(phonology) In the French language usage of the letterh at the start of a word which allowsliaison with a preceding consonant.
The French wordhomme ("man") begins with amuteh. Consequently we can sayl'homme/l‿ɔm/ andles hommes/le‿zɔm/, but never/lə ɔm/ and/le ɔm/, like we do with the aspiratedh.
1913, James Geddes,French Pronunciation[1], page83:
Whether the h be amute h or an aspirate h, it may be regarded in either case as absolutely silent.
1994, Thomas M. Donnan,French Lyric Diction[2], page83:
In French initialh’s are called eithermuteh’s (the greatest number) or aspirateh’s (fewer in number, but frequent nonetheless).
2006, Laura K. Lawless,The Everything French Grammar Book,page29:
The only difference between the two is that amute h allows contractions and liaisons in front of it, and an aspirated h does not.
