Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[el7jake]

From the answer to a previous post regarding tag questions: "Some
people consider the use 'am I not' as being a bit pretentious -

while others consider the use of 'aren't I' as reserved for 'h droppers'. "

And what is "h droppers"

Jake L.

[pugachevV]

In some parts of UK, speakers of some dialects drop the initial "h" sound in many words... "Oh, 'arry isn't it 'orrid, when you're 'ot and in an 'urry and you 'ave to 'old your 'at on with your 'and.

Sometimes the same people put in an "h" where there isn't one, (e.g."hisn't it 'orrid") as well, so it can be very confusing for non-native speakers.

[Bob S.]

I believe that style of speech is also stereotypically associated with a particular socio-economic class, typically a lower working class accent.
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper