Pronouncation of Schwa

Question

I have a big problem i think related to pronouncation of the letter "schwa". I can not understand how they read it. Sometimes they read it like "a" sometimes like in "letter" and look at this word now "aerofoil" when you check the dictionary the letter that shows the pronouncation is always schwa. Do you know a rule related to how to read the letter schwa?

And when i say I dont need no explanation. Do I want explanation or not?

Thanks

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, hhayrullahh - and welcome to English Forums.

Can you read the IPA (international phonetic alphabet)? 'Schwa' is pronounced /?w?:/.

And when i say I dont need no explanation. Do I want explanation or not?-- 'I don't need no explanation' is simply poor grammar, and if you said it, I would presume that you don't need an explanation.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Hhayrullahh,

The IPA system has been devised so that the pronunciation of words could be put down in writing unambiguously. Consequently, the pronunciation of its symbols – as far as an ordinary dictionary is concerned – is the same in every case. (There’re nuances not indicated in everyday dictionaries, but the basic quality of each symbol is always the same.) So, if there is a schwa written in the transcription of the word, it is to be pronounced as a schwa (that is, exactly like the unstressed version of indefinite article a).

Of course, many words can be pronounced in more than one way, and most dictionaries won’t list sub-standard or dialectal pronunciations, for instance. So, it can happen that the way you’ve heard a word pronounced differs from its transcription in the dictionary.

If you’re unsure about a word in this respect, it’s better to stick to the dictionary’s version (unless you’re speaking another variety consistently, or aim at learning another variety as well).

Hhayrullahh · Answer

Hello. Thank you very much for your answers.

Now from this address

http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/?cc=global

please check words ` aerofoil` and `letter` pronouncations. I dont think they are pronounced in the same way although the dictionary uses schwa to represent the voices in thewords. this is what i mean and what confuses me.

Anonymous · Answer

You are right. How a phoneme is actually realized is influenced by its neighbour-sounds. In the strict, linguistic sense, the quality of a particular sound does differ in different environments, so a schwa will also be pronounced more open or more closed, higher or lower, depending on the sounds next to it.

I think you should repost your question in the ’’Speech and Pronunciation’’ section. You’ll probably get the answer you’re looking for there

Anonymous · Answer

Hey, I've just discovered that there's an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) section as well, with a Linguisticssubforum! You could try that, too!!

(Just click Forums/Discussions in the menu so that you get all of them not just the shortcuts, and roll down. It's the 5th big entry.)

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Here is a good site for audio pronunciation of words:

http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=aerofoil&submit=Submit

The 'schwa sound' can be written with any vowel letter, but it is in an unstressed syllable in a word or phrase.

CalifJim · Answer

hhayrullahhDo you know a rule related to how to read the letter schwa?

That dictionary uses the schwa symbol followed by "r" for the "er" sound, which I'd call an "r-colored" schwa. There may be several other names for it, but in any case, you'll probably never hear the "er" to contain a schwa with the same sound as the schwa in tomato or bottom. The "schwa symbol" (upside-down e) does not represent a single sound, but rather, any weak (reduced), centralized vowel. So the exact sound of the schwa will vary from word to word.

For more on the schwa and the different sounds it can represent, follow the three links I give at

CJ

Pronouncation of Schwa

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions