Herb or 'erb

Written by Bertha Reppert in 1981 and found in the archives of The Rosemary House, this subject is a pertinent today as it was then.

“A herb is an erb is a herb is an erb” to paraphrase a certain G. Stein and with apologies to rose lovers everywhere. The pronunciation of this simple four letter word unnerves the most forthright conversationalist.

It’s “ee-ther” or “i-ther” -- take your choice. As my erudite consort states, “If you’re French, it’s erb; if your English, it’s herb; if your American, say urb.”

The dictionary gives you a choice in the matter, listing both pronunciations as acceptable. Strangely enough, there is no such controversy about ”herbacesous,” the original root of the word. Here Mr. Webster uses the h and gives us no options. The same is true of herbal, herbalist, herbarium and herbivorous. In each of these the opening h is pronounced, loud and clear, just as one would say Herbert.

The Herb Society of America has indeed encouraged the use of the initial h in the pronunciation of its charge. This dedicated organization, so fiercely devoted to the husbandry of all things herbal, gives the word the full dignity of all four letters, saying HERB loud and clear.

I have trained myself to say herb with the h. Not easy in the beginning, I’ve discovered it gives the simple little word an explicitness desirable in speaking on the subject and useful to the practicing herbalist.

And so, gentle reader, the choice is yours. Say what you will. Join the crusade to adopt the h or drop it as is custom in this land. To me, the important thing is to be aware of these simple little plants, not how you say it. It is enough to recognize their importance to history of man and to know that they are useful today – sometimes in different ways – as they were in the time of Genesis.