eleven, electrical

[keannu]

Sometimes I seem to hear "eleven" or "eletrical"'s first vowel as "ʊ" or "ə" or reduced schwa as in "eleven"'s "e" sound. It's really been a mystery which of the three it is. It's highly likely it's the third reduced schwa, but there seems to be no sound symbol except for "ə". I think you know "eleven"'s "e" sound is a weaker sound - almost non-existent or dead sound - unlike "about"'s "ə", but both take the form of schwa. I need your kind explanation.

eleven [ɪ^|levn], electrical [ɪ^|lektrɪkl], book[bʊk] about[əbaʊt]

[probus]

These pronunciations vary euphoniously according to context. In saying "ten, eleven, twelve" or "some electrical problem" the initial e tends towards the schwa, but more or less depending on people's accent and how rapidly they are speaking. But in "electric motor" or "eleven quarts of milk" the inital e is sounded as "ee".

[keannu]

By schwa, do you mean /ə/ in about[əbaʊt] or dead or weak schwa e in eleven? I think the sound I heard is very hard to define as either of the two.