RP
ə
Schwa
Between half-open and half-close (in non-final positions) and half-open (in final positions), central, neutral; checked (short), lax (weak).
For the articulation of RP /ə/, the centre of the tongue is raised between a half-open and a half-close position in non-final positions but in final positions the vowel tends to be articulated in the half-open central position or even lower [ə˕ ]. The lips are neutral. The acoustic formants of RP scwha are similar to those for /ɛː / and /ʌ/.
Spelling
| /ə/ may represent the reduced (obscured, 'schwa') form of any vowel or vowel sequence in unaccented position | po'liceman /pəˈli:smən/, possible/ˈpɒsəbl̩/ , August /ˈɔ:ɡəst/ , parliament /ˈpɑ:ləmənt/ , chieftain /ˈtʃi:ftən/ , tortoise /ˈtɔ:təs/, ancient /ˈeɪnʃənt/.'vengeance /ˈvɛndʒəns/ | ||||||||||||||||
| Also many examples of /ə/ derive from unaccented sequences of vowel(s) plus <r> | figure /ˈ fɪɡə/, colour /ˈkʌlə/ , rancour/ˈræŋkə/ , surpass /səˈpɑ:s/ , forget /fəˈɡet/ | ||||||||||||||||
| or from the unstressed spelling <re> | 'centre /ˈsentə/ | ||||||||||||||||
| In addition, /ə/ can be found in unstressed prefixes and suffixes such as |
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| as well as in a large number of unstressed place-names suffixes: |
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Examples
| buttock /ˈbʌtək/ |
| question /ˈkwestʃən/ |
| Belgium /ˈbeldʒəm/ |
| attack /əˈtæk/ |
| banana /bəˈnɑ:nə/ |
| surpass /səˈpɑ:s/ |
| See you later! / ˈsi: jə ˈleɪtə/ |
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Hundreds of
students are taking a miserable breakfast.
/ˈhʌndrədz əv ˈstju:dnts ə ˈteɪkɪŋ ə ˈmɪzrəbl̩ ˈbrekfəst/ |
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There's a formal proposal
to suspend the sentence.
/ðeəz ə ˈfɔ:ml̩ prəˈpəʊzl̩ tə səˈspend ðə ˈsentəns/ |
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The present for
my brother is a book about a wizard.
/ðə ˈprezənt fə maɪ ˈbrʌðər ɪz ə bʊk əˈbaʊt ə ˈwɪzəd/ |
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Upper roller, lower roller.
/ˈʌpə ˈrəʊlə | ˈləʊə ˈrəʊlə/ |
Pronunciation
The centre of the tongue is raised between a half-close and a half-open position (in non-final environments) or around half-open position or even lower (word-finally). The lips are neutral. The soft palate is raised (unless followed by a nasal).
PSp
e
Lower case e
Half open front vowel.
When we pronounce this sound, the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, between the half-open and the half-close positions. The tip of the tongue is in contact with the lower teeth. The lips are spread. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
Spelling
Examples
| erizo |
| mesa |
| mensaje |
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Pronunciation
The front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, between the half-open and the half-close positions. The tip of the tongue is in contact with the lower teeth. The lips are spread. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
