Schwa 104433 225214003 2008-07-12T14:25:40Z Gwernol 266416 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/69.208.77.124|69.208.77.124]] ([[User talk:69.208.77.124|talk]]) to last version by Gwernol {{for|the underground conceptual artwork of Bill Barker|Schwa (art)}} [[Image:Schwa IPA symbol.svg|thumb|The [[IPA]] symbol for the Schwa]] In [[linguistics]], specifically [[phonetics]] and [[phonology]], '''schwa''' can mean: *An [[stress (linguistics)|unstressed]] and [[tone (linguistics)|toneless]] neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel. Such vowels are often transcribed with the [[Symbol|symbol]] <{{IPA|ə}}>, regardless of their actual phonetic value. *The [[Mid central vowel|mid-central vowel]] sound (rounded or unrounded) in the middle of the vowel chart, stressed or unstressed. In [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] [[phonetic transcription]], it is written as the [[Phone|phone]] [{{IPA|ə}}]. In this case the term ''mid-central vowel'' may be used instead of ''schwa'' to avoid ambiguity. *The [[ə|Latin letter ə]] and the [[Schwa (Cyrillic)|Cyrillic letter ә]] (see their respective articles). ==The term== The [[word]] "schwa" is from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word שְׁוָא (''šĕwā’'', {{IPA|/ʃəˈwa/,<small> modern pronunciation:</small> /ʃva/}}), meaning "nought"&mdash;it originally referred to one of the [[niqqud]] [[vowel]] signs used with the [[Hebrew alphabet]], which looks like a vertical pair of dots under a letter ("ְ") and which in [[modern Hebrew]] is pronounced either {{IPA|[ɛ]}} or not at all. This sign has two uses: one to indicate the [[Phoneme|phoneme]] /e/ and one to indicate the complete absence of a vowel. These uses do not conflict because schwa is, in Hebrew, an [[epenthetic vowel]], the equivalent of "no vowel at all". ==Schwa as a neutral vowel== {{main|Epenthesis|Unstressed vowel|Vowel reduction}} Sometimes the term "schwa" is used for any [[epenthesis|epenthetic vowel]], even though different languages use different epenthetic vowels. Schwa is the most common [[vowel]] sound in [[English language|English]], a [[reduced vowel]] in many unstressed [[syllable]]s, especially if [[syllabic consonant]]s are not used: *like the 'a' in ''about'' {{IPA|[əˈbaʊt]}} *like the 'e' in ''taken'' {{IPA|[ˈteɪkən]}} *like the 'i' in ''pencil'' {{IPA|[ˈpɛnsəl]}} *like the 'o' in ''eloquent'' {{IPA|[ˈɛləkwənt]}} *like the 'u' in ''supply'' {{IPA|[səˈplaɪ]}} *like the 'y' in ''sibyl'' {{IPA|[ˈsɪbəl]}} Many [[British English]] (BrE) dialects have two schwa sounds, whereas many [[American English]] (AmE) dialects have only one. <!--Need illustration by someone who speaks a relevant dialect.--> Schwa is a very [[vowel length|short]] neutral vowel sound, and like all vowels, its precise quality varies depending on the adjacent [[consonants]]. In most varieties of English, schwa mostly occurs in unstressed syllables (exceptions include BrE ''concerted''), but in [[New Zealand English]] and [[South African English]] the high front lax vowel (as in the word ''bit'') has shifted open and back to sound like schwa, and these dialects include both stressed and unstressed schwas. In [[General American]], schwa is one of the two vowel sounds that can be [[r-colored vowel|rhotacized]]. This sound is used in words with unstressed "er" syllables, such as ''dinner''. Quite a few languages have a sound similar to schwa. It is similar to a short [[French language|French]] unaccented ''e'', which in that language is rounded and less central, more like an [[open-mid front rounded vowel|open-mid]] or [[close-mid front rounded vowel]]. It is almost always unstressed, though [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] are three languages that allow stressed schwas. Many [[Caucasian languages]] and some [[Uralic languages]] (e.g. [[Komi language|Komi]]) also use phonemic schwa, and allow schwas to be stressed. In [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the vowel of the suffix ''-lijk'', as in ''waarschijnlijk'' (''probably'') is pronounced as a schwa. In the Eastern dialects of [[Catalan language|Catalan]], including the standard language variety, based in the dialect spoken in and around [[Barcelona]], an unstressed "a" or "e" is pronounced as a schwa (called ''"vocal neutra"'', "neutral vowel"). In the dialects of Catalan spoken in the [[Balearic Islands]], a stressed schwa can occur. Stressed schwa can occur in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] as in ''mătură'' {{IPA|[ˈməturə]}} ('broom'). Other spellings of the sound include {{Unicode|ը}} in [[Armenian language|Armenian]], {{Unicode|ă}} in [[Romanian language|Romanian]], and ë in [[Albanian language|Albanian]] and [[Turoyo language|Turoyo]]. In [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]], the letter [[yer|{{Unicode|ъ}}]] is used. ==Schwa indogermanicum== {{main|Laryngeal theory}} The term "schwa" is also used for vowels of uncertain quality (rather than neutral sound) in the reconstructed [[Proto-Indo-European language]]. It was observed that, while for the most part ''a'' in Latin and [[Greek language|Ancient Greek]] corresponds to ''a'' in [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], there are instances where Sanskrit has ''i'' while Latin and Greek have ''a'', such as ''pitar'' (Sanskrit) vs ''pater'' (Latin and Ancient Greek). This postulated "schwa indogermanicum" evolved into the theory of the so-called [[laryngeal]]s. Most scholars of Proto-Indo-European would now postulate three different phonemes rather than a single indistinct schwa. Some scholars postulate yet more, to explain further problems in the Proto-Indo-European vowel system. Most reconstructions of ''{{IPA|*-ə-}}'' in older literature would correspond to *-h<sub>2</sub>- in contemporary notation. ==External links== *{{cite web |url=http://www.vanoostendorp.nl/fonologie/schwaip.htm |title=Schwa in Phonological Theory |accessdate=2008-01-29 |author=Marc van Oostendorp |year=1999}} ==See also== *[[R-colored vowel]] [[Category:Vowels]] [[als:Schwa]] [[br:Schwa]] [[ca:Vocal neutra]] [[cs:Schwa]] [[de:Schwa]] [[es:Schwa]] [[eo:Ŝva]] [[fr:Schwa]] [[gd:Shva]] [[ko:중설 중모음]] [[id:Pepet]] [[it:Schwa]] [[he:שווא (פונטיקה)]] [[nl:Sjwa]] [[ja:シュワー]] [[nap:Schwa]] [[nn:Sjevá]] [[pl:Szwa]] [[pt:Schwa]] [[ro:Vocală mijlocie centrală]] [[ru:Шва]] [[fi:Švaa]] [[sv:Schwa]] [[uk:Шва]]