Relaxed Pronunciation

Relaxed pronunciation (also called condensed pronunciation or word slurs) is a phenomenon that happens when
the syllables of common words are slurred together. It is almost always present in normal speech, in all natural
languages but not in some constructed languages, such as Loglan or Lojban, which are designed so that all words are
parsable.
Some shortened forms of words and phrases, such as contractions or weak forms can be considered to derive from
relaxed pronunciations, but a phrase with a relaxed pronunciation is not the same as a contraction. In English, where
contractions are common, they are considered part of the standard language and accordingly used in many contexts
(except on very formal speech or in formal/legal writing); however, relaxed pronunciation is markedly informal in
register. This is also sometimes reected in writing: contractions have a standard written form, but relaxed pronunciations may not, outside of eye dialect.
Certain relaxed pronunciations occur only in specic grammatical contexts, the exact understanding of which can be
complicated. See trace (linguistics) for some further info.

English

The following sections contain common words said with relaxed pronunciation in American English, along with
pronunciations given in IPA, and a common written indication of this pronunciation where applicable:

1.1

Of, have, and to

The words of, to, and have all tend to elide to nothing more than a schwa [] in many common situations. This
sometimes leads to spelling confusion, such as writing I could of... instead of I could have... or I could've.
could have: [k], coulda or [kv], could uhv.
must have: [mst], musta or [mstv], must uhv.
should have: [], shoulda or [v], should uhv.
would have: [w], woulda or [wv], would uhv.
it would: when contracted, its pronounced [d], iduhd, but this often collapses to [d], ihd.
it would / it would have: [], itta.
a lot of: [l], a lotta.
kind of: [ka], kinda.
out of: [a], outta.
sort of: [s], sorta.
going to: [n], gonna.
got to: [], gotta.
have to: [hft], hafta.
want to: [w], wanna.
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ENGLISH

ought to : [], oughta.

Would can also get contracted (I'd have done things dierently.), which usually yields [] (I would have... can
be pronounced [a]).
Note: The [v] in have and of is usually retained before a vowel sound (e.g. in I could have asked...).

1.2

You

You tends to elide to [j] (often written ya). Softening of the preceding consonant also may occur: (/t/ + /j/ =
[t], /d/ + /j/ = [d], /s/ + /j/ = [], and /z/ + /j/ = []). This can also happen with other words that begin with
[j] (e.g. your, yet, year). In some dialects, such as Australian English, this is not a relaxed pronunciation but
compulsory: got you [tj] (never *[tj]).
did you: [dd], didja
did you / do you: [d], d'ya
don't you: [dont], doncha
got you: [t], gotcha
get you / get your: [t], getcha
would you: [wd], wouldja

1.3

Other

-ing forms of verbs and sometimes gerunds tend to be pronounced with an [n] at the end instead of the expected
[i] or []. E.g. talking: [tkn], tahkin. If followed by a [t], this can in turn blend with it to form []. E.g.
talking to Bob: [tk bb], tahkinna Bob
"I will" gets contracted to "I'll" [ajl], which in turn gets reduced to "all" [l] in relaxed pronunciation. E.g.
I'll do it: [l du(t)], all do it
"he" tends to elide to just [i] after consonants, sometimes after vowel sounds as well. E.g. is he: [zi], izee; all
he: [li], ahlee
"his", "him", and "her" tend to elide in most environments to [z], [m], and [], respectively. E.g. meet his:
[miz], meetiz; tell him: [tlm], tellim; show her [o], show-er
"them" tends to elide to [m] after consonants. E.g. ask them: [skm], ask'em. (Historically, this is a remnant
of the Middle English pronoun hem.)
about: [bat], bout
already: [i], ahready
all right: [it], ahright
all right: [it], aight
come here: [kmi()], cuhmeer
don't know: [no], [dno] if not preceded by a vowel sound, dunno
xing to: nna
give me: [mi], gimme
I'm going to: [am], I'mma or [mn], Ah-muhnuh
is it: [zt], zit

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isn't it: [nt], innit
let me: [lmi], lemme
lets: [ts], E.g. lets go: [tso]
probably: [pli], [pbli], prolly, probly
suppose: [spoz] spose. E.g. I suppose so: [ai spoz so]
trying to: [ta] trynna
want a: [w], wanna
what is that: [wst], wussat
what is up: [wsp], wassup
what is up: [sp], sup
what are you: [wt], whatcha
what have you: [wt], whatcha. E.g. What have you been up to? : [wt bn p tu]
what do you/what are you: [wj], whaddaya
you all: [jl], yall