R-colored schwa

Johnny   Sat Jan 24, 2009 3:03 pm GMT
1) Bet a red word
2) Better Edward

Do you pronounce those two differently? (Put the stress on "red" so that you get the same stress pattern)
The first has a schwa + R, the second has an R-colored schwa, but I think that distinction can only be made in slow and unconnected speech. As soon as I connect the words and say them at a normal speed they sound exactly the same to me. Any ideas? Thanks.
ajc   Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:01 pm GMT
[bEt @ r\Ed w9:d]
["bEt6r\ "Edw6d]
Caspan   Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:13 pm GMT
The 'ward' in Edward is pronounced as 'wood', whereas the 'word' has a long sound - so, a clear difference.
Uriel   Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:54 pm GMT
Yeah, they do come out pretty close for me. My Edward is pronounced "Edwerd", of course -- the -ward part is the same as "word".
Robin Michael   Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:49 am GMT
Dear Johnny

A lot of people on the Continent and even in Scotland, roll their 'r's. So, the word 'red' would sound very distinctive.

Likewise, the short form for Edward, is 'Ed', so the emphasis is on 'Ed' - 'ward'.

You are right, that 'werd' and 'word', do sound a little similar. In 'Edward' the 'ward' is pronounced 'werd'.

'Better' is sometimes spelt and pronounced 'Betta'

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Johnny   Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:47 pm GMT
So it's not just my impression that unstressed schwas followed by R's (not rolled, of course) when connected in normal speech just become "R-colored schwas". If anyone else has something to say about this specific feature, it'll be appreciated. Thanks.
Another Guest   Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:06 pm GMT
It would help if you would specify a dialect. Perhaps in non-rhotic dialects, they sound the same, but in mine they don't.
Robin Michael   Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:04 pm GMT
The sound of "schwa" is 'uh!'

So what do you think? uh


http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/schwa/



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