To ask when the "thee" pronunciation of "the" was abolished and why?

[wasonthelist]

The (thuh) for everything. When did this happen? Did it come from the USA?

[Skittlesss]

So you say "I'm going to thee shop"?

[Gatekeeper]

abolished??? says who?

I use thee a LOT as does everyone where i live (SW Durham)

[Gatekeeper]

I wouldn't say " I'm going to thee shop" but would say "thee one over there"

it's not a long drawn out 'theeee' but more clipped

[Alisvolatpropiis]

I say it both ways, like exactly as in *Gatekeeper's examples.

[BakewellSliceAgain]

I say thee elephant , thee apple but th' banana.

[FithColumnist]

It never has. "Thee" and "thuh" are conditioned variants like "ann" and "ay" - you use thuh first before a vowel and thee other before a consonant.

[ExcuseMyEyebrows]

So you say "I'm going to thee shop"?

No, but I say "thee animals"

'Thee' before a word beginning with a vowel, 'the' before a word starting with a consonant.

[logosthecat]

Normally it's just vowel sounds isn't it? I'm going to thuh shop, but I see thee elephant?

[SecretMongoose]

Isn't it 'thee' if the following word starts with a vowel? Like thee apple, thee elephant. But thu table, thu frog etc.
I don't think it's disappearing at all, do you really hear people say thu apple?

[logosthecat]

oops xpost!

[StealthPolarBear]

I also speak like gatekeeper and sounds like I love nearby too :)

I've noticed tha popping up in speech more. Tha animals. Tha offer.
similar to the thuh sound but more of an ahhh

[BakewellSliceAgain]

Why did we all pick elephant as our example?!

[Gatekeeper]

"love nearbye" eh??? not at Sedgefield dogging lay-bye I hope

[wasonthelist]

I don't think it's disappearing at all, do you really hear people say thu apple?

It's all over the BBC - Radio 4 and 5.

Thu EU, Thu RAF, Thu A1 (traffic news just now) Thu elephant in thu room.

I think it's a youth/south of England thing like that uptick thing, but I may be wrong.

[wasonthelist]

I've noticed tha popping up in speech more. Tha animals. Tha offer.
similar to the thuh sound but more of an ahhh

Exactly this - where is it coming from - I've noticed it on US TV shows - is it another thing we're getting from then?

[redexpat]

Thee for words that start with a vowel.
Thuh for words that start with a consonant. Do you know thuh muffin man?

[StealthPolarBear]

There's a dogging lay by in Sedgefield? ?
(See you there on friday)

[BerriesandLeaves]

I would say Thee other one. Thuh other one would be harder to say

[TotalConfucius]

If you use thuh before a word beginning with a vowel, it sounds like you're placing an invisible capital on the word, as in thuh Apple. T'aint right. Isn't it weird the way our brains work.

[TotalConfucius]

Now I'm wandering around saying Thuh Apple repeatedly.
Isn't it weird the way our lips work as well.

[Gatekeeper]

Stealth it is very well used even in daylight- the dorty buggers

dh once pondered aloud the notion of installing wildlife cameras and then blackmailing the perpetrators !!!! Too much watching 'Murder She Wrote' I reckon!

[Excited101]

I am very disturbed that I never differentiated between the 'thes'. I'm pretty sure (having now tested them out) that I use them correctly but I never realised I changed the sound depending on the vowel or not of the following word- how bizzare!

[DeadGood]

"Thu EU, Thu RAF, Thu A1 (traffic news just now) Thu elephant in thu room."

OP although other posters are rightly saying that it's theee before a vowel, it's harder to say thee before a word starting with "e", which is what two of five of your examples are above. The other two are followed by consonant-starting words.

[DeadGood]

Excuse my terrible arrangement of words above!

[Skittlesss]

Aaah yes I get what you mean now :) i was thinking you were saying Thee in the same way one might say "how fare thee today?" Haha.