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Usenet Posted 20 years ago
English in UK
Thuh only thing I hate.
Does anyone here pronounce "the" with a schwa before a vowel sound - "thuh" instead of "thee"? (Obviously, "u" pronounced as "yoo" is a general exception.)
It may be a dialect thing for some, and if so fair enough, but the rather plummily RP TV personality Ben Fogle has started to irritate me. He's just rowed across "thuh" Atlantic. I've pointed the habit out to a couple of people and they've begun to find him as irritating as I do, though he seems perfectly personable in all other ways. Once they get sensitised to it, it makes his speech sound like a young child just learning to read.
Anyone else here noticed it or bothered by it?
Phil C.
It may be a dialect thing for some, and if so fair enough, but the rather plummily RP TV personality Ben Fogle has started to irritate me. He's just rowed across "thuh" Atlantic. I've pointed the habit out to a couple of people and they've begun to find him as irritating as I do, though he seems perfectly personable in all other ways. Once they get sensitised to it, it makes his speech sound like a young child just learning to read.
Anyone else here noticed it or bothered by it?
Phil C.
Top answer
[/nq] I have been using both forms for years without even noticing. " The big fat cat " would certainly not be "thee" when I'd proncounce it, but in other cases I would use the 'thee' form. The 'e' being the way you would pronounce 'e' when reciting the alphabet in French, or the 'i' sound in 'sir' or like the 'e' sound in 'certain', but not quite 'thuh'.
- [/nq] I have been using both forms for years without even noticing.
- " The big fat cat " would certainly not be "thee" when I'd proncounce it, but in other cases I would use the 'thee' form.
- The 'e' being the way you would pronounce 'e' when reciting the alphabet in French, or the 'i' sound in 'sir' or like the 'e' sound in 'certain', but not quite 'thuh'.
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]Anyone else here noticed it or bothered by it?[/nq]
I have been using both forms for years without
even noticing.
" The big fat cat "
would certainly not be "thee" when I'd proncounce
it, but in other cases I would use the 'thee' form.
The 'e' being the way you would pronounce 'e' when reciting the alphabet in French, or the 'i' sound in 'sir' or like the 'e' sou
I have been using both forms for years without
even noticing.
" The big fat cat "
would certainly not be "thee" when I'd proncounce
it, but in other cases I would use the 'thee' form.
The 'e' being the way you would pronounce 'e' when reciting the alphabet in French, or the 'i' sound in 'sir' or like the 'e' sou
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[nq:1]Does anyone here pronounce "the" with a schwa before a vowel sound - "thuh" instead of "thee"? (Obviously, "u" pronounced ... his speech sound like a young child just learning to read. Anyone else here noticed it or bothered by it?[/nq]
Yes.
I noticed Ben Fogle's use of "thuh" instead of "thee" the first time I heard him speak. It has annoyed me ever since.
Three (four?) decades
Yes.
I noticed Ben Fogle's use of "thuh" instead of "thee" the first time I heard him speak. It has annoyed me ever since.
Three (four?) decades
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[nq:2]Anyone else here noticed it or bothered by it?[/nq]
[nq:1]I have been using both forms for years without even noticing. " The big fat cat "[/nq]
The OP was referring to its pronunciation before a vowel sound.
[nq:1]I have been using both forms for years without even noticing. " The big fat cat "[/nq]
The OP was referring to its pronunciation before a vowel sound.
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[nq:2]I have been using both forms for years without even noticing. " The big fat cat "[/nq]
[nq:1]The OP was referring to its pronunciation before a vowel sound.[/nq]
Oh.
The entrance is on the second floor (the / thee) ?
[nq:1]The OP was referring to its pronunciation before a vowel sound.[/nq]
Oh.
The entrance is on the second floor (the / thee) ?
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[nq:2]The OP was referring to its pronunciation before a vowel sound.[/nq]
[nq:1]Oh. The entrance is on the second floor (the / thee) ?[/nq]
A Mexican might use "thee" but an Englishman never would. Mind you, a Yorkshireman might use "t" and someone from The Potteries could well use "th".
Only a Mexican would use "thee". English is de
[nq:1]Oh. The entrance is on the second floor (the / thee) ?[/nq]
A Mexican might use "thee" but an Englishman never would. Mind you, a Yorkshireman might use "t" and someone from The Potteries could well use "th".
Only a Mexican would use "thee". English is de
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[nq:1]"Thee" for "thuh" and vice versa aren't actually "wrong", but once noticed keep being noticed and become irritating.[/nq]
I assume the distinction developed because of the way our mouths form words - "thee" slides to a following vowel sound much more easily than "thuh". So "thuh" sounds jerky and clumsy. I suppose an equivalent in French might be a person who always puts le or la before
I assume the distinction developed because of the way our mouths form words - "thee" slides to a following vowel sound much more easily than "thuh". So "thuh" sounds jerky and clumsy. I suppose an equivalent in French might be a person who always puts le or la before
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