pronunciation of 'the'

[GeneD]

There is a rule that says that 'the' before vowels sounds as 'thee' and before consonants as 'the'. (As always, I have the problem with transcription, but I hope you understand me.) The problem is, untill this very day I didn't pay attention to this rule. I think I heard about it once or twice in the past, but it looked so insignificant to me that I forgot it almost immediately. Today someone reminded me about the different pronunciation of the article, and I've got concerned about it. All of a sudden! All these years I didn't give a darn how exactly the article should sound, and now I've got worried!..

The main reason why I thought the issue is unimportant, I think, is because of my untrained ear. I didn't notice the difference in pronunciation when I listened to audiobooks or watched videos on Youtube.

Now there are two questions that are bothering me.
1. Is it really that important to try to pronounce the defininite article before vowels and consonants differently? I mean the article is almost never stressed because the main stress lies on one of a noun's syllable, so the sound (in 'the') may be so short and be somewhere in the middle between [e] and [ee] that maybe it's not worth spending a lot of time on mastering a sound that's going to be lost in the unstressed position. This is my first hope.
2. Having googled about the pronunciation rules, I came across this question which, I must confess, has aroused another hope in me. I'll quote it: 'I have noticed that there is an increase is use of a change in pronunciation of "the" before a vowel, most notably within the media, and has grown since the decision to leave "the EU". I was always taught that before a vowel the sound was like a clipped "Thee" or "Thi" to give "Thi EU". Many broadcasters now use the same sound as for a consonant, so we have "Th' EU" and many other examples. To me this sounds stilted and wrong. Am I just failing to move with the times?'

Is the author of the question right? Is it true that there is a tendency to use approximately one sound for consonants and vowels?

 

[GeneD]

I've found another article on the issue the author of which suggests that (some?) native speakers (not only MLE, that is, 'Multicultural London English' speakers) often ignore the 'thee' rule. What do you think of this? Do you do it occasionally, on a regular basis, never?

 

[jutfrank]

First, let me clarify something. There are two basically different ways of pronouncing, for example, the EU.

The first is to say each word separately. This means there's no connection between the words. You have the + eeyoo in two unconnected parts, and where the article is always short. This way is quite unnatural for many speakers, but quite natural for others. This is what John Wells is claiming is a feature of MLE.

The second way is far more common, I'd say, at least in the UK. This way is to connect the two words into one continuous flow. This sounds like theeyeeyoo. Notice here that there intrudes an extra 'y' sound which serves as the connector. It is my view that this connected way of speaking naturally gives rise to the longer thee sound. That is to say, it's hard not to say it.

So there isn't really a 'rule' that you should be following. I don't think this is something you need to worry about. The longer thee is just what happens when we use natural, connected speech. So although you are right that when we speak rapidly, the difference between both short and long unstressed versions of the is barely distinguishable, what is quite obvious is whether the speaker uses the intruding 'y' sound or not, to produce either connected or unconnected speech.

 

[Tdol]

maybe it's not worth spending a lot of time on mastering a sound that's going to be lost in the unstressed position. This is my first hope.

I think you don't need to worry greatly.

 

[bubbha]

I pronounce "the EU" with a clear glottal stop: "thi'eeyoo"

 

[GeneD]

The first is to say each word separately. This means there's no connection between the words. You have the + eeyoo in two unconnected parts, and where the article is always short. This way is quite unnatural for many speakers, but quite natural for others. This is what John Wells is claiming is a feature of MLE.

Whom did you mean by the 'others'? Only MLE speakers, or RP and other native British dialects as well? What has intrigued me is that John Wells was talking not only about MLE speakers:
"What seems to be true is that ðə plus hard attack before a word beginning with a vowel sound is more frequently heard in MLE than in, say, traditional Cockney or RP. But this is only an impression: I don’t think we have much in the way of hard statistical evidence. The sociolinguists may know its percentage incidence in MLE (see table below), but there’s not a lot of information available about other varieties."

The second way is far more common, I'd say, at least in the UK. This way is to connect the two words into one continuous flow. This sounds like theeyeeyoo. Notice here that there intrudes an extra 'y' sound which serves as the connector. It is my view that this connected way of speaking naturally gives rise to the longer thee sound. That is to say, it's hard not to say it.

