Weak vs. Strong (Schwa Function Words)

Weak vs. Strong (Schwa Function Words)

by | Nov 26, 2020 | Chapter 1, Connected Speech, Spelling to Sound, The Sound of English - Pronunciation

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/ʌ/ – Sounds in Accents

/ʌ/ – Sounds in Accents

In northern England, local accents don’t contain /ʌ/. Words like FUN, LOVE, ROUGH and SHUT are all pronounced with /ʊ/. Previous & Next LessonsRelated Lessons

/ə/ – Sounds in Accents

/ə/ – Sounds in Accents

    English speakers tend to use more schwa sounds when talking quickly and casually with friends or family. Even strong words such as “get” and “like” can become weak in connected speech: A:  /kən ə gət ju ə ˈdrɪŋk/B:  /əd lək ə ˈkɒfi θaŋks/ Previous & Next...

/ə/ – Spelling to Sound

/ə/ – Spelling to Sound

by | Nov 25, 2020 | Chapter 1, Pronunciation, Spelling to Sound, The Sound of English - Pronunciation

– Match the words with their pictures and IPA transctiption:

applause    laughter    connect    surprise

– Which letter is pronounced /ə/ in each word?

Answers & Audio

/əˈplɔːz/ – applause
/kəˈnɛkt/ – connect
/səˈprʌɪz/ – surprise
/ˈlɑːftə/ – laughter

The schwa sound /ə/ is commonly spelt in written English with any of
< a, e, o, u >.
It only appears on unstressed syllables. 

– Listen and find a schwa sound in each word:

Answers & Audio

surround /səˈraʊnd/

surround /səˈraʊnd/

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/θ,ð/

/θ,ð/

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/ɔɪ/

/ɔɪ/

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