Pronouncing THE before vowels and consonants

Why does “the” have two pronunciations in English?

The small word the has two sounds. Before most words you say “thuh,” like in thuh banana. Before a word that starts with a vowel sound, you say “thee,” like in thee apple. This makes the words flow and easy to say. So you say “thuh dog” but “thee orange.” Many English speakers do this without thinking about it.

What matters is the sound, not the letter. You say thee hour because “hour” starts with a vowel sound (the “h” is silent). You say thuh university because “university” starts with a “yoo” sound. Listen and copy: the sound of the next word tells you which one to use.