schwa
/ə/
Tips
Like a Chinese finger trap: if you relax, it works. If you spelt it, it would be “Uh”.
Tongue. Mid-range, central – arching upwards.
Lips. Very relaxed.
Examples
about
sofa
the
banana
Watch for
- Don't read the spelling: say banana /bəˈnɑːnə/, not /baˈnana/.
- Unstressed vowels shrink to /ə/: say doctor /ˈdɒktə/, not /ˈdɒktɔr/.
- Don't add /ə/ after final consonants: say stop /stɒp/, not /stɒpə/.