Relaxed pronunciation

Relaxed pronunciation (also called condensed pronunciation or word slurs) is a phenomenon that happens when the syllables of common words are slurred together. It is almost always present in normal speech, in all natural languages but not in some constructed languages, such as Loglan or Lojban, which are designed so that all words are parsable.

Some shortened forms of words and phrases, such as contractions or weak forms can be considered to derive from relaxed pronunciations, but a phrase with a relaxed pronunciation is not the same as a contraction. In English, where contractions are common, they are considered part of the standard language and accordingly used in many contexts (except on very formal speech or in formal/legal writing); however, relaxed pronunciation is markedly informal in register. This is also sometimes reflected in writing: contractions have a standard written form, but relaxed pronunciations may not, outside of eye dialect.

Certain relaxed pronunciations occur only in specific grammatical contexts, the exact understanding of which can be complicated. See trace (linguistics) for some further info.

Slur (music)

A slur is a symbol in Western musical notation indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation, i.e. with legato articulation. A slur is denoted with a curved line generally placed over the notes if the stems point downward, and under them if the stems point upwards:

Notation

The slur is not to be confused with two other similar musical symbols. The tie is a curved line that links two notes of the same pitch to show that their durations are to be added together. The phrase mark is a curved line that extends over a passage which is visually indistinguishable from the slur, and indicates that the passage is to be interpreted as a single phrase.

When two instruments written on the same staff both have slurred phrases with the same note values (e.g., clarinets playing in thirds) it is customary to have two sets of slurs, though in some scores just one set is used and it is understood to apply to both of the instruments.

Performance

Push (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a push is an attempt by the booker to make the wrestler win more matches and become more popular or more reviled with the fans depending on whether they are a heel or a face. A push can also be based on a single major win against a major star (for example, Shelton Benjamin's 2004 winning streak over Triple H), and it is not uncommon for a push to be accompanied by a turn or a change in the wrestler's gimmick. Pushing is usually done for new wrestlers. This is essentially the opposite of a bury (or depush), which in contrast to the high profile of a push is typically done with little or no fanfare. Sometimes the fans generate the push for a wrestler themselves when their approval for the wrestler's work generates a positive reaction from them that is not anticipated.

A push can also be attributed to a political shift in the promotion's offices. Cowboy Bill Watts, whose promotions always consisted of an African-American main event babyface, began pushing Ron Simmons, a midcarder, to main event status and eventually to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship upon being put in charge of World Championship Wrestling. In WWE, following the fallout from the Signature Pharmacy Scandal, smaller and less muscular wrestlers such as CM Punk and Jeff Hardy began to get pushed and Vince McMahon confirmed the paradigm shift by mentioning that today's fans are drawn by charisma and not size.

Push (Avril Lavigne song)

"Push" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, recorded for her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby. It was written by Lavigne and Evan Taubenfeld, and its producer was Deryck Whibley. It was released as the promotional single in Japan on February 13, 2012, peaking at number 35 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. The song has received positive reviews.

Background

In March 24, 2011, Avril asked her followers from Twitter which song should be the second single of Goodbye Lullaby, "Push" or "Smile". Then later, in the Polish version of the official site of the singer, it was announced that the chosen would be "Smile", which was released worldwide on May 6 of the same year. It reached the top five positions in countries like China, Turkey, Belgium and Japan. After the distribution of "Smile", the chosen as a focus of promotion of the album was "Wish You Were Here", managed a moderate commercial performance. It served as the last song of the album. "Push" until then had not received release, until that Epic Records, Lavigne's new label after leaving RCA, decided to release the same as promotional single digitally on Japanese territory, what happened in February 13, 2012. The CD edition was released on June 3, 2011.

Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

The sixth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 24, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with ShondaLand Production Company and The Mark Gordon Company; the showrunner being Shonda Rhimes. Actors Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, and Justin Chambers reprised their roles as surgical residents Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens, and Alex Karev, respectively. Heigl was released from her contract in the middle of the season, while T.R. Knight did not appear as George O'Malley, because Knight was released from his contract at the conclusion of season five. Main cast members Patrick Dempsey, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr., Sara Ramirez, Eric Dane, Chyler Leigh, and Kevin McKidd also returned, while previous recurring star Jessica Capshaw was promoted to a series regular, and Kim Raver was given star billing after the commencement of the season.