Editing Elision (section)

==Examples==
{{IPA notice}}

===English===

Examples of elision in English:

{|class=wikitable
! Word
! IPA before elision
! IPA after elision
|-
| ''natural''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|æ|tʃ|ə|r|ə|l}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|æ|tʃ|r|ə|l}}
|-
| ''laboratory'' ([[British English]])
| {{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|b|ɒr|ə|t|ə|r|i}}
| {{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|b|ɒr|ə|t|r|i}}
|-
| ''laboratory'' ([[American English]])
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|b|ə|r|ə|t|ɔː|r|i}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|b|r|ə|t|ɔː|r|i}}
|-
| ''temperature''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|m|p|ə|r|ə|tʃ|ər}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|m|p|ər|tʃ|ər}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|m|p|r|ə|tʃ|ər}}, sometimes {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|m|p|ə|tʃ|ər}}
|-
| ''family''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|m|ɪ|l|i}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|m|l|i}}
|-
| ''vegetable''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɛ|dʒ|ə|t|ə|b|əl}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɛ|dʒ|t|ə|b|əl}} or [[devoiced]] into {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|ɛ|tʃ|t|ə|b|əl}}
|-
| ''fifth''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɪ|f|θ}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɪ|θ}}
|-
| ''him''
| {{IPAc-en|h|ɪ|m}}
| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|m}}
|-
| ''going to''
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|oʊ|.|ɪ|ŋ|_|t|uː}}
| {{IPAc-en|g|ə|n|ə}} (''gonna'')
|-
| ''it is'', ''it has''
| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|t|_|ˈ|ɪ|z}}, {{IPAc-en|ɪ|t|_|ˈ|h|æ|z}}
| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|t|s}} (''it's'')
|-
| ''I have''
| {{IPAc-en|aɪ|_|ˈ|h|æ|v}}
| {{IPAc-en|aɪ|v}} (''I've'')
|-
| ''is not''
| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|z|ˈ|n|ɒ|t}}
| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|z|ən|t}} (''isn't'')
|}

Most elisions in English are not mandatory, but they are used in common practice and even sometimes in more formal speech. This applies to nearly all the examples in the above table. However, these types of elisions are rarely shown in modern writing and never shown in formal writing. In formal writing, the words are written the same whether or not the speaker would elide them, but in many plays and classic American literature, words are often written with an elision to demonstrate accent:

{{Quote|"Well, we ain't got any," George exploded. "Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God '''a'mighty''', if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job '''an' work''', '''an' no''' trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a '''[[Brothel|cathouse]]''' all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. '''An' I''' could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool." Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie's face was drawn in with terror. "'''An' whatta''' I got," George went on furiously. "I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me '''ever' job''' I get. '''Jus' keep''' me '''shovin' all''' over the country all the time."| [[John Steinbeck]]|[[Of Mice and Men]] 1937, 1.89<ref name=Shmoop.com>{{cite web|last=Steinbeck|first=John|title=Of Mice and Men Quotes|url=http://www.shmoop.com/of-mice-and-men/quotes.html|work=Of Mice and Men|publisher=Covici, Friede, Inc.|access-date=2012-09-09}}</ref>}}

Other examples, such as ''him'' and ''going to'' shown in the table above, are generally used only in fast or informal speech. They are still generally written as is unless the writer intends to show the dialect or speech patterns of the speaker.

The third type of elision is in common contractions, such as ''can't'', ''isn't'', or ''I'm''. The apostrophes represent the sounds that are removed and are not spoken but help the reader to understand that it is a contraction and not a word of its own. These contractions used to be written out when transcribed (i.e. ''cannot'', ''is not'', ''I am'') even if they were pronounced as a contraction, but now they are always written as a contraction so long as they are spoken that way. However, they are by no means mandatory and a speaker or writer may choose to keep the words distinct rather than contract them either as a stylistic choice, when using formal register, to make meaning clearer to children or non-native English speakers, or to emphasize a word within the contraction (e.g. ''I ''am'' going!'')

In [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] accents of English, {{IPA|/r/}} is dropped unless it's followed by a vowel, making ''cheetah'' and ''cheater'' completely homophonous. In non-rhotic accents spoken outside of North America, many instances of {{IPAc-en|ɑː}} correspond to {{IPAc-en|ɑːr}} in North American English as {{IPAc-en|æ}} and {{IPAc-en|ɒ}} are used instead of {{IPAc-en|ɑː}}.

