The most common, essential sound in our unphonetic English language is the schwa /ə/. It’s a neutral, relaxed vowel sound that shows up in all kinds of words – big and small – boldly stealing proper vowel sounds and trading them for its lazy, undistinguished “uh” sound.
Say: sun, fun, run. The letter “u” in those words is the schwa /ə/ sound.
A real trickster, this sound loves pretending to be something else, and only shows its true face in “u” words like our target words: fun, sun, run.
The schwa is a common, primitive, basic, connecting sound (almost a grunt) that vibrates in your throat with no articulation by the tongue, teeth or lips. It’s not pretty, but it is absolutely necessary for proper English. Without it, your English will be over-pronounced and unnatural. The absence of a schwa means that your English will be quite accented (= have a strong accent.)
English needs a reduced sound to help speakers create the “low notes” in the “music” of our language.
English is a stress-timed language, and that means that we emphasize and de-emphasize words and word parts as we speak them. Unlike many languages, we don’t speak every syllable with the same length, volume or pitch. No, we make language music! This language music carries a great deal of meaning in English. It’s essential for being understood when you speak. And the simple little schwa provides a quick, easy sound that allows other (accented) syllables to stand out. It’s all about contrasting sounds. LOUD and quiet, BIG and small, SHORT and l-o-n-g!
There are two symbols associated with the “uh” sound: /ə/ and /ʌ/ – but in American English, there is no discernible, audible difference between them. They both sound like the “uh” in sun, run, fun. Please note that, for the sake of simplicity, we will use the /ə/ symbol to indicate all schwas in this article.
The schwa is often heard in unstressed syllables. A dictionary will show it is as /ə/ and it will sound just like the letter “u” (or “o” or “ou”) in these single syllable words: sun, run, fun, love, come, bun, thumb, tongue.
Repeat the words above and hold the “uh” /ə/ sound steady. Make the /ə/ rhyme in every word.
The words below are first spelled in the normal way. Then we spell them with CAPS (capital letters) to show the accented part of the word and the /ə/ to show the unaccented schwa. Try to say these words with a nice lazy schwa and a strong accent on the capitalized (stressed) syllable. Exaggerate the difference to begin to hear the language music.
Yes! Although the schwa is often unstressed, it can also be stressed, such as in the words below. In this list, we first show the normal spelling, and then we give a simplified phonetic version
When working on your schwa, remember to resist the desire to pronounce words as written. Look away from the spelling if necessary. Unlike languages such as Spanish, Russian and German, English word spelling will often lead you down the wrong path. Practice your schwa with the basic schwa phrases below that ONLY contain schwa-vowels.
Tip: The words with schwas are bolded.
Tip: Note how the schwa usually appears after the stressed syllables. We put them in upper case to help you learn the pattern.
Many people say this tiny word incorrectly. The word is – idea. To say this word properly, say: “i/DEE/uh”. It has 3 syllables, and the stress is in the middle. The shape of the word is like a pyramid; the “high” point is in the middle. The final sound is the /ə/ schwa sound. This stress pattern is also heard in the words: Korea and Maria. Say, “My sister Maria from North Korea has a good idea.”
That’s easy to answer. English is not a phonetic language. That means that words are not always spoken as they are written. So if your spoken English “sound” is over or mis-pronounced, the tricky little schwa might be one of your problems.
For personalized help with the schwa and other pronunciation issues, contact The English Center. Our native speaker teachers offer a free intake appointment and in- person lessons in The Netherlands in Amsterdam, Den Haag and Amstelveen. We would love to help you gain a more natural, native sound so that you are always understood when you speak English. Call +31 20 823 0569.
Check out the Cambridge book, “Ship or Sheep.” It’s popular and pretty easy to follow. Be sure you get the audio, too!
The English Center. Since 2009, thousands of learners have trusted our courses.
