How To Pronounce The Schwa Sounds In English - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

The pronunciation of any word in The English language (or any language at all) is not Universal.  This is because there are many different dialects of The English Language — both throughout America, and also world-wide.  The pronunciations that are presented here, and within the GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! Pronunciation Portal are based-upon a combination of both “Common Usage”, and the most neutral Accent used in The International Common Tongue.

The Pronunciation Term:  “Scwha”

T
he Pronunciation Term known as:  “Schwa” is a term which is used to refer to the sound that is made in Spoken English, when a vowel is NOT stressed.  It is an extreme shortening of the vowel sound.  But it is also a change in the pronunciation of the vowel itself.

T
o get a better idea of what a “Schwa” actually is, and what it (they) SOUND like — Watch The Video Below.

Or If You Prefer…

Listen To The Audio Version

Now…

Let’s Summarize

T
he most-common example given by teachers and used in text-books or videos for the sound of the “Schwa” is the sound of The Letter “E” in The Definite Article, “The” — when it is in-front-of a word which starts with a consonant or a consonant sound.

B
ut this is not the most common sound for what others refer to as “The Schwa“.  It is simply the easiest to demonstrate.  And this is something that I’ve only heard one other teacher talk about since I made this observation.  But even he did not describe it very well.

So Here It Is…

There Are Actually Three Different Schwa Sounds!!!

(And You Already Know This If You Watched The Video Or Listened To The Audio)

The “True Schwa”  —  As in the word:  “The”

The “I-Schwa”  —  As in the word:  “Examination”

The “U-Schwa”  —  As in the word:  “Acquire”

The “True-Scwha”

ə

A
s stated above — the example that is given most-often for what I refer to as a, “True-Schwa“ — is the sound of the letter “e” in The Definite Article, “The”.  But — as it was stated in the video and audio — this is only when it is in-front-of a word which starts with a consonant or a consonant sound.

For Example:

“The Test”

“The Teacher”

“The Class”

“The Website”

The “I-Scwha”

ə (ɪ)

T
he next form is what I call an “I-Schwa“.  This form is heard when the “Schwa” sounds more like a Short Letter “I” — but is still cut-off, so it is not quite the SAME as the short “i”.  The “I Schwa” can be heard in a lot of words that start with The Letter “E”.

For Example:

“Examination”

“Elimination”

“Exasperation”

“Emancipation”

The “U-Scwha”

ə(ʌ)

T
he third form of the “Schwa” is what I call the “U-Schwa”.  As you can probably guess — this is when the vowel is cut very short, and sounds like The Short Letter “U”.  This is most clearly heard in many words that start with The Letter “A”.

For Example:

“Acquire”
“Acquaintance”

“Achieve”

“Account”

Continue Learning

Learn More About The Term “Schwa” On Wiktionary  —  (The Best Dictionary On-Line…  no, really!)

Learn More About The Term “Schwa” On Wikipedia

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