===Finnish===
The consonant in the [[partitive case]] ending {{lang|fi|-ta}} elides when it is surrounded by two short vowels except when the first of the two vowels involved is [[paragoge]] (added to the stem). Otherwise, it stays. For example, {{lang|fi|katto+ta}} → {{lang|fi|kattoa}}, {{lang|fi|ranta+ta}} → {{lang|fi|rantaa}}, but {{lang|fi|työ+tä}} → {{lang|fi|työtä}} (not a short vowel), {{lang|fi|mies+ta}} → {{lang|fi|miestä}} (consonant stem), {{lang|fi|jousi+ta}} → {{lang|fi|jousta}} (paragogic {{lang|fi|i}} on a consonant stem).

===French===
{{Main|Elision (French)}}

Elision of unstressed vowels (usually {{IPAslink|ɵ̞|ə}}) is common in the French language and, in some cases, must be indicated orthographically with an [[apostrophe]].

Elision of vowel and consonant sounds was also an important phenomenon in the phonological evolution of French. For example, ''s'' following a [[vowel]] and preceding another consonant regularly elided, with [[compensatory lengthening]] of the vowel.
*Latin {{lang|la|hospitāle}} → Old French {{lang|fro|(h)ostel}} → Modern French {{lang|fr|hôtel}}
*Latin {{lang|la|spatha}} → Old French {{lang|fro|espee}} → Modern French {{lang|fr|épée}}
*Latin {{lang|la|schola}} → Old French {{lang|fro|escole}} → Modern French {{lang|fr|école}}

===German===

Nouns and adjectives that end with unstressed "el" or "er" have the "e" elided when they are declined or a suffix follows. ex. {{lang|de|teuer}} becomes {{lang|de|teure}}, {{lang|de|teuren}}, etc., and {{lang|de|Himmel}} + {{lang|de|-isch}} becomes {{lang|de|himmlisch}}.

The final {{lang|de|e}} of a noun is also elided when another noun or suffix is concatenated onto it: {{lang|de|Strafe}} + {{lang|de|Gesetzbuch}} becomes {{lang|de|Strafgesetzbuch}}.

In both of the above cases, the {{lang|de|e}} represents a [[schwa]].

===Icelandic===

Elision ({{lang|is|brottfall}}) is common in [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]. There are a variety of rules for its occurrence,<ref name="Der WWW2-Webserver — Web-Support des Computer- und Medienservice">{{cite web | title=BRAGI: framburður: regla 19 > "Brottföll" | website=Der WWW2-Webserver — Web-Support des Computer- und Medienservice | url=http://www2.hu-berlin.de/bragi/b5/reglur/b5regla_19_brottfoll.htm | language=is | access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> but the most notable is the loss of trailing consonants in common particles as well as the merger of similar vowel sounds. For example, the ubiquitous {{lang|is|ég er að}} (verb) structure ("I am verb-ing") becomes transformed to {{lang|is|éra}} (verb); the full particles is spoken only when a person is sounding the sentence out word by word.  Another noteworthy and extremely common example along this line includes the phrase {{lang|is|er það ekki?}} ("really?"), which is pronounced as {{lang|is|erþakki}}. A common example of internal consonant loss in Icelandic is {{lang|is|gerðu svo vel}} ("here you go", "please"),  pronounced {{lang|is|gjersovel}} (the hidden {{lang|is|j}} sound is unrelated to the elision and occurs when a {{IPA|/kʰ/}} or {{IPA|/k/}} precedes {{IPA|/ɛ, i, ɪ, ai/}}). Another special case of elision is the loss of {{IPA|/θ/}} from the start of {{lang|is|þetta}} ("this", "that"), which is sometimes pronounced {{lang|is|etta}} ({{lang|is|hvað er þetta}} (what is this?) -> {{lang|is|hvaretta?}}). The pronunciation of the full word tends to lay emphasis on it ("What is ''this''?") while the elision of the word leads to its deemphasis ("''What'' is this?"). The loss of the {{IPA|/θ/}} in {{lang|is|þetta}} is similar to how {{IPA|/ð/}} can be lost in "that" and "this" when asking a question and speaking swiftly in English.

