ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Elisionism

Elisionism is when we remove or leave out certain parts of a word or phrase when speaking or writing. It's like a shortcut that we use to make our language sound smoother and flow better. This happens a lot when we speak quickly, or when we are using slang or informal language.

For example, when we say "gonna" instead of "going to" or "wanna" instead of "want to", we are using elisionism. We're skipping some of the sounds that we would normally make when we say the full words. It's kind of like abbreviations that we use when texting or messaging someone.

There are many different types of elisionism, and they happen in all different languages. Some people might say that they don't like elisionism because it seems lazy or uneducated, but in reality it's just a natural part of how we speak and write. As long as people can still understand what we're saying, it's okay to use elisionism from time to time.