I've tried pronouncing 'the' before vowels in both ways: as 'the'+y and 'thee'+y. The sounds seem to be connected, but the e and ee sounds are still there. Well, I'm not quite sure about that. When I'm not paying attention to the pronunciation of 'the', both sound similar to me.:-?

That is very helpful info about the 'y' sound, BTW. It seems to me that I'm starting to sound a bit less like a foreigner with the thee+y+vowel formula. Thanks, Frank. I think I'll work on it a bit more.

I pronounce "the EU" with a clear glottal stop: "thi'eeyoo"

Do you pronounce 'y' between 'the' and 'EU'? I just don't know what a glottal stop is.

 

[GeneD]

Although I cited the article about BrE, I'm actually curious about the situation in all main varieties of English and would be grateful if you shared your opinion on the issue.

The situation reminds me of the word 'often', which is taught to be pronounced as 'offen' while we often hear 'often' outside the rule box. If native speakers of English can pronounce 'the' (not only 'thee') before vowels and it doesn't irritate many (if not anyone), it would be a relief.

As you can see, I'm still a little nervous about this. I think that's because Tdol suggested not worrying greatly and I take it as if there is a problem of the unknown extent concerning the pronunciation of 'the'.

 

[jutfrank]

Whom did you mean by the 'others'? Only MLE speakers, or RP and other native British dialects as well? What has intrigued me is that John Wells was talking not only about MLE speakers:
"What seems to be true is that ðə plus hard attack before a word beginning with a vowel sound is more frequently heard in MLE than in, say, traditional Cockney or RP. But this is only an impression: I don’t think we have much in the way of hard statistical evidence. The sociolinguists may know its percentage incidence in MLE (see table below), but there’s not a lot of information available about other varieties."

I didn't have any specific group in mind and I certainly don't have any statistical evidence. In my opinion, I think it would be quite hard to gather evidence on this because my feeling is that it may be an individual thing as much as a sociolinguistic thing. That is, I think it may vary from person to person as much as from group to group.

I've tried pronouncing 'the' before vowels in both ways: as 'the'+y and 'thee'+y. The sounds seem to be connected, but the e and ee sounds are still there. Well, I'm not quite sure about that. When I'm not paying attention to the pronunciation of 'the', both sound similar to me.:-?

When you're speaking at normal pace, the difference between the + y and thee + y is barely distinguishable (if at all) to the listener, so don't worry about it. If you really want to sound more 'native-like', then becoming accustomed to pronouncing the y sound will help.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I've found another article on the issue the author of which suggests that (some?) native speakers (not only MLE, that is, 'Multicultural London English' speakers) often ignore the 'thee' rule. What do you think of this? Do you do it occasionally, on a regular basis, never?

Maybe it's because I learned English in Ohio, but I mostly ignore it. My East Coast wife is always correcting me. I never hear the (thuh) end of it!

 

[GeneD]

Hello, Charlie. Long time no see.

Thanks for the reply. It's always pleasing (to me, as a learner) to find that native speakers ignore some 'rules' that we learners are supposed to follow. I'm not a perfectionist, and such news is always a relief.

 

[emsr2d2]

"such news", not "such a news". "news" is uncountable.

 

[GoesStation]

How to pronounce the is not a grammar rule, but I understand your point. However, if you follow that rule, your pronunciation will match that of most educated British and American speakers.

 

[probus]

How to pronounce the is not a grammar rule, but I understand your point. However, if you follow that rule, your pronunciation will match that of most educated British and American speakers.

In this case, most means almost but not quite all. I have a very highly educated daughter, a professor, who never pronounces the as thee, no matter what the next word begins with. No idea how she got that way. She was born and raised and still lives in the same city as me.

 

[GoesStation]

In this case, most means almost but not quite all. I have a very highly educated daughter, a professor, who never pronounces the as thee, no matter what the next word begins with. No idea how she got that way. She was born and raised and still lives in the same city as me.

In my own speech, I may say (for example) thee other day, but I'm probably just as likely to say th'other day. I don't think I ever intrude a glottal stop to say thuh other, but my slurred pronunciation might sound like that to a careful listener.