Fusion in English Verbs

Many English speakers exhibit fusion in the pronunciation of English verbs with y and ing. Fusion reduces the number of syllables of the word. This process can also be analyzed as deletion of the y before the suffix -ing. Here is a list of verbs which can undergo fusion:

carry
copy
marry
study
tidy

In the following sentences fusion is possible:

He's carrying a lot of books.
Stop copying me!
Who is she marrying?
I've been studying for hours.
She's tidying her room.

The final vowel of the base verb is tense and the first vowel of the suffix -ing is lax. Fusion results in one lax vowel. However, this may also be analyzed as deletion of the tense vowel of the base. If the base verb is monosyllabic, fusion does not occur. For example, in the sentence They're skiing, the word skiing is disyllabic. In skiing, the final vowel of the base is stressed. In words such as carry, marry and study, the final vowel of the base verb is unstressed.

The process of fusion reduces the number of syllables in certain English verbs. The final vowel of the base and the first vowel of the suffix -ing fuse. An alternative analysis of this process is deletion, which states that the first of the two vowels is deleted. Fusion changes the CVVC sequence of the final vowel of the base and the suffix to CVC.