===Irish===

Elision is found in the Ulster dialect of Irish, particularly in final position. {{lang|ga|Iontach}}, for example, while pronounced {{IPA|[ˈiːntəx]}} in the Conamara dialect, is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈintə]}} in Ulster. {{lang|ga|n}} is also elided when it begins intervocalic consonant clusters. {{lang|ga|Anró}} is pronounced {{lang|ga|aró}}; {{lang|ga|muintir}} is pronounced {{lang|ga|muitir}}.

===Japanese===
{{See also|Japanese phonology#Devoicing|Japanese particles|Honorific speech in Japanese#Honorific prefixes}}{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2024}}
Elision is extremely common in the pronunciation of the [[Japanese language]]. In general, a high vowel ({{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}) that appears in a low-pitched syllable between two voiceless consonants is devoiced and often deleted outright. However, unlike French or English, Japanese does not often show elision in writing. The process is purely phonetic and varies considerably depending on the dialect or level of formality. A few examples (slightly exaggerated; apostrophes added to indicate elision):

:松下さんはいますか？ ''Matsushita-san wa imasu ka?'' ("Is Mr. Matsushita in?")
:Pronounced: ''matsush'tasanwa imas'ka''
:{{IPA|ja|matsɯɕi̥tasaɰ̃wa imasɯ̥ka|IPA}}

:失礼します ''Shitsurei shimasu'' ("Excuse me")
:Pronounced: ''sh'tsureishimas' ''
:{{IPA|ja|ɕi̥tsɯɾeː ɕimasɯ̥|IPA}}

Gender roles also influence elision in Japanese. It is considered masculine to elide, especially the final ''u'' of the polite verb forms (''-masu'', ''desu''), but women are traditionally encouraged to do the opposite. However, excessive elision is generally associated with lower [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige]], and inadequate elision is seen as overly fussy or old-fashioned. Some [[dialects of Japanese language|nonstandard dialects]], such as [[Kagoshima dialect|Satsuma-ben]], are known for their extensive elision.

It is common for successive o sounds to be reduced to a single o sound, as is frequently encountered when the particle を (wo/o) is followed by the beautifying or honorific お (o).

===Latin===


Latin poetry featured frequent elision, with syllables being dropped to fit the meter or for [[euphony]]. Words ending in vowels would elide with the following word if it started with a vowel or h; words ending with -m would also be elided in the same way (this is called ecthlipsis).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Thomas Kerchever |title=The First Verse Book |date=1866 |publisher=Rivingtons |pages=[https://archive.org/details/firstversebook00arnogoog/page/n7 3]–4 |edition=9th |url=https://archive.org/details/firstversebook00arnogoog |access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gildenhard |first1=Ingo |last2=Zissos |first2=Andrew |title=Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3.511-733: Latin Text with Introduction, Commentary, Glossary of Terms, Vocabulary Aid and Study Questions |date=2016 |publisher=Open Book Publishers |isbn=9781783740857 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQz5DAAAQBAJ&q=quem+quidem+ego+actutum+(modo+vos+absistite)+cogam&pg=PT204 |access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref> In writing, unlike in Greek, this would not be shown, with the normal spelling of the word represented. For instance, line 5 of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'' is written as "{{lang|la|multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem}}", even though it would be pronounced as "{{lang|la|multa quoquet bello passus, dum conderet urbem}}".

It is generally thought that elision in Latin poetry came from ordinary Latin pronunciation. However, at some points in speech where elision was standard in poetry, such as at the end of sentences, there was no elision in prose. Around 30 B.C., there was a sharp decline in the amount of elision. Later revived to a varying degree during the Silver Age, it then declined again.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=282939 |title=Elision and Hiatus in Latin Prose and Verse |last1=Sturtevant |first1=Edgar H. |last2=Kent |first2=Roland G. |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |date=1915 |volume=46 |pages=129–155 |doi=10.2307/282939 }}</ref>

Other examples of elision in Latin literature include:

