[PW] Re: Emphasizing the word "the"

[Simon Cauchi]

On 18/11/2006, at 6:45 AM, TED NESBITT wrote:

> Does anyone know if there is a name/appelation for putting stress on 
> the word "the" to emphasize a point?
>
> Examples:  Harvard is THE university to attend.
> The United States is THE leader of the world.
> "Borat" is THE movie to see this season.

It's called -- guess what -- "stressed use of the definite article, in 
the form /<dh>i:/" (and read <dh> as the edh, the proper phonetic 
symbol for a voiced dental fricative). See the Cambridge Grammar of the 
English Language, p. 371.

Alternatively, I imagine "emphasized THE" or "stressed THE" would 
convey the same idea perfectly well.

Simon Cauchi
<simon.cauchi at xtra.co.nz>