spəʊkən Vs spəʊkn

[HifaMo]

Hi,

Deciding whether a schwa is necessary in such cases is the most frequent problem that I face while transcribing.
Is there a rule to know whether a schwa is needed is such words?

spəʊkən (Why the schwa is used ponounced here?)
ˈrɪtn (Why the schwa is not pronounced here?)
ɪmˈpɔːtnt (Why the schwa is not pronounced here?)
ɪmˈpɔːtns
əˈtʃiːvmənt (Why the schwa is used ponounced here?)
ænɪml
sɪɡnəl
hjuːmən

Thanks.

 

[5jj]

Deciding whether a schwa is necessary in such cases is the most frequent problem that I face while transcribing.
Is there a rule to know whether a schwa is needed is such words?

Yes. transcribe what you hear.

spəʊkən (Why is the schwa [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] used pronounced here?)

ˈrɪtn (Why is the schwa [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] not pronounced here?)
ɪmˈpɔːtnt (Why is the schwa [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] not pronounced here?)
ɪmˈpɔːtns
əˈtʃiːvmənt (Why the schwa is used pronounced here?)
ænɪml
sɪɡnəl
hjuːmən

Most of those words can be pronounced with a schwa or without. 'Human' and 'achievement' always have a schwa sound, because the movement of the lips and tongue involved in the move from /m/ to /n/ is very difficult without a schwa.

 

[Raymott]

I'd use a schwa for all of those. I can't say them without a schwa either. It's probably very rare.