IPA phoneme \ə\

The most common sound in all varieties of the English language is **/ə/** – it is so important that it even has its own name – **schwa**. It corresponds to most syllables which do not carry the word stress. It can be representer by any of the five vowel letters, and also y: (a) ***a**bout*, *leg**a**l* and *comm**a***; (e) *wat**e**r*, *teach**e**r* and *happ**e**n*;(i) *rais**i**n*, *penc**i**l* and *pup**i**l*; (o) *doct**o**r*, *lem**o**n* and *bott**o**m*; (u) *nat**u**re*, *s**u**pply* and *circ**u**s*; (y) *mart**y**r*. It is one of the two vowel sounds used in English for unstressed syllables, the other one being **/ɪ/**.

In many cases it occurs more than once in the same word, as in ***a**noth**e**r*, ***A**meric**a***, *ent**e**rtainm**e**nt* and *p**o**litic**a**l*. Another useful example for students is **a book** and **the book**.

In Received Pronunciation /ər/ is pronounced [ə] unless it is followed by a vowel, i.e. the "r" is normally silent unless it is followed by a vowel.

In General American the "r" is always pronounced.

There are places in the United Kingdom where the "r" is pronounced, and places in North America where it is not pronounced.

In Estuary English /əl/ is pronounced [o]. For example, in broad notation /ˈmɪdəl/ must be read in Estuary English as [ˈmɪdo].

## **/ə/** at the first syllable of a word

### Sounds

* /ə/

beginning with "a": about, account, admire, again, alone, along, among, appeal, appear, arise, around, away
beginning with "o": occur, official, oppose, original
* /bə/: balloon, banana, Bolivia
* /də/: domestic
* /dʒə/: Japan
* /fə/: familiar
* /gə/: gorilla
* /hə/: habitual, horizon
* /kə/: capacity, community, computer, concern, consider, continue, control, Kentucky
* /lə/: lagoon
* /mə/: machine, material, Morocco
* /nə/: Nebraska
* /pə/: patrol, police, position
* /sə/: suggest, supply, support
* /tə/: today, together
* /və/: variety
* others: protect, provide

### Spelling

* with "a": about, baloon, familiar
* with "e": Unstressed "e" in the first syllable is normally pronounced /ɪ/, as in "begin" or "reply".
* with "i": Unstressed "i" in the first syllable is normally pronounced /ɪ/, as in "division" or "significant".
* with "o": domestic, gorilla, occur
* with "u": suggest, supply, support

### Homophones

* gorilla, guerrilla
* homophones in some dialects or in relaxed pronunciation: accept /ˌækˈsept, əkˈsept/, except /ɪkˈsept, əkˈsept/

## **/ə/** in the middle of a word

* with "a": Can**a**da, company, organise, relative
* with "ai": certainly
* with "e": agency, camera, conc**e**ntrate, en**e**my
* with "i": family, Phil**i**ppines, policy
* with "ia": initiative
* with "ie": efficiency
* with "io": additional, educational, national, traditional
* with "o": Christopher, customer, ignorant, introduce
* with "u": circumstance, measurement, Portugal
* with "y": analysis, Pennsylvania

## **/ə/** at the last syllable of a word

### Spelling

* with "a": comma, local, salad
* with "ai": certain, curtain, mountain
* with "e": label, letter, problem
* with "eo": dungeon, luncheon, surgeon
* with "i": civil, council, pupil
* with "ia": controversial, essential, musician
* with "ie": ancient, patient, soldier
* with "io": condition, decision, question
* with "iou": anxious, cautious, religious
* with "iu": Belgium
* with "o": common, major, reason
* with "ou": colour,*BrE* famous, various
* with "u": album, minimum, useful
* with "y": beryl, martyr, vinyl
* unwritten /ə/: couldn't, mechanism, rhythm

### /ə/

* with "a": Africa - America - agenda - Argentina - Barbara - camera - Canada - China - comma - data - drama - extra - formula - idea - lasagna*AmE* - Oklahoma - opera - pizza
* with "e": lasagne*BrE*
* unwritten /ə/: Edinburgh

### /əl/

*See also* IPA phonetic symbol [l̩]

* able - label - level - local - Michael - table - towel

Homophones: capital - Capitol; principal - principle

### /əm/

*See also* IPA phonetic symbol [m̩]

