# It's "thei'" not "they"! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 12, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014 "2003-10-12T17:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/1 "2003-10-12T17:37:09Z")
You know what I’m talking about! When post authors relay something like this “you should’a said it to they faces!”, obviously to ridicule the speaker. They imply that the speaker was an idiot because he thought that the word “they” was appropriate. In actuality,the author looks like the idot. The speaker is of course, not saying “they”, but “their” and dropping the “r” as his accent dictates. So if you must point out he accent of the speaker, writing “thei’” would be prudent. Think how silly you’d look if you wrote about how Bostoners love to “potty”, rather than “pahty”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/2 "2003-10-12T17:39:07Z")
pardon? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/3 "2003-10-12T17:51:39Z")
I believe the OP is talking about so-called Eubonics, in which “their” is pronounced like “day”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/4 "2003-10-12T18:03:14Z")
I know. I was just hinting at the slight rambliness/breathlessness of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/5 "2003-10-12T18:23:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pizzabrat \* > \*\*You know what I’m talking about! \*\* I beg to differ. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/6 "2003-10-12T18:35:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Libertarian_ > I believe the OP is talking about so-called Eubonics, in which “their” is pronounced like “day”. Are you joking? That’s not what I was talking about at all! Nobody listen to him! That’s not right at all! ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/7 "2003-10-12T18:40:38Z")
The bees are in the what now? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/8 "2003-10-12T18:43:27Z")
Step right up, I’ll touch ya for a quarter! ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/9 "2003-10-12T18:48:25Z")
who is him? or he? Oh God, I think it might be catching. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Daisy\_Cutter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Daisy\_Cutter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daisy_Cutter)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/10 "2003-10-12T19:06:39Z")
Oh, so I’m supposed to write “thei” now, because a group of people who speaks with various speech impediments do not know how to properly communicate ? Exactly which slang or dialect are you referring to ? ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/11 "2003-10-12T19:16:10Z")
It’s a confusing OP, but I see the point. It’s easy for some people to make fun of a phrase like: “I went over to they house…” What the OP is saying is that it is not incorrect use of the word ‘they’. The phrase could be correctly written with the possessive form of the word: “I went over to their house…” but the word “their” just sounds different depending upon the dialect. An interesting point, but I’m not sure it is correct. I’d like to see how several people who make this apparent error write the sentence out. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/12 "2003-10-12T20:18:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*I beg to differ. \*\* Don’t beg. It’s not dignified. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/13 "2003-10-12T20:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > _Daisy Cutter_ > Exactly which slang or dialect are you referring to ? Neither. It’s an accent, you 'ron! Accent! ACCENT! Hello? Am I the only person who has ever heard of an accent? The word is in my dictionary, “a characteristic pronunciation”. I didn’t say anything about dialect or “Eubonics”, I was merely pointing out a peeve I have with a commonly mistranscribed ACCENT. Stop adding stuff to what I wrote. ---
**Author:** ![bojon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/14 "2003-10-12T20:30:37Z")
How do you mistranscribe a vocalization. A grunt is a grunt in Chinese or German. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/15 "2003-10-12T20:32:31Z")
I have an Indian friend who thinks “Harvard” and “Howard” sound the same, and an Italian friend pronounces “Tuesday” and “Thursday” similarily because of their _ACCENTS_! _ACCENTS_! _ACCENTS!_ MURDER! ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/16 "2003-10-12T20:47:26Z")
Perhaps if you explained yourself better, no-one would have to. Kinda a [theme](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216889) for you today. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/17 "2003-10-12T21:13:03Z")
I disagree. If this were a matter of accent, it would follow that similarly pronounced words would be similarly altered. I do not think this is the case. Consider the following hypothetical conversation: “‘Scuse me, I’m lookin’ for Brad and Ashleigh. Where they at?” “Brad and Ashleigh? They over there, talkin’ to they broker.” Now, it seems to me, that if this were purely a matter of accent, “their” and “there” would be similarly “mis”-pronounced, because that is how their regional dialect renders that particular sound. This is not the case. If the dialect can properly render a homophone for “their” but not the word “their” itself, this implies to me that this is not simply a matter of pronunciation, but of word substitution. However, I’m not a linguist, and I’m betting the OP isn’t one, either. I’m open to correction if my logic is flawed. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/18 "2003-10-12T21:51:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _Miller_ > Now, it seems to me, that if this were purely a matter of accent, “their” and “there” would be similarly “mis”-pronounced, because that is how their regional dialect renders that particular sound. This is not the case. If the dialect can properly render a homophone for “their” but not the word “their” itself, this implies to me that this is not simply a matter of pronunciation, but of word substitution. “except when said ‘ay’, like ‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh’” The “ei” in their makes an “ay” sound. What’s intersting is that in your accent “there” and “their” are homophones, but they don’t have to be. A person that would drop the “r” in “their” would do the same for “there”. “There” would then become “theh”, and not be a homophone for “their”. And no, I’m not a professional linguist, but I’m interested enough in the topic to not go off spouting willy-nilly without having any idea what I’m talking about (just a disclaimer. I’m not implying an insult). ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/19 "2003-10-12T22:04:01Z")
“Well. Theh 'tis.” — The Austrian Emperor ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014/20 "2003-10-12T22:12:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Now, it seems to me, that if this were purely a matter of accent, “their” and “there” would be similarly “mis”-pronounced, because that is how their regional dialect renders that particular sound. This is not the case. If the dialect can properly render a homophone for “their” but not the word “their” itself, this implies to me that this is not simply a matter of pronunciation, but of word substitution. > > However, I’m not a linguist, and I’m betting the OP isn’t one, either. I’m open to correction if my logic is flawed. \*\* I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case. I think what we need to do to test it is to find someone with that way of speaking, and ask them to spell the word. I’m betting ‘their’, but it could be ‘they’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-thei-not-they/207014.md?page=2)