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The schwa sound is a mid-central vowel which sounds like a grunt. It is the default sound for unaccented vowels in English.

In RP English in England the schwa sound is the same as the vowel sound in 'fir' or 'birch', or the /er/ in herd. In these combinations with "R" the schwa is an accented vowel. A word like "return" is another example. In English pronunciations both vowels are schwas.

There is a very similar vowel which is more a back vowel represented by the upside down V, (ʌ) sometimes called a pup tent, caret, or circumflex. Words beginning with an unaccented "a" like above, ago, or amount may start with this sound rather than a schwa depending on your regional dialect.

In most English accents unaccented syllables tend to move towards a schwa sound, no matter what their orthography. The "o" in memory, the first "e" in return, and the "i" in pencil are all pronounced as schwas.

* Scroll down to related links and look at "Schwa sound - Wikipedia". You will be able to hear a recording of what the sound sounds like.

* To get an idea of how a schwa sound is created, you can try to pronounce the letters BM as a word, making a B sound followed by an M sound. The slight unstressed exhalation is the usual sound associated with the schwa. In practice, it can sound anywhere from eh to ih to uh.

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12y ago

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