Surely it is the norm to alter the pronunciation of THE when the following word begins with a vowel?
I am tired of hearing local TV newsreaders saying THE offer, THE arrival, instead of THEE. It breaks the flow and sounds so stilted.
A similar problems, from the same presenters, with A. They insist on pronouncing A like the letter of the alphabet, eg A fire, A strike - again, breaking the flow of a sentence. Sometimes they even say A when the next word begins with a vowel, where normally it would be changed to AN, eg an accident, so we even hear A accident!
It really grates.
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