*Virgil's ''Aeneid'' Book I, Line 3: "{{lang|la|litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto}} "  is pronounced "{{lang|la|litora, multillet terris iactatus et alto}} ", where "{{lang|la|multillet}} " comprises three long syllables, or one and a half [[spondee]]s.
*Virgil's ''Aeneid'' Book I, Line 11: "{{lang|la|impulerit. tantaene animis caelestibus irae?}} "  is pronounced "{{lang|la|impulerit. tantaenanimis caelestibus irae?}} ", where "{{lang|la|tantaenanimis}} " comprises three long syllables and two short syllables.
*[[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' Book III, Line 557: "{{lang|la|quem quidem ego actutum (modo vos absistite) cogam}} " is pronounced "{{lang|la|quem quidegactutum (modo vos absistite) cogam}} ", where "{{lang|la|quidegactutum}} " comprises two short syllables and a long syllable.
*Ovid's ''[[Amores (Ovid)|Amores]]'' Book III, Poem VI, Line 101: "{{lang|la|Huic ego, vae! demens narrabam fluminum amores!}} " is pronounced "{{lang|la|Huic ego, vae! demens narrabam fluminamores!}} ".
* [[Catullus 73]] line 6, "{{lang|la|quam modo qui me unum atque unicum amicum habuit}}", has elision connecting the final six words together.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murley |first1=Clyde |title=Life, Logic, and Language |journal=The Classical Journal |date=1943 |volume=38 |issue=5 |page=287 |jstor=3291593}}</ref>
* [[Caecilius Statius]]'s ''Ephesio'' (quoted in Cicero's ''[[Cato Maior de Senectute]]'' 25) has the line: "{{lang|la|Sentire ea aetate eumpse esse odiosum alteri}}" where there is elision between every word.<ref name="Oldfather"/>
* A line from [[Lucilius]] (600 Marx; 728 Warmington) similarly has elision connecting all its words: "{{lang|la|frigore inluvie inbalnitie inperfunditie incuria}}".<ref name="Oldfather">{{cite journal |last1=Oldfather |first1=William Abbott |title='The Most Extreme Case of Elision in the Latin Language'? |journal=The Classical Journal |date=1943 |volume=38 |issue=8 |pages=478–479 |jstor=3292378}}</ref>

In a study of elision in Latin poetry, J. Soubiran argues that "elision" would better be called "[[Synalepha|synaloepha]]", and the process understood as a merging of syllables, in most cases, rather than the loss of one.<ref>Soubiran, J. (1966). {{lang|fr|L'Élision dans la poésie latine}} (Paris), pp. 55–91.</ref>

===Malayalam===

Dropping sounds in connected speech by native speakers is very common in this language from [[Kerala]], southern [[India]]. For example, ''entha'' becomes ''ntha'' and ''ippol'' becomes ''ippo''.

===Spanish===

The change of [[Latin]] into the [[Romance language]]s included a significant amount of elision, especially [[Syncope (phonetics)|syncope]] (loss of medial vowels). [[Spanish language|Spanish]] has these examples:

*{{lang|es|tabla}} from Latin {{lang|la|tabula}}
*{{lang|es|isla}} from Latin {{lang|la|insula}} (through {{lang|la|*isula}})
*{{lang|es|alma}} from Latin {{lang|la|anima}} (with [[dissimilation]] of ''-nm-'' to ''-lm-'')
*{{lang|es|hembra}} from Latin {{lang|la|femina}} (with [[lenition]] of ''f-'' to ''h-'' to ∅, dissimilation of ''-mn-'' to ''-mr-'' and then [[epenthesis]] of ''-mr-'' to ''-mbr-'')
In addition, speakers often employ [[crasis]] or elision between two words to avoid a [[hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]] caused by vowels: the choice of which to use depends upon whether or not the vowels are identical. This is referred to as [https://www.lawlessspanish.com/pronunciation/enlace-encadenamiento/ enlace] or [[synalepha]], and is especially common in poetry and songs. It is not necessarily indicated in writing, but often is in [https://hymnary.org/hymn/FyC2011/page/683 hymn] [https://imslp.org/wiki/Ave_Maria_(P%C3%A9rez_Casas_Beltr%C3%A1n%2C_Emilio_H.) music]. It can appear as a [[breve]] below or an [[underscore]] between the adjacent words, e.g. "por-que ̮en-ton-ces" or "por-que_en-ton-ces".

