schwa Hear it!

schwa Definition

schwa (s̸hwä, s̸hvä)

noun

  1. the neutral mid-central vowel sound of most unstressed syllables in English: the sound represented by a in ago, e in agent, i in sanity, etc.
  2. the symbol (ə) for this sound, as in the International Phonetic Alphabet and this dictionary

Etymology: Ger < Heb sheva, a diacritic marking silence instead of a vowel sound

schwa Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • link: Formal characteristics of the compound such as rhythm and presumably also length determine the interpretation of linking schwas as plural markers.
  • teach: Top of page How I teach the schwa Fast dictation I find this activity useful for introducing the schwa in context.
  • delete: Therefore, the difference in the mean schwa duration implies the difference in the number of schwas deleted in the whole system.

Adjective modifier

word-final: We also observe that word-final schwas are deleted first.

Modifies a noun

  • deletion: In other words, the work does not explain why there is schwa deletion.
  • duration: Therefore, the difference in the mean schwa duration implies the difference in the number of schwas deleted in the whole system.
  • pattern: In other words, the schwa deletion pattern is not ingrained in the model itself.
  • sound: Then point to the schwa on the phonemic chart and make a schwa sound.
  • symbol: N.B. I normally get learners to write the schwa symbol underneath the alphabetic script.

Preposition: in

word: Stating it in another way, all the schwas in a word are equally likely to be deleted.