How to Pronounce "the" in EnglishNormally, we pronounce "the" with a short sound (like "thuh"). But when "the" comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".
vowel sound
we write
we say
A
the apple
thee apple
E
the egg
thee egg
I
the ice-cream
thee ice-cream
O
the orange
thee orange
U
the ugli fruit
thee ugli fruit
It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:
we write
with
we say
with
the house
consonant (h)
thuh house
consonant sound
the hour
consonant (h)
thee our
vowel sound
the university
vowel (u)
thuh youniversity
consonant sound
the umbrella
vowel (u)
thee umbrella
vowel sound
Emphatic the [thee]
When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use "emphatic the" [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:
A: I saw the [thuh] President yesterday.
B: What! The [thee] President of the United States?
A: Yes, exactly.
哪有这么复杂，这个问题一般的英语发音教程都会提到。这是连读中的加音现象：
2个元音在一起，不管是2个单词里，还是在一个元音里，都要加音进行连读。i i之间加u, i和i之间加y.
举几个极常见的例子：
the end- the y end，注意the后面是元音，所以读thi, 不是thə。
I am 读为 I y am
two apples 读为two u apples
我没有听过RAZ的这段录音，但the animals的如果要连读，读法就应该是the y animals。当然如果不连读，不加音也可。
