0
Philip Posted 18 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

the ~ thee

0Native speaker here, asking for perceptions of other native speakers, especially those who have a basic knowledge of linguistics.02br
02br
00Of course, I know the rule about pronouncing 'the' as 'thee' before vowel sounds: thee afternoon, thee apple, thee orange, thee hour. However, how about when the first vowel 01b00sound02b00 of the word is 'eee'. I would say 01b00the utopian02b00 concept, 01b00the usual suspects.02b00 I believe this is standard. Keep in mind that the first vowel sound of these words is 01b00eee02b00 rather than 01b00u02b00. [Keep in mind I'm using standard English spelling to represent the sounds rather than the International Phonetic Alphabet.]02br
02br
00The real question now: do we actually say 01b00thee evening, thee even numbers02b00,01b00 thee eventuality02b00 or do we say 01b00the02b00 before these words? I've tried to evaluate my own speech patterns, and I think I use 01b00the.02b00 Just wondering if I'm alone. Thanks for any ideas.0-
  

Top answer

02br 00I've tried this on myself several times over the years and get very inconsistent results. I certainly don't think it's a rule, just a tendency. With your last three (01i 00the evening02i 00, etc), I seem to pause after 'the' (not 'thee') to effect the enunciation.

— Mister Micawber

  • 02br 00I've tried this on myself several times over the years and get very inconsistent results.
  • I certainly don't think it's a rule, just a tendency.
  • With your last three (01i 00the evening02i 00, etc), I seem to pause after 'the' (not 'thee') to effect the enunciation.
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
0 .02br
00I've tried this on myself several times over the years and get very inconsistent results. I certainly don't think it's a rule, just a tendency. With your last three (01i00the evening02i00, etc), I seem to pause after 'the' (not 'thee') to effect the enunciation. 0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Mister Micawber12cite10.12br
10I've tried this on myself several times over the years and get very inconsistent results. I certainly don't think it's a rule, just a tendency. With your last three (11i10the evening12i10, etc), I seem to pause after 'the' (not 'thee') to effect the enunciation.
0
0
0Hmm, can I answer even though I am not a native speaker? 05002br
00I would say "thee eagle" because I learned to pronounce it "thee" before vowel sounds. Words like "university" and "wall" don't really start with a vowel sound, but with "semivowels", I think. In IPA they would be /j/ and /w/ respectively. That's why I say "the" in front of "university" and "wall". 01blockquote
0
0
0I say 01b00the yootopian02b00 and 01b00the yoosual 02b00(the "e" pronounced as "uh", just as before a consonant). The first sound of those words is nothing like 01b00eee02b00 for me.02br
02br
00I also say 01b00thee evening02b00, 01b00thee even numbers 02b00etc.
0

Related Questions