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Relaxed Pronunciation Reference
In everyday speech, language takes on simplifications and the tendency for words to run together. This natural process often manifests itself as combination and
contraction of words, causing a phrase such as "Would you like to go and get something to eat?" to sound a lot more like "'Don't'cha wanna get somthin' tweet?". This
tendency is often a major frustration for English language learners, as many of these apparent words (for example, wanna, gotta, or squeat) are often not listed in
dictionaries and are almost never used in formal written form, but are nonetheless essential for native comprehension. In addition, differences in dialects'
pronunciation, not to mention vocabulary, often magnify this problem significantly. This article is designed to be a reference database of relaxed pronunciations and
contractions, from the mundane and common to the esoteric (or just for fun). Please enjoy!
Notes:
To indicate alternative meanings or pronunciations, a slash is used, for example: "wanna = want to / want a" means that "wanna" could mean either "want to"
or "want a".
[Brackets] surround words in the definitions that do not contribute to the final word's sound.
Ellipsis (...) are used to indicate that a contraction can work as an interchangeable suffix or prefix with a variety of other words (some of the more common
combinations may be listed as well).
ain't am not / is not / are not / have not / has not I ain't hungry.