A lot has been said about the “h”, that it has definitely disappeared from a few words. Well, according to the spelling agreement it is not known that the “h” disappeared like that without a trace.
In Portugal, the word “humid” received the “h” which, in this case, was deleted. But, so far, it is the only case found, which does not directly affect the written language in Brazil.
The h is maintained by etymology in the cases we know: today, man, mood, hour, there, helix, as well as in conventional adoptions: huh?, huh?, hum!. The same happens with the suppression already consecrated: herb instead of herb and also of the interjections: ah!, oh!.
In cases of agglutination, the “h” is included in its precedent and disappears: inhuman, awkward, werewolf, rehabilitate, retrieve.
It is worth remembering that in cases of compound words, the hyphen is used when the second term begins with “h”: prehistory, unhygienic, counter-rod, etc.
Thus, our “mute sound” is still present, even if it's quiet in his corner!
By Sabrina Vilarinho
Graduated in Letters
Brazil School Team
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Orthographic Agreement - Grammar - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/acordo-ortografico/o-h.htm
