I know a living language like English changes but sometimes those changes are ‘wrong’.

The word ‘thing’ is a noun; the word ‘think’ is a verb. Saying ‘somethink’ but meaning ‘something’ is lazy enunciation.

But there’s a reason it’s so common …

The “ing” end of “something” is made in the same place of articulation as a “k”

The back of the tongue lifts at the soft palate for both the sounds. In “ing” the soft palate is lowered so sound can resonate through the nose and your vocal cords happily continue buzzing along. If you stop the vocal cords vibrating and you raise the palate you get a “k” sound. Maybe that happens just as you finish talking and then maybe it becomes more pronounced over time. Maybe it’s an influence of German for speakers who do it since final consonant devoicing is pretty common there.

John McCarthy, Speech Language Pathologist; Ph.D. Communication Sciences & Disorders & Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Pennsylvania State University.

… which strengthens my point: it’s lazy.

It’s use used to indicate a low IQ or poor education; but I’ve heard BBC journalists use it, academics, and teachers.

When the Scots say ‘summat’ it’s called an accent.

Those who use it, probably don’t know they use it, their brain is just mimicking what they hear.

Those who say they haven’t heard it aren’t listening very well.

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