Pronunciation of the definite article "The" in "The United States of America"

Question

Greetings,The word "United" begins with a consonant sound so the article "The" is supposed to be pronounced with a schwa sound at the end but I've always pronounced "The" the way Obama* or JFK* did in "The United States of America" that is with a short vowel sound in /ship/.The question is why it is pronounced to the contrary? NB You could listen/watch the speeches on American Rhetoric website* Barack Obama, Cuba Policy Changes Address, delivered 17 December 2014* Robert F. Kennedy, Recapturing American's Moral Vision, delivered 18 March 1968, University of Kansas

Philip · Accepted Answer

The letter y sometimes acts as a vowel and sometimes as a consonant. There is a linguistic phenomenon known as 'assimilation', which is when one sound is changed because of its proximity to another sound. In 'the united' the expected schwa takes on the characteristics of the demi-vowel y. So, you can hear, depending on the speaker, the obvious schwa sound, a stronger 'uh', or a sound as in 'thee'. The speaker may also use one of the stronger sounds for emphatic purposes. Note that this is a question of linguistics rather than of grammar/punctuation. You obviously have a very keen ear, to be able to pick up these differences.

CalifJim · Answer

EnglishSmithThe word "United" begins with a consonant sound so the article "The" is supposed to be pronounced with a schwa sound at the end

You are simply wrong about this. If a word begins with a consonant sound, the article "the" should not be pronounced with a schwa sound, which is like the "u" in "must".

It should be stronger (higher), even as strong as the "ee" in "see", though it may sometimes sound more like the "i" in "ship" in the mouths of some speakers.

CJ

EnglishSmith · Answer

Thank you Philips and Calif

Philip, your comments made interested to check English phonology sooner that I have thought I needed before

Because I think I'll be busy for the next two weeks, I'll have to leave it here for now. But before I go I'll leave these links to compare with Calif's comments:

I was taught the http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/75523/is-the-an-rule-applied-when-a-sum-of-money-is-in-between/75527#75527 rule
But learned there was the http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1082/what-is-the-pronunciation-of-the
Finally it turned out there is http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/167498/pronunciation-of-the-before-a-long-u-sound: un/stressed, gliding, etc
"the difference between united and US is that the first syllable in united is unstressed, and the first syllable in US is stressed. This can make a big difference in pronunciation."

Fivejedjon · Answer

CalifJimYou are simply wrong about this. If a word begins with a consonant sound, the article "the" should not be pronounced with a schwa sound, which is like the "u" in "must". It should be stronger (higher), even as strong as the "ee" in "see", though it may sometimes sound more like the "i" in "ship" in the mouths of some speakers.

In British English, if the word begins with a consonant sound (including /j/) the unstressed definite article is pronounced with a schawa /ð?/. If the word begins with a vowel sound, the unstressed definite article is pronounced somewhere between /ð?/ and /ði?/. The stressed definite article is normally pronounced /ði?/ before both vowels and consonants.

Pronunciation of the definite article "The" in "The United States of America"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions