The schwa is the relaxed vowel sound that is frequently used in unstressed syllables. This sound is used in both British and American English.
The schwa is made with your tongue sitting in a relaxed position in the center of your mouth. It sounds like “uh”. The phonetic symbol for the schwa sound is /ə/.
Any vowel can sound like a schwa when it occurs in an unstressed syllable.
HELən
THOməs
bəNAnə
pəTAto
əMERəcə
CəNAdiən
techNOLəgy
PRObləm
POLəcy
prəDUCE
prəCEdure
səLUtion
dəLAY
dəLIVer
əCONəmy
phəTOgraphy
phəTOgrapher
PHOtəgraph
Since the schwa is the most common vowel sound in spoken English, it is very important that you learn to use it correctly! Click on the link here to learn more about the schwa vowel sound.
