schwa sound

I have a hard time making the schwa sound on words such as simple, table, apple, trouble, ect. do you have any advise? I tend to make an O sound at the end of these words. thanks for replyihng.

[Tdol]

Close your mouth a bit- the schwa sound has a less open mouth.

[Steven D]

Originally Posted by tdol

Close your mouth a bit- the schwa sound has a less open mouth.

It's relaxed.


It happens fast and it's barely noticeable, but it's still there. It's in the throat. Relax your vocal cords. Just say " ". It's a low low sound.

[Central Mexico]

The schwa /ə/ is the most frequent vowel sound in English, so I can understand your concern with wanting to improve your delivery. If you use it appropriately in unstressed syllables, your pronunciation will sound more natural; such as the word above. Once you master the "a" sound in the word "above" ... substitute it at the end of the words that you have listed; and then terminate the syllabel with an "l" consonant sound. Practicing the schwa sound in the initial position of a word and isolating it in it's own syllable should give you the confidence to then use it in a variety of other placements with more ease.

Here is a good chart that shows where consonant sounds are formed in the mouth (such as the final "l" in your sample list). You can also see on this page that the schwa sound is a problem area for many peoples; so you are not alone.

http://cls.coe.utk.edu/lpm/esltoolki...ntrastive.html