The ə vowel ("schwa")

The most frequently occurring vowel in English is a, which is always associated with weak syllables. In quality it is mid (i.e. halfway between close and open) and central (i.e. halfway between front and back). It is generally described as lax - that is, not articulated with much energy. Of course, the quality of this vowel is not always the same, but the variation is not important.

Not all weak syllables contain ə, though many do. Learners of English need to learn where ə is appropriate and where it is not. To do this we often have to use information that traditional phonemic theory would not accept as relevant - we must consider spelling. The question to ask is: if the speaker were to pronounce a particular weak syllable as if it were strong instead, which vowel would it be most likely to have, according to the usual rules of English spelling? Knowing this will not tell us which syllables in a word or utterance should be weak - that is something we look at later - but it will give us a rough guide to the correct pronunciation of weak syllables. Let us look at some examples:

i) Spelt with 'a'; strong pronunciation would have æ

'attend' ətend

'character' kaerəktə

'barracks' baerəks

ii) Spelt with 'ar'; strong pronunciation would have ɑ:

'particular' pətɪkjələ

'molar' mauls

'monarchy' mɒnəki

iii) Adjectival endings spelt 'ate'; strong pronunciation would have eɪ

'intimate' ɪntɪmət

'accurate' ækjərət  

'desolate' desələt (although there are exceptions to this: 'private' is usually praɪvɪt)

iv) Spelt with 'o'; strong pronunciation would have ɒ or əʊ

'tomorrow' təmɒrəʊ

'potato' pəteɪtəʊ

'carrot' kærət

v) Spelt with 'or'; strong pronunciation would have ɔ:

'forget' fəget

‘ambassador' æmbæsədə

'opportunity' ɒpətʃu:nəti

vi) Spelt with 'e'; strong pronunciation would have e

'settlement' setlmənt

'violet' vaɪələt

'postmen' pəʊstmən

vii) Spelt with 'er'; strong pronunciation would have з:

'perhaps' pəhæps

'stronger' strɒŋgə

'superman' su:pəmæn

viii) Spelt with 'u'; strong pronunciation would have Λ   

'autumn' ɔ:təm

'support' səpɔ:t

'halibut' hælɪbət

ix) Spelt with 'ough' (there are many pronunciations for the letter-sequence 'ough')

'thorough' θΛrə

'borough' bΛrə

x) Spelt with 'ou'; strong pronunciation might have aʊ

'gracious' greɪʃəs  

'callous' kæləs