Anonymous  +  660883 Mon, 02 Feb 09 04:06 PM Hello there, Today suddenly, some co-workers talked about the pronunciation of "an" and "the". As a general rule, aren't they pronounced as "an (as in ant)" and "thee" for words beginning in vowels? Having a few of them mention that they've studied them to be generally pronounced as "an(eon)" and "the (duh)", but only as "an (as in ant)" and "thee" when being stressed, I walked out with a big question in my midst. Are they indeed only pronounced in a special way as "an (as in ant)" and "thee" when being stressed? and what does being stressed mean (how does one determine if they are stressed)? If anyone could be of some assistance, it would be greatly appreciated. hongKM Anonymous Vowels, Pronunciation, Speaking

	Eimai_Anglos  +  660939 Mon, 02 Feb 09 05:07 PM It depends, to some extent, on your local dielect. I was born in North East England and I agree with your pronunciation. People from London might disagree. People from parts of America would certainly disagree. In some southern states, for example, they pronounce "than" as "then" or "thei-en" (and frequently write it incorrectly, as a result.) Eimai_Anglos Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Regular Member 509 Martin - native English speaker and technical author. Pronunciation, Countries, United States, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Speaking

	CalifJim  +  660978 Mon, 02 Feb 09 05:56 PM Anonymous “As a general rule, aren't they pronounced as "an (as in ant)" and "thee" for words beginning in vowels?” Yes.  I am not familiar with any of those remarks about stressed forms.  I don't know what your co-workers might mean.  CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,389 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Vowels