A frequent informal use is [[relaxed pronunciation#Spanish|the elision of]] {{lang|es|d}} in the past participle suffix {{lang|es|-ado}}, pronouncing {{lang|es|cansado}} as {{lang|es|cansao}}. The elision of {{lang|es|d}} in {{lang|es|-ido}} is considered even more informal, but both elisions common in [[Andalusian Spanish]]. Thus, the Andalusian {{lang|es|quejío}} for {{lang|es|quejido}} ("lament") has entered Standard Spanish as a term for a special feature of [[Flamenco]] singing. Similar distinctions are made with the words {{lang|es|bailaor(a)}} and {{lang|es|cantaor(a)}} as contracted versions of the literal translations for dancer and singer exclusively used for Flamenco, compared to the {{lang|es|bailarín}} and {{lang|es|cantante}} of standard Spanish. The perceived vulgarity of the silent {{lang|es|d}} may lead to [[hypercorrection]]s like [[Asterisk#Generative linguistics|*]]{{lang|es|bacalado}} for {{lang|es|bacalao}} ([[cod]]) or *{{lang|es|Bilbado}} for {{lang|es|[[Bilbao]]}}.<ref name="RAE">''[http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/html/glosario.htm Ultracorrección]'' in the ''[[Diccionario panhispánico de dudas]]'', 1st edition, October 2005, [[Real Academia Española]].</ref>

===Tamil===
[[Tamil language|Tamil]] has a set of rules for elision. They are categorised into classes based on the [[phoneme]] where elision occurs:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Class name !! Phoneme
|-
| Kutriyalukaram || ''u''
|-
| Kutriyalikaram || ''i''
|-
| Aiykaarakkurukkam || ''ai''
|-
| Oukaarakkurukkam || ''au''
|-
| Aaythakkurukkam || the special character ''akh''
|-
| Makarakkurukkam || ''m''
|}

=== Urdu ===
In Pakistan, elision has become very common in speech. Commonly used words have single consonants or syllables removed in casual speech and it is becoming more acceptable in formal settings due to an increasing understandability and use. Although not seen when writing in the Urdu script (Nastaleeq), it is often seen in Roman Urdu (Latin alphabet) as the latter is more similar to vernacular Urdu. Most elisions occur by removing a vowel or the consonant /h/ or a combination of the two. Some widely-used examples are:
{| class="wikitable"
!Elision
!Original
!Original (Urdu)
!Translation
|-
|Paṛo
|Paṛho
|{{nq|پڑھو}}
|Study
|-
|Ray
|Rahay
|{{nq|رہے}}
|Remain/(Present Participle)
|-
|Theekay
|Theek Hai
|{{Nowrap|{{nq|ٹھیک ہے}}}}
|Alright/Okay
|-
|May
|Main
|{{nq|میں}}
|I/Me
|-
|Ay
|Hai
|{{nq|ہے}}
|Is
|-
|Khamakha
|Khawa Makhwa
|{{nq|خواہ مخواہ}}
|Gratuitously
|}
''(The difference between the elision May and the original word Main is the lack of nasalization at the end in the former.)''

In sentences, they may appear as:

''Kya tum paṛ ray o?'' ("Are you studying?") instead of "''Kya tum paṛh rahay ho?"''

Variations are also common where some individuals may prefer to pronounce a complete word such as "''paṛh"'' while shortening the rest, depending on the preference of the person, their dialect, or their accent.

===Welsh===
Elision is a major feature of [[Welsh language|Welsh]], found commonly in verb forms, such as in the following examples:
*{{lang|cy|Ydych chi'n (chi yn) hoffi'r (hoffi yr) coffi?}} - 'Do you like the coffee?' (The definite article is always {{lang|cy|'r}} after a vowel even when the next word begins with a consonant, e.g. {{lang|cy|Mae'r gath yn sgramo}} - 'the cat is scratching', but {{lang|cy|y gath ddu}} - 'the black cat'.
*{{lang|cy|Ble mae'r (mae yr) dre?}} -  'Where is the town?'
*{{lang|cy|(Ry)dw i'n (i yn) darllen.}} - 'I am reading'

Elision of word-final {{lang|cy|-f}} is almost always found in [[Colloquial Welsh morphology|spoken Welsh]] to the point where the words are spelt with optional final {{lang|cy|-f}} in words like {{lang|cy|gorsa(f), pentre(f)}} and has been eradicated from the inflected prepositions: {{lang|cy|arna i}}, not *{{lang|cy|arnaf i}} - 'on me', etc. These always retain their final {{lang|cy|-f}} in the [[Literary Welsh morphology|literary register]], however.

Welsh also displays elision of initial syllables in singular/plural or collective/singulative pairs where the plural or singulative becomes longer than two syllables. This, however, is now restricted to specific nouns and is not productive. E.g. {{lang|cy|hosan / sanau}} - 'sock / socks' where the initial {{lang|cy|ho-}} has been lost in the plural; {{lang|cy|adar / deryn}} - 'birds / a bird' where the initial {{lang|cy|a-}} has been lost in the singulative.