The apprentice
Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2013
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Spanish
- Home Country
- Dominican Republic
- Current Location
- Dominican Republic
Dear members and teachers:
As I am getting into phonetics and phonology I have learned the importance of the Schwa Sound in English. It is the most common sound occurring in unstressed syllable of multi-syllable words (word with two or more syllables) and as a reduced vowel sound in function words (that, to, the, of can, was, have, him, her, us). It is represented by the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) as an upside down letter e; just like this symbol /ə/. It represents a mid (between close and open) and central (between front and back) vowel in the vowels chart, almost identical or very close to the short U sound /ʌ/.
The Schwa Sound is shorter in length, lower in intensity and different in quality, it is not articulated with much energy, it is a lax and weak sound. Though vowels change in quality when they are reduced, the reduced vowel tends to be not only very short, but also very unclear, producing a sound that is hard to identify.
The Schwa Sound is not an exact sound because vowels have not the same sound; does not have the same duration because Schwa sounds sometimes are almost unheard. The Schwa Sound allows unstressed syllable to be said more quickly so that the main beat of a spoken word be easier to to be pronounced and heard.
OCCUR: /əˈkɜr/ The Schwa is in the vowel O
SUPPORT: /səˈpɔrt/ The Schwa is in the vowel U
DEFINITE: /ˈdɛfənɪt/ The Schwa is in the second vowel I
APPLIANCE: /əˈplaɪəns/ The Schwa is in both vowels A
ELEMENT: /ˈɛləmənt/ The Schwa are in the two last vowels E
I would like to know if I am right or wrong in the following questions:
1°) The Schwa Sound is related to the short U sound as mentioned above, does the short U sound occur in stressed syllable as in unstressed one or only in stressed syllable whether it be a primary or a secondary stress?, for example:
PRONUNCIATION; /prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/ it has a secondary stress.
UNCOMFORTABLE; /ʌnˈkʌmftəbəl, -ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ it is unstressed in the first syllable and stressed in the second one.
UNCOUNTABLE; /ʌnˈkaʊntəbəl/ it is unstressed in the first vowel U and the second one becomes a diphthong with the previous vowel O.
UNDERLINE; /ˌʌndərˈlaɪn/ it has a primary stress
2°) I have also noticed that the short U sound occurs in the vowel O as well, but in this case when the O is a short U sound the stress is on that vowel; it is a primary stress, for example:
COMFORTABLE; /ˈkʌmftəbəl, ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ It has a primary strees in the first vowel O.
MOTHER; /ˈmʌðər/ NONE; /nʌn/ OTHER; /ˈʌðər/ All have a primary stress in the vowel O.
Your assistance and help in this matter will be deeply appreciated,
Sincerely,
The Apprentice
As I am getting into phonetics and phonology I have learned the importance of the Schwa Sound in English. It is the most common sound occurring in unstressed syllable of multi-syllable words (word with two or more syllables) and as a reduced vowel sound in function words (that, to, the, of can, was, have, him, her, us). It is represented by the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) as an upside down letter e; just like this symbol /ə/. It represents a mid (between close and open) and central (between front and back) vowel in the vowels chart, almost identical or very close to the short U sound /ʌ/.
The Schwa Sound is shorter in length, lower in intensity and different in quality, it is not articulated with much energy, it is a lax and weak sound. Though vowels change in quality when they are reduced, the reduced vowel tends to be not only very short, but also very unclear, producing a sound that is hard to identify.
The Schwa Sound is not an exact sound because vowels have not the same sound; does not have the same duration because Schwa sounds sometimes are almost unheard. The Schwa Sound allows unstressed syllable to be said more quickly so that the main beat of a spoken word be easier to to be pronounced and heard.
OCCUR: /əˈkɜr/ The Schwa is in the vowel O
SUPPORT: /səˈpɔrt/ The Schwa is in the vowel U
DEFINITE: /ˈdɛfənɪt/ The Schwa is in the second vowel I
APPLIANCE: /əˈplaɪəns/ The Schwa is in both vowels A
ELEMENT: /ˈɛləmənt/ The Schwa are in the two last vowels E
I would like to know if I am right or wrong in the following questions:
1°) The Schwa Sound is related to the short U sound as mentioned above, does the short U sound occur in stressed syllable as in unstressed one or only in stressed syllable whether it be a primary or a secondary stress?, for example:
PRONUNCIATION; /prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/ it has a secondary stress.
UNCOMFORTABLE; /ʌnˈkʌmftəbəl, -ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ it is unstressed in the first syllable and stressed in the second one.
UNCOUNTABLE; /ʌnˈkaʊntəbəl/ it is unstressed in the first vowel U and the second one becomes a diphthong with the previous vowel O.
UNDERLINE; /ˌʌndərˈlaɪn/ it has a primary stress
2°) I have also noticed that the short U sound occurs in the vowel O as well, but in this case when the O is a short U sound the stress is on that vowel; it is a primary stress, for example:
COMFORTABLE; /ˈkʌmftəbəl, ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ It has a primary strees in the first vowel O.
MOTHER; /ˈmʌðər/ NONE; /nʌn/ OTHER; /ˈʌðər/ All have a primary stress in the vowel O.
Your assistance and help in this matter will be deeply appreciated,
Sincerely,
The Apprentice
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