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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. Information technology is the definite commodity in English. The is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts take found it to account for seven per centum of all printed English language-language words.^[1] It is derived from gendered manufactures in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender.^[a] The discussion can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have 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 past a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and equally /ðiː/ (homophone of pronoun thee) when followed by a vowel sound or used as an emphatic form.^[ii]

Modern American and New Zealand English accept an increasing trend to limit usage of /ðiː/ pronunciation and utilise /ðə/, even before a vowel.^{[iii] [iv]}

Sometimes the give-and-take "the" is pronounced /ðiː/, with stress, to emphasise that something is unique: "he is the skilful", non merely "an" expert in a field.

Adverbial

Definite article principles in English are described under "Use of articles". The, as in phrases similar "the more the better", has a singled-out origin and etymology and by chance has evolved to be identical to the definite article.^[5]

Article

The and that are common developments from the same Old English organisation. Old English had a definite commodity se (in the masculine gender), sēo (feminine), and þæt (neuter). In Middle English, these had all merged into þe, the antecedent of the Modern English discussion the.^[6]

Geographic usage

An expanse in which the utilise or non-utilize of the is sometimes problematic is with geographic names:

• notable natural landmarks – rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts, island groups (archipelagoes) and so on – are generally used with a "the" definite article (the Rhine, the Northward Sea, the Alps, the Sahara, the Hebrides).
• continents, individual islands, administrative units and settlements mostly do not have a "the" commodity (Europe, Jura, Austria (but the Republic of Republic of austria), Scandinavia, Yorkshire (merely the Canton of York), Madrid).
• start with a mutual noun followed by of may have the article, as in the Isle of Wight or the Island of Portland (compare Christmas Isle), same applies to names of institutions: Cambridge University, just 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 Hamlet, The Village (NJ), The Village (OK), The Villages, The Village at Castle Pines, The Woodlands, The Pas, the Vatican, The Hyde, the West End, the E End, The Hague, or the City of London (but London). Formerly e.g. Bath, Devizes or White Plains.^[7]
• generally described singular names, the N Isle (New Zealand) or the Westward Land (England), take an commodity.

Countries and territorial regions are notably mixed, most exclude "the" but there are some that adhere to secondary rules:

• derivations from collective mutual nouns such every bit "kingdom", "commonwealth", "marriage", etc.: the Fundamental African Republic, the Dominican Republic, the United States, the Great britain, the Soviet Matrimony, the United Arab Emirates, including virtually country full names:^{[8] [9]} the Czechia (but Czechia), the Russian Federation (but Russian federation), the Principality of Monaco (but Monaco), the State of Israel (but State of israel) and the Commonwealth of australia (just Australia).^{[10] [11] [12]}
• countries in a plural noun: the netherlands, 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.
• Singular derivations from "island" or "country" that agree administrative rights – Greenland, England, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island – practise non take a "the" definite commodity.
• derivations from mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, etc., are sometimes used with an article, fifty-fifty for atypical, (the Lebanon, the Sudan, the Yukon, the Congo).^[xiii] This usage is in pass up, The Republic of the gambia remains recommended whereas use of the Argentine for Argentina is considered old-fashioned. Ukraine is occasionally referred to every bit the Ukraine, a usage that was common during the 20th Century, possibly originating with Ukrainian immigrant scholars not fluent in English referring to the state as so.^[14] Sudan (just the Republic of the Sudan) and South Sudan (just the Commonwealth of South Sudan) are written nowadays without the article.

Abbreviations

Since "the" is one of the most often used words in English, at various times curt abbreviations for information technology have been establish:

• Barred thorn: the earliest abridgement, it is used in manuscripts in the One-time English linguistic communication. It is the letter þ with a bold 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 due east or t) announced in Eye English manuscripts for "þe" and "þat" respectively.
• yͤ and yͭ are developed from þͤ and þͭ and announced in Early Modern manuscripts and in print (see Ye form).

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

In Eye English, the (þe) was often abbreviated every bit a þ with a small e to a higher place it, similar to the abbreviation for that, which was a þ with a small-scale t above information technology. During the latter Middle English and Early Modern English periods, the letter thorn (þ) in its common script, or cursive form, came to resemble a y shape. As a result, the employ of a y with an e higher up it () every bit an abbreviation became common. This tin can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible in places such equally Romans 15:29, or in the Mayflower Meaty. Historically, the article was never pronounced with a y audio, even when then written.

The discussion "The" itself, capitalised, is used as an abbreviation in Commonwealth countries for the honorific title "The Right Honourable", as in e.thou. "The Earl Mountbatten of Burma", short for "The Right Honourable Earl Mountbatten of Burma", or "The Prince Charles".^[16]

References

1. ^ Norvig, Peter. "English Letter Frequency Counts: Mayzner Revisited".
2. ^ "the – definition". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.
3. ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Johnson, Keith (2010). A Course in Phonetics (6th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth. p. 110.
4. ^ Hay, Jennifer (2008). New Zealand English language . Edinburgh: Edinburgh Academy Press. p. 44.
5. ^ "the, adv.1." OED Online. Oxford Academy Printing, March 2016. Web. 11 March 2016.
6. ^ "The and That Etymologies". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved eighteen June 2015.
7. ^ "Why is information technology called The Hague?".
8. ^ "Countries: Designations and abbreviations to use".
9. ^ "FAO State Profiles". www.fao.org.
10. ^ "Using 'the' with the Names of Countries".
11. ^ "List of Countries, Territories and Currencies".
12. ^ "UNGEGN Earth 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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