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What we are taught at school is that

"the" before vowel pronounce as a long "thee" [ði:]

It sounds that the lecturer is saying [ðə]

we can then say that the gradient of this line is equal to the amount of that function that increases in this interval divided by the length of the interval

So, which one is the correct pronunciation of "the", [ði:] or [ðə]?

Void
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JJJohn
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  • I guess from your previous question that the lecturer is speaking from his head (not a prepared text) and perhaps had not decided what word he would say next next, or changed his mind as he was saying "the". I wouldn't worry about it. People speak with all sorts of inconsistencies. – Weather Vane Aug 10 '19 at 10:14
  • @WeatherVane I agree with you about "people speak with all sorts of inconsistencies" and for this specific case, "the" should pronounce as a long "thee" [ði:], right? – JJJohn Aug 10 '19 at 10:16
  • Perhaps you are right. As a native speaker I was never taught such a rule. Sometime a long "thee" is said, when a short vowel is normally said, when a pause for emphasis is made. – Weather Vane Aug 10 '19 at 10:16
  • @WeatherVane may be I misused the symbol "thee" [ði:], not so much long, just as long as [ðə]. – JJJohn Aug 10 '19 at 10:27
  • @WeatherVane Is "when a short vowel is normally said, when a pause for emphasis is made" one or two separate cases? – JJJohn Aug 10 '19 at 10:28
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    I intended to say Sometime a long "thee" is said, instead of the usual short vowel, when a pause for emphasis is made. That was a general observation (unrelated to the speaker's use of a short vowel) to say that rules are just guidelines. We don't consult rules when we speak naturally. – Weather Vane Aug 10 '19 at 10:32
  • @WeatherVane Thanks a lot. "The usual short vowel" is referring to [ði], right? – JJJohn Aug 10 '19 at 10:39
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    /ði/ before vowels is a genuine property of (most speakers') English, and so is almost never taught to native speakers, because it doesn't need to be, In this it is almost exactly like "an" before vowels. ("almost" because of pesky words like "historical"). – Colin Fine Aug 10 '19 at 22:37
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    Does this answer your question? What is the correct pronunciation of "the"? And this one: correct pronunciation of "the university" – Void Jun 26 '21 at 10:33

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