You Say "Thuh", I Say "Thee"...

[stoutfellow]

... but why?

This is an interesting article on the two pronunciations of the word "the" (reduced "thuh" versus unreduced "thee"), and the role each plays in communication.

Comments

Re: thee -- one and only particular

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

One of the further links does mention the vowel/consonant pattern (which I wouldn't call a rule - it's an observable pattern), here (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/002312.html).