The schwa: the commonest sound in English, and its symbol ə
The schwa is the upside-down e, ə, and it is the most common vowel sound in English. English has no letter for it, so it hides behind every vowel letter in the alphabet.
What the schwa sounds like
It is the relaxed uh at the start of about, at the end of sofa and twice in banana: /bəˈnɑːnə/.
- bb
- əschwa
- ˈstress on the next syllable
- nn
- ɑːthe long a of father
- nn
- əschwa again
How to make it
It is a reduced vowel, the sound a vowel shrinks to when it is not stressed. That is why it is so common: English saves full vowels for stressed syllables and squashes many of the rest to /ə/.
- 1Open your mouth slightly.
- 2Relax your tongue and lips: do as little as possible.
- 3Let the voice out.
Try it
Which syllable of about is the schwa?
/əˈbaʊt/
British schwa, American r
British English has a plain schwa in places American does not: the endings of never and teacher are /ə/, where American dictionaries print an r-coloured /ɚ/. The name comes from shva, a Hebrew vowel mark.
Hear it in six accents
THOUGHT, and the t. American and Australian tap the t, ɾ, so it sounds like a quick d. Listen for the r at the end in the three rhotic accents.
- Southern British (RP)/ˈwɔːtə/
- General American/ˈwɑɾɚ/
- Australian/ˈwoːɾə/
- South African/ˈwɔːtə/
- Scottish/ˈwɔtəɾ/
- Irish/ˈwɑːtəɹ/
Every clip here is a synthetic voice imitating that accent, not a recording of a native speaker. Transcriptions are broad: what a typical speaker of the accent does, highlighted where the accents differ.
The symbols
See them on the IPA chartPress play to hear each real word; the highlighted letters make the sound.
ə
Schwa, the neutral vowel
On the chart: Mid central vowelThe weakest, most relaxed vowel there is: open your mouth slightly and let the voice out. Every vowel letter can spell it: about, the, pencil, today, support.
i
Weak i, as in happy
On the chart: Close front unrounded vowelAnother reduced vowel, with no length mark: the short, unstressed ee at the end of happy and city.
u
Weak u, as in usual
On the chart: Close back rounded vowelThe unstressed cousin of /uː/: the u of situation and influence.
Where the schwa hides
Every vowel letter can spell it (i too, as in pencil), and so can er. The highlighted letters in each word are a schwa.
Key takeaways
- ə, the schwa, is the most common vowel sound in English.
- It is the reduced vowel of unstressed syllables: about, sofa, banana.
- Any vowel letter can spell it, and so can er.
- British never is /ˈnevə/; American dictionaries print ɚ for the ending.
- Two more weak vowels: the i of happy and the u of situation.
Drill
0/10
Part of Kilo Lingo Plus - the lesson above is free to read.
Which word is this?
/ˈeni/
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