Hi everybody and welcome back to Lean English. I’m Ed and I’m here to help you achieve your pronunciation goals. In this British English pronunciation lesson, I will teach you how to identify and pronounce the schwa sound correctly. This is the first in a three-part series all about the schwa sound so make sure you subscribe and turn notifications on so you don’t miss parts two and three where I will explain some more advanced topics. Now, let’s look at the schwa sound in a bit more detail!
To pronounce the schwa sound, take your thumb and your finger and pinch the end of your nose. Then produce a short sound from the back of your throat. There, you just produced the schwa sound!
The schwa sound is produced when our mouth muscles are relaxed; the jaw is in the middle position, the tongue is in the centre and the lips are unrounded. We naturally adopt this position when we breathe through our mouth, so you can find the correct position by pinching your nose. This mouth position gives the schwa sound its technical name: the ‘mid central unrounded vowel’.
Obviously, in real conversation we don’t pinch our nose, but you can use this trick to find the correct position. So, try to remember the correct mouth position and produce the sound again.
Look at these words, can you identify the schwa sound? Now, listen and see if you can hear it.
Avoid | Nation | Doctor |
Item | Technician | Favour |
Policy | Generous | Future |
Police | Builder | Metre |
Support | Sugar | Thorough |
The schwa sound can be spelt with any vowel letter: ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’ or ‘u’. It can also be spelt with a combination of two vowels. And it can be spelt with a combination of one or two vowels plus the letter ‘r’. There are even some words where it’s represented by three or more letters.
With so many spelling combinations you might think it’s impossible to identify the schwa sound in unfamiliar words, but there are some clues that can help us.
Firstly, what do you notice about the stressed syllables in these words? Is the schwa sound stressed? The schwa sound is never stressed, but it comprises approximately one-third of all vowels in English. This means that in a three-syllable word there’s a fifty percent chance that an unstressed syllable is the schwa sound. There are other clues too:
If the letter ‘a’ is unstressed and followed by a consonant at the beginning of a word, it usually produces the schwa sound. For example:
Ago /əˈɡəʊ/
Another /əˈnʌðə/
Amazing /əˈmeɪzɪŋ/
Annoy /əˈnɔɪ/
If a vowel is unstressed and followed by the letter ‘r’ at the end of a word, it usually produces the schwa sound. For example:
Over /ˈəʊvə/
Grammar /ˈɡræmə/
Error /ˈerə/
Labour /ˈleɪbə/
Nature /ˈneɪtʃə/
Finally, the suffixes ‘ion’, ‘ian’ and ‘ous’ usually produce the schwa sound at the end of words. For example:
Action /ˈækʃən/
Optician /ɒpˈtɪʃən/
Famous /ˈfeɪməs/
Now, let’s practise. Listen to these phrases which contain the schwa sound and repeat after me:
The weather is better in America
/ðə/ /ˈweðə/ /ɪz/ /ˈbetə/ /ɪn/ /əˈmerɪkə/
An enormous hippopotamus
/ən/ /ɪˈnɔːməs/ /hɪpəˈpɒtəməs/
Information and communication technology
/ɪnfəˈmeɪʃən/ /ənd/ /kəmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən/ /tekˈnɒlədʒi/
The exact pronunciation of the schwa sound varies in English depending on where it appears in the word and the sounds which follow or precede it. Consequently, the schwa sound has a range which varies from the open mid to the close mid position.
Furthermore, the pronunciation of the schwa sound can also vary according to the accent of the speaker, and it may be more open in some parts of the UK.
So, don’t worry about the exact pronunciation of the schwa sound and instead focus on producing a short, central vowel sound that’s distinguishable from other vowels where appropriate.
Well, that’s the end of today’s lesson but remember that I’ll be releasing part two of this series next week. So, if you want to know why the schwa sound is so important for sentence stress, make sure you subscribe and turn notifications on so that you don’t miss it.
I’ve also uploaded text and audio versions of this lesson so you can study wherever you are, just follow the links in the description below.
But now, it’s your turn. Which words contain the greatest number of schwa sounds? Can you think of any which contain three or more? Leave me some examples in the comments below and remember to like this video if you found it useful. Thanks for watching, goodbye!