enclitic
/ɪnˈklɪtɪk/
noun
- A word that is pronounced as part of the preceding word and has no independent accent, such as 'll in 'I'll' or 've in 'we've'.
- In English, 'm in 'I'm' is an enclitic.
- Linguists study enclitics to understand how languages change over time.
- The word 'not' can become an enclitic in contractions like 'don't'.
adjective
- Relating to or functioning as an enclitic; attached in pronunciation to the preceding word.
- The enclitic nature of these words makes them hard for beginners to recognize.
- The enclitic form 's in 'it's' is very common in spoken English.
- Some languages have more enclitic particles than English does.