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> **Possible Duplicates:**  
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> [Is pronouncing “The” as in “Thee” still correct in titles?](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/5795/is-pronouncing-the-as-in-thee-still-correct-in-titles)  
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> [What is the pronunciation of “the?”](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1082/what-is-the-pronunciation-of-the) 
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What would be the correct way to pronounce "the"? According to my Swedish-English dictionary at home, it follows the same rule as for the articles "a" and "an". Is this really true in every situation? I've noticed that native speakers doesn't always follow this rule, and I've catched myself pronouncing (or thinking) it as [ðɜ] before words beginning with the "a" sound (like in "play" or "age"). Is that incorrect? Or does it just depend on dialect?