The word "THAE" is an example of a Scottish dialectal form of "they." In IPA phonetic transcription, it would be written as /ði/. The use of "ae" in place of "ey" is common in Scots orthography, with the "ae" representing the monophthong /e/. While this particular spelling may seem unfamiliar to non-Scots, it is a valid and recognized linguistic variation of the word "they". Therefore, its use appropriately reflects the phonological tendencies of some Scottish speakers.