[Grammar] the ice-cream

[Oceanlike]

I read that when there's a vowel sound, "the" should be read as "thee" before a word that starts with a, e, i, o and u vowel sound.

Then I read that there's short vowel and long vowel sounds. My understanding is that the long vowel sound sounds the same as the alphabet itself. Hence, I'm confused as to the pronunciation of "the" in some words such as (thee or thuh) ice-cream, (thee or thuh) eleventh hour and (thee or thuh) one.

However, it is pronounced "thuh" universe or university, although both words sound (or at least to me) like the long vowel sound of 'u'. So there is something wrong with my undestanding.

I read in http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-pronounce:

Did Squiggly get "thee" MRI? (Note that MRI starts with a vowel sound: E.)
(No matter how I read it, I could not locate the vowel sound 'E' in MRI)

Please help me to understand correctly.

Thank you!

 

[andrewg927]

You don't need to pronounce "the" "THEE" unless you want to emphasize the noun.

Did Squiggly get an MRI? The MRI shows.... (here you can pronounce it like "THUH")

I am not a teacher.

 

[andrewg927]

(No matter how I read it, I could not locate the vowel sound 'E' in MRI)

MRI is pronounced like EM ARE AI.

I am not a teacher.

 

[Oceanlike]

'The' is pronounced thee before vowel sounds, as in apple, egg,ink ostrich, umbrella, hour, honest. Note that the 'h' in the last two words is not sounded.

It is pronounced thuh before consonant sounds, as in ball, man,yolk, university, European. Note that the initial sound of the last three words is classed as a consonant.

Therefore, it should read:
- the (as in thuh) ice-cream?
- the (as in thee) eleventh hour?
- the (as in thuh) one?

 

[GoesStation]

"Ice cream" begins with a vowel sound, so when the comes before it, we pronounce it more like "thee".

 

[teechar]

- the (as in thuh) one?

That one is correct.

 

[GoesStation]

That one is correct.

"One" sounds the same as won, which starts with a consonant sound. Therefore we tend to pronounce "the" with a short e, like thuh.

Oceanlike, these are tendencies more than rules. They arise from what's comfortable to pronounce. In my region you'll often hear the short e pronunciation before vowels, with a glottal stop between the words: thuh 'only way you can pronounce this vowel combination comfortably is to interpose a glottal stop. People who do that often follow a with a glottal stop instead of using an before words that begin with a vowel sound: here's uh 'apple. You should not adopt these pronunciations, but don't be shocked if you hear them.

 

[andrewg927]

"One" sounds the same as won, which starts with a consonant sound. Therefore we tend to pronounce "the" with a short e, like thuh.

Oceanlike, these are tendencies more than rules. They arise from what's comfortable to pronounce. In my region you'll often hear the short e pronunciation before vowels, with a glottal stop between the words: thuh 'only way you can pronounce this vowel combination comfortably is to interpose a glottal stop. People who do that often follow a with a glottal stop instead of using an before words that begin with a vowel sound: here's uh 'apple. You should not adopt these pronunciations, but don't be shocked if you hear them.

That's what I often hear too. I don't hear "thee" a lot unless it is to emphasize the noun. It sounds unnatural to say "thee" apple all the time.

I am not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think I've ever used "thuh apple", only "thee apple".

 

[GoesStation]

Thuh apple is probably an American pronunciation - though we also say thee apple.

I remember asking my first-grade teacher how to spell "thee" as in thee end.

 

[SoothingDave]

I would say "thee apple." It's just easier to say that way.

 

[Oceanlike]

"Ice cream" begins with a vowel sound, so when the comes before it, we pronounce it more like "thee".

Please help me to understand which vowel sound does 'Ice-cream' start with. It sounds like 'Ike", which means the vowel sound of a or e?

I have searched various youtube videos on the vowel sound of 'i', but cannot seem to get the hang of it. 'Ice-cream' does not sound like it starts with the vowel sound of 'i'. Please correct me.

Thank you.

 

[Oceanlike]

I would say "thee apple." It's just easier to say that way.

Does 'apple' start with the vowel sound of 'a' or 'e'? I keep getting confused between these two vowel sounds.

Thank you!

 

[emsr2d2]

It starts with the vowel sound "a", the same sound as the beginning of the words an, ant, analogue, Appalachian, antique, etc.

 

[GoesStation]

Please help me to understand which vowel sound does 'Ice-cream' start with. It sounds like 'Ike", which means the vowel sound of a or e?

I pronounce the vowel in "ice" as a diphthong that begins with uh as in "up" and glides into ee as in "knee".

 

[bubbha]

The pronunciation of "the" and the use of "a" vs. "an" depends on the first sound that follows, not the first letter that follows.

So:
"a university" (since the "u" in "university" starts with a consonantal "y" sound)
"an MRI" (since the name of the letter "M" is "em", which starts with an "e" sound)
"an ice cream" (since the "i" in "ice" sounds like a short "ai". Note that it's a shorter sound that the "ai" of "eye". See GoesStation's explanation.)

 

[bubbha]

Does 'apple' start with the vowel sound of 'a' or 'e'? I keep getting confused between these two vowel sounds.

Thank you!

It starts with the /æ/ sound.

 

[probus]

The pronunciation of "the" and the use of "a" vs. "an" depends on the first sound that follows, not the first letter that follows.

In another thread years ago, I remarked that there is a trend among younger speakers of AmE to abandon thee altogether in favour of thuh. One of my highly educated daughters always says thuh even when the next word starts with a vowel, and there are many like her. Tdol replied that this phenomenon can also be heard in London.

 

[jutfrank]

I think it may help to reiterate what people have said above.

You must not confuse vowel and consonant letters (AEIOU) with vowel and consonant sounds. Only then will the rules of connection make sense. The length of the vowel sound makes no difference.

university and one both begin with consonant sounds and MRI begins with a vowel sound.

If some speakers say "thuh apple", it is because they are not connecting the vowels, and so the rules do not apply.