noun
schwa
SHWAH/ʃwɑː/
An unstressed central vowel sound or its written symbol, ə.
The first vowel in “about” is pronounced as a schwa.
Etymology
Hebrew shewa literally means “emptiness” and also names a neutral vowel quality. The English term denotes the neutral sound often heard in weak, unstressed syllables.
In context
Often, we accidentally add an extra uh, or /schwa/ sound to the end of consonants. If students hear this and imitate it, it may then be reflected in later reading and writing tasks.
More examples
- The dictionary prints a schwa, ə, for the unstressed vowel.
- The final vowels in “sofa” and “comma” are schwas.
- She replaces the full vowel with a schwa when speaking quickly.
Forms
schwa · schwas
Similar words
- reduced vowel
- Describes weakened vowels generally, not only the central schwa sound.