the Silent "H"

Question

Do Spanish and Gaelic have the Silent "H" in common?

Answer 1

I would say that Spanish and (Irish) Gaelic do not have the silent "h" in common.

Unlike the Spanish "h," which is always silent, the "h" in Irish Gaelic is pronounced in certain words -- like "hata" (hat). But, as explained in the Bitesize Irish Gaelic Blog, a 1950s spelling reform replaced an Irish diacritic dot with an "h" in words affected by a mutation called lenition (the softening of a consonant’s sound).

The “h” was chosen, according to the blogger, ”because it’s not a common letter in Irish, appearing (before this change) mainly in loan words.” When used in this way the "h" is not simply a silent letter. Rather, it is a device that triggers a change in the pronunciation of another consonant.

Answer 2

They seem to, though it seems more conincidental than in-common, per se.

What I find interesting is the intermittent non-silence of the H due to linguistic interference.

Near as I can tell, when talking about the sport of Ice Hockey, Spaniards will pronounce ¨ockey¨ where as Mexican´s I´ve met with anything more than the most casual familiarity with the game will pronounce ¨Hockey¨ (or to them, perhaps ¨Joki¨)

Answer 3

Irish Gaelic is thought to have come from Spain. Most of the Eurpoean languages come from the proto-Indo-European. The Irish Gaelic is more related to Spanish than to the nearby Welsh language or the Breton language.

As to silent 'h' that's probably more of a coinicence in spelling, but I have never even heard Gaelic spoken, so I don't know.

Any article on the Celts will tell you this. - annierats, Dec 20, 2012