Lips
Barely open your mouth. Lips completely relaxed and neutral, exactly as the animation shows. This is the least effort any vowel takes.
Short vowels
/ə/as in about
The vowel in "about" (the first syllable). The weakest, laziest sound in English.
Example words: about, sofa, common, banana, today
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ə/ sound?
Tongue
Tongue rests dead center in the mouth: not forward, not back, not high, not low. Total relaxation.
Length
The shortest vowel in English. It's a throwaway sound in unstressed syllables. If you can hear it clearly, it's already too long.
Video lesson
Try it
- Say a tiny, effortless grunt: "uh". Shorter than you think.
- Say "about", making the first syllable almost vanish: uh-BOUT.
- Keep the stress on the strong syllable and throw the schwa away.
- Try: about, sofa, common.
Check
Record "banana" style words like "about" and "common". The unstressed syllables should be quiet, quick, and colorless next to the stressed one. If every syllable sounds equally clear, you're giving the schwa too much.
Common trap
The trap is reading the spelling. In "sofa", "about", and "common", the unstressed vowels are all the same weak "uh", not "a" or "o". Giving these syllables their full letter-sound makes speech sound robotic and makes stress patterns disappear. Weak syllables must be weak.
Practice: /ə/
Words
aboutəbˈaʊt
sofasˈoʊfə
commonkˈɑmən
bananabənˈænə
todaytədˈeɪ
Sentences
The banana on the sofa is mine.ðə bənˈænə ˌɔn ðə sˈoʊfə ɪz mˈaɪn.
Tell me about the problem again.tˈɛl mˌi əbˈaʊt ðə pɹˈɑbləm əɡˈɛn.
We can travel together tomorrow morning.wˌi kæn tɹˈævəl təɡˈɛðəɹ təmˈɑɹoʊ mˈɔɹnɪŋ.
My parents arrived at seven o'clock.mˌaɪ pˈɛɹənts əɹˈaɪvd æt sˈɛvən əklˈɑk.
Let's have a pizza and a salad today.lˈɛts hæv ɐ pˈitsə ænd ɐ sˈæləd tədˈeɪ.
Words
aboutəbˈaʊt
sofasˈəʊfə
commonkˈɒmən
bananabənˈɑːnə
todaytədˈeɪ
Sentences
The banana on the sofa is mine.ðə bənˈɑːnə ˌɒn ðə sˈəʊfə ɪz mˈaɪn.
Tell me about the problem again.tˈɛl mˌiː əbˈaʊt ðə pɹˈɒbləm əɡˈɛn.
We can travel together tomorrow morning.wˌiː kan tɹˈavəl təɡˈɛðə tʊmˈɒɹəʊ mˈɔːnɪŋ.
My parents arrived at seven o'clock.mˌaɪ pˈɛːɹənts əɹˈaɪvd at sˈɛvən əklˈɒk.
Let's have a pizza and a salad today.lˈɛts hav ɐ pˈiːtsə and ɐ sˈaləd tədˈeɪ.
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Sounds in the same group
Is /ə/ one of yours?
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