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How to pronounce the schwa sound in a clear explanation?
Most British say "ah" in Jesus, but most Americans say "eh".
Different sounds in this undefined symbol are applied, except ooh, a, e, i, o, and u. pencil (as the o in pork) animal (as the i in brick) ahead (as the e in deck)
What was the question? The schwa is much the same in British and American English but "ah" and "eh" don't mean much.
Using @ for a schwa, I have: penc@l an@m@l @head
I'm not sure quite what you're asking. The schwa is a neutral reduced vowel. It is produced in the centre of the mouth without rounding the lips. Like Uriel said, most Americans would transcribe it 'uh'. However, many accents have two schwa sounds, one of which is higher. In my accent, it is the same as the vowel in 'kit': [I]. For your examples:
Jesus ["dZizIs] pencil ["pEnsUo] animal ["E{nImUo] ahead [@"hEd]
Josh, first tell me where I can learn, what all these horrible symbols mean. Also, how do you pronounce "schwa"? If it doesnt bother you too much, can you record above words as a sound file?
As you might notice, I'm not Josh, but you can find those "horrible" symbols below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-SAMPA X-SAMPA is basically IPA epresented by keyboard characters and are quite useful if you want to transcribe something online. However, I haven't mastered it yet, either. :-)
As this reduced vowel is somehow not clear to identify, most British and Americans prefer to call it uh. In fact, it sounds more like eh as in pet to be shortened. The short u as mentioned to be a schwa is not always pronounced in all the words with.
One of the biggest problems to make an easier spelling reform, is to try to eliminate that schwa symbol. If the schwa is always pronounced with the same sound, then the words would be more accurate and precise to spell.
I would disagree with this: "In fact, it sounds more like eh as in pet". The E in "pet" is recognizably a short E, not a schwa. Same with "kit" -- that's a short I, not a schwa.
And Josh, I can't quite imagine what your "ahead" sounds like if you are using a short I anywhere in it! "Ih-head"?
<<And Josh, I can't quite imagine what your "ahead" sounds like if you are using a short I anywhere in it! "Ih-head"?>>
No, I don't use [I] in 'ahead'. I have a regular schwa [@] instead. [I] is my 'default' reduced vowel in most situations. [@] only occurs in word-final situations (or in words derived from them) and in the prefix 'a-'. Roses ["r\o.zIz] Rosa's ["r\o.z@z] Lenin (the Soviet leader) ["lE.nIn] Lennon, John ["lE.nIn] ahead [@"hEd] above [@"bVv]
I recorded some words with a schwa, as requested. You can hear them here: http://media.putfile.com/accent-sample-7---schwa
These are the words I'm saying: Jesus pencil animal ahead Roses Rosa's abbot rabbit |