2709: Why HW- flipped to WH- May 21, 2024

While it is still found in a few dialects of English, the pronunciation of “wh-” [ʍ] as separate from “w-” [w], in most cases “whale” and “wail” have merged to be indistinguishable. Like many other modern features of English and even Middle English, the source of the change was at least heavily influenced by the Norman conquerors. Beyond simply the pronunciation, however, is the fact that the spelling used to be HW-, as in hwæl (“whale”), as seen in the very first line of Beowulf:

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

(So! We, in the glory of days past of the Spear-Danes, kingly men, how these warriors performed acts of courage.)

Yet now, there is no H+consonant combination in English anymore. This is due to the Norman scribes, who chose to write it WH-, likely in keeping with other spelling norms wherein H signifies a separate sound, like TH, SH, CH, PH or historically GH. While it may be more intuitive to have the H first in some ways to represent this sound, keep in mind the means to aspirate the air to pronounce[ʍ] is not actually two separate consonants, but one unique one, just as with TH or SH and the rest really.