* album - awesome - bottom - freedom - maximum - minimum - problem - random - symptom - system
* unwritten schwa: alcoholism - criticism - enthusiasm - feminism - mechanism - optimism - orgasm - prism - rythm - sarcasm - tourism

### /ən/

*See also* IPA phonetic symbol [n̩]

* certain - common - foreign - human - London - mountain - person - reason - recent - season - second - woman
* With -en: children - citizen - happen - lengthen - open - sudden - weaken

listen - often - soften
fatten - frighten - rotten - tighten
* With -ion: action - fashion - junction - mention - passion - region - station

### /ər/

* With -re (American spelling -er): centre - fibre - litre - metre - theatre
* With -er: consider - offer - over - summer - teacher - under

With -ber: December - member - November - number - October - remember - September
With -ter: after - computer - character - daughter - letter - matter - quarter - sister - water - winter
With -ther: another - brother - father - feather - leather - mother - other - weather - whether
* With -ar: angular - cellular - dollar - grammar - particular - popular - regular - similar
* With -ure: exposure - measure - pleasure - pressure - procedure

With -ture: culture - feature - future - manufacture - nature - picture - structure - temperature
* With -our (American spelling -or): behaviour - colour - favour - honour - humour - labour - neighbour
* With -or: author - error - governor - major - minor - professor - senior

With -tor: actor - director - doctor - editor - factor - investor - monitor - motor - sector - visitor
#### /aɪər/ or /aɪ.ər/ - /aʊər/ or /aʊ.ər/

Some words can be pronounced with a triphthong, like "fire" as /faɪər/ or "hour" as /aʊər/, and others as a disyllable like "buyer" as /ˈbaɪ.ər/ or "power" as /ˈpaʊ.ər/. In practice most people use the disyllabic pronunciation in all words (this implies "fire" as /ˈfaɪ.ər/ and "hour" as /ˈaʊ.ər/). See Triphthong.

* /aɪər/

With "-ire": acquire - desire - entire - fire - hire - require - wire
Other: liar - prior
* /aʊər/

With "-our": flour - hour - our - sour
Other: coward - flower - power - shower - tower
### /əs/

* With -ous: anxious - continuous - curious - dangerous - enormous - famous - nervous - numerous - obvious - previous - religious - serious - various
* With -us: focus - status - Uranus - Venus - versus - virus
* With -as: breakfast - Christmas - Douglas - Honduras - Kansas - Texas - Thomas
* With -ess: awareness - business - illness - pointless - politeness - regardless - weakness - witness

### /ət/

**IPA consonants**

* carrot - Connecticut - diet - pilot - quiet - secret

### /əθ/

* mammoth - twentieth - thirtieth - fortieth

### /əv/

* of - could've - should've - would've

See Pronunciation exercises: "of" vs "off"

### /əz/

Plurals of words ending in /ə/.

* cameras - commas - pizzas - operas

## Weak forms

Many grammar words have a weak form, an unstressed form in which the vowel is reduced to /ə/ or /ɪ/.

* /æ/: am /æm, əm, m/ - and /ænd, ənd, ən, n/ - can /kæn, kən/
* /ɔː/: /fɔːr, fər/
* /ʊ/: could /kʊd, kəd/
* /ʌ/: but /bʌt, bət/

## /əʊ, eə, ɪə/ and /ʊə/

The phonemes /əʊ, eə, ɪə/ and /ʊə/ shouldn't be analyzed as /ə/+/ʊ/, /e/+/ə/, /ɪ/+/ə/ and /ʊ/+/ə/. For example, in American English /əʊ/ sounds [oʊ], which indicates that the GOAT vowel (another name for /əʊ/) doesn't have necessarily a schwa sound.

## Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1

The schwa is possibly the sound that causes most disbelief among students already inclined to be wary of a teacher's latest attempts at perfecting their pronunciation. If you manage to convince them that *teacher* and *creature* actually rhyme, you're well on the way to winning them over.

## References

1. ↑ Ganske, Kathy (2008) *Mindful of Words: Spelling and Vocabulary Explorations 4-8*, p. 62. Guilford Press At Google Books
2. ↑ Giegerich, Heinz J. (1992) *English Phonology: An Introduction*, p. 69. Cambridge University Press At Google Books
3. ↑ John Wells's phonetic blog, triphthongs, anyone?

## External links

* BBC Learning English, Pronunciation tips
* British Library, Vowel sounds of Received Pronunciation