2 syllables: glid, ing. Stress on glid.
GLEYE-ding
/ˈɡlaɪdɪŋ/
gliding is pronounced GLEYE-ding (/ˈɡlaɪdɪŋ/). It has two syllables (glid-ing), with the stress on "glid". Gliding refers to the act or movement of moving smoothly, often with little resistance; in linguistics, it denotes a smooth vocalic transition from one vowel to another, as in moving from a vowel to a semivowel. It can describe physical motion (e.g., an airplane) or a phonetic process in speech where a vowel quality shifts gradually toward a glide. The term is commonly used in phonetics to contrast with plosives and fricatives. In everyday speech, it also appears as the present participle of glide.
Gliding refers to the act or movement of moving smoothly, often with little resistance; in linguistics, it denotes a smooth vocalic transition from one vowel to another, as in moving from a vowel to a semivowel. It can describe physical motion (e.g., an airplane) or a phonetic process in speech where a vowel quality shifts gradually toward a glide. The term is commonly used in phonetics to contrast with plosives and fricatives. In everyday speech, it also appears as the present participle of glide.
- You may flatten the /aɪ/ diphthong and treat it as a steady /a/, losing the glide. To fix, practice starting with /æɪ/ and then relax into /aɪ/ while preparing for /d/. - The /d/ could blend into /ɪ/ if you don’t release the /d/ clearly; focus on a crisp alveolar stop before the /ɪ/. - The final /ŋ/ can be realized as a nasalized vowel; ensure you close the mouth to produce a true velar nasal /ŋ/ without an audible vowel after it. - Practice with connected speech to avoid over-enunciation; maintain pace and rhythm to preserve natural gliding.
"- The swan was gliding across the lake with barely a ripple behind it."
"- The airplane began gliding gracefully toward the runway during the cloudy afternoon."
"- When he spoke, his syllables were gliding together, making his sentence sound fluid."
Break it into syllables: /ˈɡlaɪ.dɪŋ/. The first syllable has primary stress. The /ɡ/ is a hard g as in go, followed by /l/ with the tongue contacting the alveolar ridge. The diphthong /aɪ/ glides toward the /d/ onset of the second syllable. The final /ɪŋ/ ends with a light nasal /ŋ/ with the tongue releasing from the alveolar region. Practice by saying 'GLY' then 'ding' as a smooth link. Audio guidance: listen to native speakers and mimic the glide between the vowels.
Common errors: 1) Over-elongating the first syllable or the /aɪ/ diphthong, making it sound like two separate words. 2) Not releasing the /ŋ/ properly, ending with an embedded nasal instead of a clean nasal sound. 3) Slurring the /d/ into the following vowel, producing /dɪŋ/ without a clear boundary. Corrections: keep /ˈɡlaɪ/ tight on the nucleus, ensure the /d/ is a distinct alveolar stop followed by a clear /ɪ/ then /ŋ/. Use slow practice, then speed up while maintaining the diphthong’s glide.
US: rhotic /ɹ/ is clear in related words but not in this word; primary stress on first syllable; diphthong /aɪ/ is prominent. UK: similar /ˈɡlaɪ.dɪŋ/ with non-rhotic tendencies in some accents; subtle vowel quality shifts in /ɪ/; AU: vowel quality closer to /ɪ/ in /ɪŋ/ but with a slightly flatter intonation; all accents preserve the glide /aɪ/ but diacritic cues vary (length, vowel height). Focus on keeping /laɪ/ intact while ensuring the final /ŋ/ is velar-alveolar interaction clean.
Because it combines a strong consonant cluster (/ɡl/) with a prominent diphthong /aɪ/ and a final nasal /ŋ/. The transition from a voiced alveolar stop /d/ to the nasal /ŋ/ requires precise timing to avoid a lisp or a merged sound. Additionally, many speakers tense the initial /ɡl/ cluster, blocking the smooth onset. Focus on releasing /d/ before moving to /ɪ/ and keeping the /ŋ/ soft and audible.
The key is the smooth transition, or glide, between the vowel /aɪ/ and the following consonant cluster /dɪŋ/. Ensure the vowel movement doesn’t freeze into a pure /a/; your tongue should sweep from high front to mid position as you transition. Pay attention to the /ɪ/ in the second syllable; it should occur quickly after /d/ without creating a separate, loud syllable. A clean /ŋ/ at the end seals the word.
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- US: maintain rhoticity in related phrases but this word is non-rhotic in itself; ensure the /ɹ/ sound is not inserted. The /ɪ/ in second syllable is compact; keep it lighter than /iː/. - UK: minor vowel height shifts; /aɪ/ remains diphthongal, but the /ɪ/ can be shorter; keep the final /ŋ/ crisp. - AU: slightly flatter vowel qualities; /ɫ/ not present here; keep the initial /ɡl/ cluster tight; monitor vowel reductions in connected speech.
Glide derives from Old English glidan, related to Old Norse glida and Old High German glidan, all rooted in Proto-Germanic *glidaną, meaning to move smoothly or slip. The word’s earliest senses described mechanical motion and later extended to motion of aircraft and spacecraft in the modern era. In linguistics, a similar concept of gliding arose in the study of vowels that glide toward another vowel or glottal sound; this sense emerged in mid-20th century phonetics, regarding transitions such as /j/ and /w/ moving toward adjacent vowels. The noun form gliding appears in Middle English as glidinge, tied to the verb glide. First known use in English literature traces to the late 14th century in reference to physical movement, with the musical and phonetic senses developing in the 19th and 20th centuries as science and speech analysis advanced.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "gliding" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "gliding"
-ing sounds
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