Accent Reduction Classroom

In order to improve your American English pronunciation it is critical that you learn to use the schwa sound.  In this short article I will explain what the schwa sound is and why using the schwa will improve your accent.

What is the schwa sound?

The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in North American English. The schwa sounds like “uh”. It is pronounced with the mouth very relaxed.

The schwa sound can be represented by any vowel. The IPA symbol for schwa is /ə/.

Let’s look at some examples.

The vowel sound in each of the words below is schwa. You can see that there are many written vowels or vowel combinations that may represent this sound.

was

done

does

us

what

tough

Here’s how the schwa works in words with more than one syllable.

When you are speaking English the vowels in stressed syllables usually have a long clear sound. However, the vowels in unstressed syllables often have the schwa sound.

In the words below the first syllable is stressed with a long clear vowel. The vowel in the second syllable sounds like a schwa /ə/.

WOman

BREAKfast

HOStage

MUFfin

The combination of stressed syllables with long clear vowels and reduced syllables with the schwa vowel sound help to create the rhythm of spoken English. Americans listen for this rhythm and it helps them to identify words.

I teach you all you need to know about the schwa vowel sound in my video lesson called Pronouncing Stressed and Reduced Vowels.