Understanding and Teaching the Pronunciation of English.pdf

of a noun followed by -ed. Most of these are also pronounced
with an extra syllable /əd/ or /ɪd/.

a crooked line a naked man ragged clothing
rugged mountains a four-legged table
a wretched feeling a wicked witch

Pronunciation of -ing verb endings

The -ing ending found on present participle verb forms can
also be pronounced in di"erent ways. However, these don’t
follow de!nite phonological rules like the ones for the -ed
and -s endings. Instead, they vary depending on the degree of
formality or informality and the speed of speech, and they act
more like the full and reduced forms of function words that
are described in Chapters 5 and 9. When the -ing ending is
pronounced carefully, it sounds like /ɪŋ/. However, in more
casual speech, it often sounds like /ən/ or /ɪn/. This
pronunciation is sometimes represented in writing as -in’
when the writer wants to seem casual or folksy, as in the old
song title “Blowin’ in the Wind” or the even older movie title
“Singin’ in the Rain.”

It’s useful to know that the /ən/ or /ɪn/ pronunciation of the
-ing ending is not always appreciated by strict teachers or
parents who want to encourage “correct” pronunciation.
They may warn children not to “drop their g’s,” although of

course there was never a /ɡ/ sound in this ending to start

with. It’s probably best to help students to understand the

reduced pronunciation of the -ing ending when they hear it,

but not require them to use it themselves.

Verbs with -ing are often used as adjectives (boring,

interesting, tiring, exciting, etc.) Interestingly, these

adjectives ending in -ing are less often pronounced with a

reduced ending, even in casual or rapid speech.

Was the movie interesting or boring? /ɪntrəstɪŋ/ /bɔrɪŋ/

We had a tiring day. /tayrɪŋ/

What a fascinating story! /fæsəneytɪŋ/

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6.5 PRONUNCIATION OF 6.5 PRONUNCIATION OF -ING-ING ENDINGS ENDINGS

In careful speech (citation form) In casual speech (reduced form)

I’m doing my homework.

We’re learning about sounds.

Are you coming?

“Blowing in the Wind”

“Singing in the Rain”

I’m doin’ my homework.

We’re learnin’ about sounds.

Are you comin’?

“Blowin’ in the Wind”

“Singin’ in the Rain”