thee or the?

[ychelz]

Which could be the correct pronunciation?



the boy vs. thee boy -

the armagedon vs. thee armagedon-



im asking in pronunciation please!

awareness in correct pronunciation.

maybe we're good in english but somehow it's not good enough?



thanks!

[ctivnan]

Hiya!

That's a good question! You see these are some minor things we have to be aware of because it helps in the accuracy and fluency of our speech.

You see, we use /ð∂/ (the) is used when the article 'THE' follows a consonant sound in the beginning of the word.

e.g. the boy; the seductive lady; the man

/ði:/ (thee) is used when the article 'THE' is followed by a vowel sound.

e.g. the armageddon; the epistemology; the igloo

Take note that I am referring to SOUNDS not SPELLING!!
Sunds and Spellings are not the same. Some words may be spelled with a consonant sound, but is pronounced with a vowel sound.

e.g. union
(this word is spelled with a vowel 'U', BUT the pronunciation of this is /ju:/;
/j/ is a consonant sound, therefore, this is considered a consonant initail sounding word.
So we say, the /ð∂/ union

Another example would be the word, hour. This is spelled with an initial 'H', but this is silent. We pronounce it as /au∂r/
So we say, the /ði:/ hour

In order to improve our accuracy and fluency in English pronunciation, we should know the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). These are sound symbols that help us identify the proper pronunciation of a particular word. You often see these symbols in dictionaries. If we are already confident in being able to read the IPA and produce them accurately, then fluency follows.
Knowing the IPA is pretty interesting! It's like learning another language.

If you're interested in knowing more about the IPA you can go to:
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm

:google:

[ychelz]

great!

Thank you Ms. Cathy.

Hope to see you again... we've met already at guevent bowling..

see yah on friday (",)

God Speed an More Power!

[zetorcenna]

very informative....

[skykeeper]

Thanks a lot Miss Cathy,I never know this before,