Jj is for Jottings 122.  Definite and Indefinite Articles.

 

Following on from the previous article on nouns, it is timely to discuss definite and indefinite articles.  Articles are simply “a” or “an”, and “the”.  It sounds simple, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

WHAT ARE DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES?

The Definite Article.

“The” is called the definite article because it refers to a definite thing or person.  For example, “the tree” refers to a particular tree and not just any tree.

These are the functions of the definite article:

• It refers to a person or thing already identified. Example: “You were talking about the beautiful autumn colours on a tree.  Is this the tree?”
• It marks something or someone as the only one. Examples: the Prime Minister; the Bible; the holy Koran; the President.
• It indicates a whole group, class or clan. Examples: the English; the McKinleys; the working class; the soccer fans.
• When stressed i.e. emphasised (and pronounced “thee”), it indicates uniqueness. Examples: It was the (thee) best cooking program on television; it is the best pub for live music.

The Indefinite Article.

“A” or “an” are called the indefinite articles because they refer to any of a number of people or objects. We use “an” before a word beginning with a vowel – a,e,i,o,u.  We will talk more about pronunciation of articles further on.

These are the functions of the indefinite article:

• It is a form of “one”. Examples: wait a minute; a hundred years from now.  If you wish to stress one as opposed to a lot, you exaggerate the pronunciation: “Take ay lolly, not a fistful.”
• It singles out a specific person or thing. Example: “Once there was a little puppy called Ajax.  He lived in a kennel in an old man’s back garden.”
• It has the indefinite meaning of any. Examples: It was as small as a mouse.  A mountain is a large, steep hill.
• It refers to distribution, with a meaning of “each” or “per”. Examples: Two dollars a turn; fifty cents a slice.
  

  The cria looking over my shoulder is saying, “Just looking for definite and indefinite articles. Oo – there are definitely some here!”

The Absence of an Article.

This is sometimes called the zero article, and refers to:

• Generic quantities. “The tiger is a dangerous animal” compared with “Tigers are dangerous animals.”
• It is also used idiomatically. Examples: “They went by train”; “Go to bed”; “I’m going to have dinner”; “Mum is at work”; “She’s in hospital”.

PRONUNCIATION OF DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES.

Under normal conversational circumstances, both “a’ and “the” are pronounced with the neutral vowel, schwa, when followed by a consonant sound.  Say out loud: “The dog chased the cat up a tree.”  “The” and “a” sound like a sort of quiet grunt.

Changes to pronunciation.

When these articles are followed by a word beginning with a vowel, they each do something different.  “A” converts to “an”, as mentioned above.  “The” retains its spelling, but we change the pronunciation to sound like “thee”.  (As also stated above, it is also pronounced as “thee” when we are emphasising it.) If we don’t make these changes when there is a vowel following, we end up having to put in a glottal stop, which creates a false consonant so that the smooth flow of speech is maintained.

What is a glottal stop?

You create a glottal stop when you put your vocal cords together and then audibly release the airstream.  You put your vocal cords together when you are about to say “aah”, for example.  If you get ready to say “aah” but don’t say it, your vocal cords will be together.  (It is difficult to explain on paper.)  And when you say “a apple” or “the apple (without turning it into “thee”), you will find you have put a glottal stop before “apple”.

Why do we make these changes?

It is to keep the smooth flow of speech.  Articles carry no intrinsic meaning i.e. there is no mental picture attached to them.  They are like part of the scaffolding that supports the sentence to express its intended meaning.  Therefore, from that point of view, they are not the important words in the sentence.  If you don’t make the changes and, as a result, put in glottal stops, it gives the articles false and unnecessary emphasis and chops up the smooth flow of the sentence.  Smooth flow is discussed in relation to reading here .

Saying “ay” and “thee” Before a Consonant.

In Australia, at least, I hear an increasing number of people saying “ay” and “thee” in front of words beginning with a consonant, when the situation isn’t calling for emphasis.  I noticed it first in politicians, but the disease seems to have spread.  Let’s use the dog chasing the cat from above.  Say aloud, “Thee dog chased thee cat up ay tree.”  It’s clumsy and clunky because of the unimportant words being emphasised.

Although I don’t know why this should have become a new and unwelcome trend, I suspect part of it may relate to poor listening skills .  In addition to that, bad habits can develop during the early reading years if teachers and parents don’t correct pronunciation errors.  A big problem here is the children are taught the sound and letter name for ‘a’ – quite rightly.  But it seems that they are frequently not taught to adjust the pronunciation for the word “a”.  If I had a dollar for every time I have explained this to a child….

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