Tonight at dinner, Dean's host parents, Ole and Solveig, were telling us about how Danish teachers of English spend several lessons on the difference between "the" and "the." No seriously - apparently, we English speakers are supposed to say "thee" before a word beginning with a vowel and "thuh" before a word beginning with a consonant. I thought about it and realized that I did indeed do this (and have never given it a thought in my life.) Dean, however, doesn't think he follows this rule. (Which I've also never noticed.)
Do you do this? Do you notice when other people do or don't? Are English teachers here wasting tons of their students' time? (That's what we told Ole and Solveig.) As an added complication, most English teachers in Denmark teach British English. Maybe it matters more there? Insight??
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4 comments:
I noticed the "thee/thuh" thing a few years ago. It's surprising isn't it? I love that kind of stuff.
I think making this mistake stands out strongly if the speaker's pronunciation is otherwise flawless, but when there is a strong foreign affectation, incorrect pronunciation of "the" is usually overlooked.
For example, think of saying "the market" in a stereotypical French accent. It would be something like "zee mar-KATE". Technically, this is a "thee" not the correct "thuh", but you notice the z instead of the ee. But if I were to say "thuh end" or "thee tree" it would sound awkward.
I've always done that, and I vaguely remember learning the rule or recognizing it when I was a kid. Dad might have taught me. (I remember him teaching me English and Spanish diction.) Once, in high school, somebody asked my why I spoke like that. I think he saw my pronunciation as snobbish.
I don't particularly recall learning to preference one over the other for said situations. And I might have to politely disagree with Nick: I'm fairly sure "thuh end" has been occurring in (American) English -- especially that beautiful repository, Hollywood -- for quite some time. At the same time, where superb diction is present, the speaker who fails this "test" would probably thus gain a few interesting layers of acculturation biography.
Of course, I'd agree that as far as English goes, it's a) foolish to compare American, British, Australian, etc because each has developed its own core rhythms, stresses, and pronunciations; and b) silly to spend a lot of time encouraging a distinction that is, at this late date, probably on its way to archaism.
p.s.
How are you? I'm super sorry I wasn't able to see you while I was home this summer (complicated as it was by the 6-week stretch at NU for summer school). Enjoy Denmark!
I think we definitely do it innately. I don't make that distinction all the time - sometimes I say "thuh apples" or something ridiculous. It makes sense to point it out because I'm sure that saying "thee" before a vowel helps it to flow a little more quickly and naturally, but it isn't something that merits weeks upon weeks of drilling.
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