How are words that end in -age pronounced?

Words like mirAGE, assuAGE, pAGE, luggAGE, villAGE, courAGE, camouflAGE etc

A number of words in English end in -age such as village, mortgage, courage, luggage, baggage, assuage, manage, garage, mirage, forage, camouflage, sausage, rage, page, wage, hostage etc. How they assume different pronunciations still amazes me. In today’s newsletter, I’ve curated a list of these words and how they are pronounced at their endings.

For most of these words, the ending “-age'“ becomes -ɪdʒ, such as village /ˈvɪlɪdʒ/, hostage /ˈhɒstɪdʒ/, lineage /ˈlɪnɪɪdʒ/, forage /ˈfɒrɪdʒ/, manage /ˈmanɪdʒ/, courage /ˈkʌrɪdʒ/, sausage /ˈsɒsɪdʒ/, mortgage /ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ/ and even assuage /əˈsweɪdʒ/. The stress placement invariably falls on the first syllable, besides “assuage” because of the schwa.

I must say, at this juncture, that the addition of suffixes may change the -age to -eɪdʒ as in courageous /kəˈreɪdʒəs/ and the stress placement has shifted to the second syllable because of the schwa, or retain the -ɪdʒ as in manager /ˈmanɪdʒə/, villager /ˈvɪlɪdʒə/ and many such words alike.

It’s most likely that many of the -age words you’re going to meet in your lifetime will have “-age'“ become -ɪdʒ, like you have seen above.

However, in monosyllabic words such as page, rage, wage, cage etc, the -age sounds -eɪdʒ as in the word “age”, as in page /peɪdʒ/, rage /reɪdʒ/, wage /weɪdʒ/, cage /keɪdʒ/ etc.

On a final note, the -age becomes ɑː(d)ʒ in words like mirage /ˈmɪrɑːʒ, ,mɪˈrɑːʒ/, garage /ˈɡarɑː(d)ʒ,ˈɡarɪdʒ, ɡəˈrɑːʒ/, camouflage /ˈkaməflɑːʒ/, barrage /ˈbarɑːʒ/ and ménage /meɪˈnɑːʒ/.

I’m signing out here. I trust you enjoy reading this newsletter as much as I enjoy writing it to you. You can share with your friends and foes who would like to read this too. Keep practising and stay right here with me. Till I write to you again, please drink a lot of water and mind your own business, always. Ciao!

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With love and everything English,

Francis