why? I cannot think of another phrase comparable to "an historical" except 'an hysterical." Can you? Norman Scott Catledge, PhD/STD Professor Emeritus history & languages To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/