I was taught, perhaps incorrectly, (and learned and have applied the lesson MUCH less rigorously than my instructor would have demanded) that "thee" came before words beginning with vowels while "thuh" was used before words with consonants. Thus, "hark THUH herald angels sing" but "lo, THEE angel said to them" ... I don't know if anybody else was so indoctrinated.
I think one usage where THEE is often stressed is when one is differentiating between some general case and a specific and particular case -- as in the joke about looking for Muldoon, Strong Muldoon, THE Muldoon ...
That said, a ("uh") reinterpretation subtle vocal mistakes as "cues" to the speakers' thought process -- whether thuh, uhm, or just a long pause -- is the ("thee") most interesting thing I've thought about all day.
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thee -- one and only particular
Date: 2005-07-27 07:41 pm (UTC)I was taught, perhaps incorrectly, (and learned and have applied the lesson MUCH less rigorously than my instructor would have demanded) that "thee" came before words beginning with vowels while "thuh" was used before words with consonants. Thus, "hark THUH herald angels sing" but "lo, THEE angel said to them" ... I don't know if anybody else was so indoctrinated.
I think one usage where THEE is often stressed is when one is differentiating between some general case and a specific and particular case -- as in the joke about looking for Muldoon, Strong Muldoon, THE Muldoon ...
That said, a ("uh") reinterpretation subtle vocal mistakes as "cues" to the speakers' thought process -- whether thuh, uhm, or just a long pause -- is the ("thee") most interesting thing I've thought about all day.
But then, it's been a odd day.