You’ll hear “I’d like an ice tea, please” in restaurants across America — but “ice tea” isn’t a new beverage that replaced the tried-and-true “iced tea.” The linguistic phenomenon of omitting sounds or syllables while speaking is called “elision,” and it’s pretty common. In fact, we’ve gained some of the most popular words in modern English from this practice. From our favorite contractions (“I’m” and “let’s”) to the most popular English word to express farewell wishes (can you guess what it is?), elisions are a staple of everyday English.
“Elision” is a noun that derives from the Latin elisionem, meaning “a striking out” or “a pressing out.” This ancient usage continues to influence the word’s definition today. “Elision” can be the act of removing a passage in a book, speech, or film, or it can refer to the process of merging things, especially abstract ideas. If we join these definitions together in the context of grammar, we can conclude that an elision is the act of omitting a sound or syllable when speaking (to make pronunciation easier or faster), sometimes by merging two or more words. An elision can be the omission of a consonant, a vowel, or an entire syllable.
All contractions are examples of elision, but an elision isn’t always a contraction. That said, the most frequent examples of elision in modern English are contractions, which omit a sound from one or two of the words that are part of the contraction. For instance, “I’m” combines “I” and “am” while dropping the “a” sound, which is a type of elision. Informal contractions, such as “woulda” (“would have”) or “gonna” (“going to”), follow this same pattern of omission to facilitate easier pronunciation.
Elision takes on many forms. Take the earlier example of dropping the “d” in “iced tea.” This illustrates the idea that elision is based solely on pronunciation; it isn’t related to spelling (you wouldn’t spell “iced tea” without the “d,” but you might omit the letter when pronouncing it). “Family” is similar. The “i” in family isn’t silent, and if you pronounce it slowly, you’ll hear it, but when speaking casually or quickly, it probably sounds more like “fam-ly.” This is also true of the American English tendency to drop the “g” at the end of verbs, as in “gone fishin'” or Smash Mouth’s song “Walkin’ on the Sun.” These terms demonstrate that, although elision is a lesser-known phenomenon, it’s something we all use daily.
Perhaps one of the most interesting instances of elision is the word “goodbye,” which is an elision of the longer phrase “God be with you,” a popular medieval farewell. A look into the etymology of “goodbye” shows elision in action. By the mid-17th century, the phrase had already morphed into a single word, “godb’w’ye,” and as time passed, letters continued to be omitted until the 18th century, when “goodbye” emerged. By 1709, a shorter word, “bye,” appeared, marking the end of the word’s centuries-long journey.
According to Li‑hua MA, author of “An Analysis on the Phenomenon of English Elision and Its Formation,” the cause of elision is individualized. It depends on the context, spelling, and formation of the word. For instance, in the case of elision in unstressed vowels, such as the “i” in “family” or the “o” in “factory,” elision is caused by the location of the vowels. Here, the unstressed vowel is between two consonants, causing us to forgo its pronunciation naturally. It’s a mouthful to include another sound between two consonants.
This happens to unstressed consonants as well, especially “d” and “t,” as in the examples “next door” (the “t” in “next” is omitted) and “soundtrack” (the “d” in “sound” is omitted), because of the stressed consonant that follows them. This is what happens to “iced tea” — the “d” in “iced” is overpowered by the “t” in “tea,” causing us to skip the “d” when speaking naturally.
Elisions can be classified into two major categories: historical elision and contextual elision. Historical elision follows standard rules of English but adapts as the language changes. This can be seen in the example of “goodbye” — older forms such as “godb’w’ye” would not exist in modern English. Contextual elision is more common; these examples depend on adjacent sounds, as well as the speed, tone, and volume of the speech. Terms like “iced tea” fall under this category. While elision is an invisible force in our written words, it’s something we rely on daily in our conversations. These subtle sound shifts enable us to communicate more comfortably with each other.
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