"Thee" or "Thuh"? I have always said "Thee apple" and "Thee ocean." Lately, more and more people are saying "Thuh apple" and "Thuh ocean." That's incorrect, but it seems like it's...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have always said "Thee apple" and "Thee ocean." Lately, more and more people are saying "Thuh apple" and "Thuh ocean." That's incorrect, but it seems like it's becoming a trend. I don't hear people say, "A apple" or "A ocean," so why can't they get "the" right?

Comments?

randave2001 Loc: Richmond

https://www.theclassroom.com/english-pronunciation-rules-5761661.html

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

"Acoarst" you realize that is just one example - and I saw that the projected banner behind the stage at a speech our esteemed VP gave in New Orleans spelled the state "Lousiana"

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

jerryc41 wrote:

I have always said "Thee apple" and "Thee ocean." Lately, more and more people are saying "Thuh apple" and "Thuh ocean." That's incorrect, but it seems like it's becoming a trend. I don't hear people say, "A apple" or "A ocean," so why can't they get "the" right?

Comments?

There is no right. There is regional dialect.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

That's the rule I learned. Thanks for the link. Looks like a site worth exploring.
--Bob

randave2001 wrote:

https://www.theclassroom.com/english-pronunciation-rules-5761661.html

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

kymarto wrote:

There is no right. There is regional dialect.

I agree, it's regional!

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

jerryc41 wrote:

I have always said "Thee apple" and "Thee ocean." Lately, more and more people are saying "Thuh apple" and "Thuh ocean." That's incorrect, but it seems like it's becoming a trend. I don't hear people say, "A apple" or "A ocean," so why can't they get "the" right?

Comments?

Regional differences. How about some old(er) English like "Thou". Elizabethan English is nearly un readable today. The pronunciations are confusing too. English is an evolving language.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

kymarto wrote:

There is no right. There is regional dialect.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I have always said "Thee apple" and "Thee ocean." Lately, more and more people are saying "Thuh apple" and "Thuh ocean." That's incorrect, but it seems like it's becoming a trend. I don't hear people say, "A apple" or "A ocean," so why can't they get "the" right?

Comments?

The only time I consistently hear folks saying 'the' as 'thee' instead of 'thi' (clipped, short 'I' sound as in 'ick') or 'thuh' is when they are reading out loud. The only people I hear doing that are people who don't read out loud very often or for a living. An exception might be when the word following the starts with a long 'e', as in "the evening...". But even there, 'thi' is more common.

Every drama coach I ever knew told us to read 'the' as 'thi' and pronounce it with a clipped, short 'I' sound.

THEE is a bit Old English, don't you think? It's one of those archaic words from the King James Bible.

As I step back, though, I realize that somehow, we English speakers can manage to understand other people speaking English no matter where they learned it or with what accent or regional dialect they speak it. If you listen to someone long enough, your brain analyzes their speech patterns and word usage and you just adapt.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

While we’re on this topic…
I seem to recall, when I was growing up, that the word, “FUN” usually had a modifying word used with it. I don’t know when it all started but I always hear things like, “that’s so fun,” instead of the way I use it…”that’s so much fun.”

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

My pet peeve is the incorrect usage of "then" and "than". For example: I am older then you. WRONG!

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

kpmac wrote:

My pet peeve is the incorrect usage of "then" and "than". For example: I am older then you. WRONG!

How many times have you heard people say, "I could care less" when they actually mean they couldn't care less. I hear the incorrect verbs used in sentences over and over again, for example have went instead of have gone.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

My pet peeve is the incorrect use of apostrophe's...

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

When we moved from Texas to Alabama I learned a new version of English called Southern. From there we moved to North Carolina which is still Southern. The vernacular rubbed off and I find myself speaking Southern. The phrase that I occasionally utter and irritates me when I do is "fixin to". I'm fixin to go to the store. I want to kick myself when that slips out and it grates when I hear it from someone else.

Have a good day ya'll!! I'm fixin to go run some errands.

Dodie

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

burkphoto wrote:

THEE is a bit Old English, don't you think? It's one of those archaic words from the King James Bible.

I was referring to pronunciation, not spelling.