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Grammatical article in English

The () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite commodity in English language. The is the virtually frequently used word in the English linguistic communication; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-linguistic communication words.^[one] Information technology is derived from gendered articles in Old English language which combined in Middle English and at present has a unmarried grade used with pronouns of any gender.^[a] The word tin can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter of the alphabet. This is dissimilar from many other languages, which take different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers.

Pronunciation

In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as /ðə/ (with the voiced dental fricative /ð/ followed by a schwa) when followed past a consonant audio, and every bit /ðiː/ (homophone of pronoun thee) when followed by a vowel audio or used equally an emphatic form.^[2]

Modernistic American and New Zealand English have an increasing tendency to limit usage of /ðiː/ pronunciation and use /ðə/, even before a vowel.^{[3] [4]}

Sometimes the word "the" is pronounced /ðiː/, with stress, to emphasise that something is unique: "he is the expert", not just "an" proficient in a field.

Adverbial

Definite commodity principles in English are described under "Employ of articles". The, every bit in phrases like "the more the better", has a distinct origin and etymology and past chance has evolved to be identical to the definite article.^[5]

Article

The and that are common developments from the same Old English system. Old English language had a definite article se (in the masculine gender), sēo (feminine), and þæt (neuter). In Centre English, these had all merged into þe, the antecedent of the Modernistic English word the.^[6]

Geographic usage

An surface area in which the use or not-employ of the is sometimes problematic is with geographic names:

• notable natural landmarks – rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts, isle groups (archipelagoes) and and so on – are mostly used with a "the" definite article (the Rhine, the North Bounding main, the Alps, the Sahara, the Hebrides).
• continents, private islands, administrative units and settlements by and large exercise not take a "the" article (Europe, Jura, Austria (but the Republic of Republic of austria), Scandinavia, Yorkshire (but the County of York), Madrid).
• first with a common noun followed past of may take the commodity, every bit in the Isle of Wight or the Isle of Portland (compare Christmas Island), same applies to names of institutions: Cambridge University, but the University of Cambridge.
• Some place names include an article, such as the Bronx, The Oaks, The Rock, The Birches, The Harrow, The Rower, The Swan, The Valley, The Farrington, The Quarter, The Plains, The Dalles, The Forks, The Village, The Village (NJ), The Village (OK), The Villages, The Hamlet at Castle Pines, The Woodlands, The Pas, the Vatican, The Hyde, the West Finish, the East Cease, The Hague, or the Metropolis of London (but London). Formerly e.g. Bath, Devizes or White Plains.^[7]
• generally described singular names, the Northward Island (New Zealand) or the West Country (England), take an article.

Countries and territorial regions are notably mixed, almost exclude "the" simply there are some that attach to secondary rules:

• derivations from collective common nouns such as "kingdom", "republic", "union", etc.: the Central African Republic, the Dominican Republic, the United states, the U.k., the Soviet Union, the United Arab Emirates, including most state full names:^{[8] [9]} the Czech republic (but Czechia), the Russian Federation (but Russia), the Principality of Monaco (simply Monaco), the Country of State of israel (but Israel) and the Republic of Australia (but Commonwealth of australia).^{[10] [11] [12]}
• countries in a plural noun: holland, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Philippines, the Comoros, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and The Bahamas.
• Atypical derivations from "island" or "land" that hold authoritative rights – Greenland, England, Christmas Isle and Norfolk Island – practice not accept a "the" definite article.
• derivations from mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, etc., are sometimes used with an article, even for singular, (the Lebanon, the Sudan, the Yukon, the Congo).^[xiii] This usage is in decline, The Gambia remains recommended whereas use of the Argentine for Argentina is considered sometime-fashioned. Ukraine is occasionally referred to every bit the Ukraine, a usage that was mutual during the 20th century, merely this is considered incorrect and perhaps offensive in modern usage.^[xiv] Sudan (just the Commonwealth of the Sudan) and Southward Sudan (but the Republic of Due south Sudan) are written nowadays without the article.

Abbreviations

Since "the" is one of the most frequently used words in English, at diverse times short abbreviations for it accept been found:

• Barred thorn: the earliest abbreviation, it is used in manuscripts in the Old English language. Information technology is the letter þ with a assuming horizontal stroke through the ascender, and it represents the word þæt, meaning "the" or "that" (neuter nom. / acc.).
• þͤ and þͭ (þ with a superscript east or t) appear in Middle English language manuscripts for "þe" and "þat" respectively.
• yͤ and yͭ are developed from þͤ and þͭ and announced in Early on Modernistic manuscripts and in print (see Ye form).

Occasional proposals take been made by individuals for an abbreviation. In 1916, Legros & Grant included in their classic printers' handbook Typographical Printing-Surfaces, a proposal for a letter similar to Ħ to represent "Th", thus abbreviating "the" to ħe.^[15]

In Middle English, the (þe) was frequently abbreviated as a þ with a pocket-size e above it, similar to the abbreviation for that, which was a þ with a small t higher up it. During the latter Middle English and Early on Modern English periods, the letter thorn (þ) in its mutual script, or cursive form, came to resemble a y shape. Every bit a upshot, the use of a y with an e higher up it () equally an abbreviation became common. This can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible in places such as Romans xv:29, or in the Mayflower Compact. Historically, the article was never pronounced with a y sound, even when and so written.

The give-and-take "The" itself, capitalised, is used equally an abbreviation in Republic countries for the honorific title "The Correct Honourable", equally in east.1000. "The Earl Mountbatten of Burma", short for "The Right Honourable Earl Mountbatten of Burma", or "The Prince Charles".^[16]

References

1. ^ Norvig, Peter. "English language Letter Frequency Counts: Mayzner Revisited".
2. ^ "the – definition". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.
3. ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Johnson, Keith (2010). A Course in Phonetics (sixth ed.). Boston: Wadsworth. p. 110.
4. ^ Hay, Jennifer (2008). New Zealand English . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 44.
5. ^ "the, adv.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2016. Web. 11 March 2016.
6. ^ "The and That Etymologies". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved 18 June 2015.
7. ^ "Why is it chosen The Hague?".
8. ^ "Countries: Designations and abbreviations to employ".
9. ^ "FAO Country Profiles". www.fao.org.
10. ^ "Using 'the' with the Names of Countries".
11. ^ "List of Countries, Territories and Currencies".
12. ^ "UNGEGN World Geographical Names".
13. ^ Swan, Michael How English Works, p. 25
14. ^ Ukraine or "the Ukraine"? by Andrew Gregorovich, infoukes.com
15. ^ "Missed Opportunity for Ligatures".
16. ^ 'The Prefix "The"'. In Titles and Forms of Address, 21st ed., pp. 8–9. A & C Black, London, 2002.

Notes

1. ^ masculine, feminine, or neuter.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The

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