[General] why sometimes people say da instead of the

[lazyenglish91]

Hello, i am Chris from France
I was in Chicago last couples weeks and i notices that chicagoans people say da instead the and even with than and that and i know that's incorrect but why ?

 

[Barb_D]

Hello, I am Chris from France
I was in Chicago the last couples weeks and I noticed that people in Chicago say "da" instead of "the" and even with than and that - [I don't understand this part] and I know that's incorrect, but why[no space]?

Hello Chris.
Why is it "incorrect"? Why do they do it?
Please note that the pronoun "I" is capitalized every time. Not doing so is indeed "lazy English."

I know quite well that there are regional dialects and accents in France. Are you surprised that there are accents and dialects in English?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I grew up in Chicago, and I can confirm that some Chicagoans say "da" for "the" especially when they are talking rapidly. This sort of thing happens with many words in many different places. It is not uncommon, for example, for the word "for" to come out as "fer" in rapid speech. In New York, especially in the outer boroughs, you will hear people who say "aks" instead of "ask".

 

[lazyenglish91]

Thank you.
Do you say Da in particular times or only when you speak fast ? how about vanishing the TH sounds such as 'em instead of them does that include these, those and this as well or no ?
Thank you in advance
Chris

 

[Tdol]

how about vanishing the TH sounds such as 'em instead of them does that include these, those and this as well or no ?

You'll hear that in many regions- people do the same in the UK.

 

[Raymott]

This will be very helpful and would have all the answers to your questions .

Well, so you've claimed before, and again, you're wrong. A book on RP will not explain why people say 'da' for 'the' in Chicago.
Please let me know if you don't understand this, and I'll explain further.
A book on RP for $2.99 will not answer all the pronunciation question we get here.

 

[Raymott]

You'll hear that in many regions- people do the same in the UK.

I think I told someone (maybe this poster) that (almost) no one drops the "Th" from 'these', 'those' and 'this'. Was I wrong? They might say "dese, dose, dis", but I can't imagine, or remember hearing, "'ese, 'ose or 'is".

 

[Tdol]

Well, so you've claimed before, and again, you're wrong. A book on RP will not explain why people say 'da' for 'the' in Chicago.
Please let me know if you don't understand this, and I'll explain further.
A book on RP for $2.99 will not answer all the pronunciation question we get here.

The spammer has left the forum.

 

[TheCoolOne7]

I think I told someone (maybe this poster) that (almost) no one drops the "Th" from 'these', 'those' and 'this'. Was I wrong? They might say "dese, dose, dis", but I can't imagine, or remember hearing, "'ese, 'ose or 'is".

Okay but how about songs? Let's take this guy for example. He pronounces "and they" as "aney". Is it okay when singing?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=coHKdhAZ9hU

 

[Raymott]

Anything is OK when singing.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hello, I am Chris from France.
I was in Chicago over the last couple of weeks, and I noticed that Chicagoans say da instead of the and even use d with than and that, and I know that's incorrect. But why?

The U.S. is largely a nation of immigrants. The English th sound is not used in every language. I've met French, Italian, Hispanic, and Irish people who don't use it. When people emigrate to a new country, parents (and entire communities!) pass down their ways of speaking through the generations.

And that's what you were hearing: accents that reflected the heritage of the people you met. You have good ears! That will help you discover and appreciate the many quirks of the English language.