What is the schwa and why should you know about it?
Well, it's the most common vowel sound in English.
Although 'e' might be the most common letter, the schwa is the most common sound. It sounds like 'uh,' the sound you would make if you can't think of a word. It's similar to the short /u/ sound but softer and weaker.
2. And, it’s unstressed!
Words in English with more than one syllable have both stressed (strong) and unstressed (weak) syllables. Look at the word: ba-na-na.
The stress is on the second syllable, which makes it louder than the other two syllables. The two unstressed syllables become the schwa sound while the stressed syllable remains the short /a/ sound: /bəˈnænə/.
3. Any vowel can be the schwa sound!
Something that makes spelling such a challenge is that any vowel can make the schwa sound as long as it's the unstressed syllable within a word. Even the y!
a - amazing /əˈmeɪzɪŋ/
e - elephant /ˈɛləfənt/
i - animal /ˈænəməl/
o - octopus /ˈɑːktəˌpʊs/
u - supply /səˈplaɪ/
y - syringe /səˈrɪnʤ/
4. Luckily, it's the easiest sound to make.
You don't have to do anything to your tongue, lips, or jaw to make the shwa sound. You barely even have to open your mouth. All you have to do is activate your vocal cords. Easy peasy! Relax your mouth when you make this unstressed sound.
