The stressed syllable is in bold. O may say // in a stressed syllable next to W, TH, M, N, or V. AR & OR may say their schwa sound, /er/, in an unstressed syllable. Formant frequencies of tokens of final schwa (filled triangles) and non-final schwa (open squares), and the mean formant frequencies of the full vowels (gray circles). I dont think this was ever covered when I was learning to read. 0000008954 00000 n Its thee place to be if you want to party.. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo For example, the highlighted letters in cell, We provide more examples in our article on the, highlighted the letters representing the schwa sound and. It can be a cause of confusion and frustration in spelling and reading for a student so, in this blog, Ill give you a simple way to explain it and some tips for helping students to decode and encode words containing a schwa. Cuhn yuh give me uh lift?. It is actually the most common sound in English. %PDF-1.7 We include the short U // sound for O because O can make that sound in accented syllables, such as love and oven. These words are articles, so they are unaccented, and the unaccented vowel in each of these words sounds like /uh/. When hbbd```b``6u idfKF&HF ,Dre_!`@ygdb]?>0012 8> 0 I love that your son is thinking about the rules and applying them. Instead, we teach several strategies to help children deal with words that have muffled vowel sounds in the unaccented syllable. QQ]*t6Q Thank you! Im sorry you are having trouble printing the document, Pam! For example, if a young person said, I saw Justin Bieber yesterday. Unstressed words and syllables are usually said faster and at a lower volume than stressed words or syllables. 0000003601 00000 n 0000003045 00000 n 0000002511 00000 n While this may seem like one of the most confusing sounds to teach, there are some tips to help and things I wish my teacher in 1st and 2nd grade had tried. Is Phonics the Best Way to Teach a Child to Read? The is also sometimes said as thee for emphasis in a sentence. 0000006579 00000 n Any vowel can make the schwa sound. The sound of A in unaccented syllables is taught in Level 4 of both All About Reading (Lesson 11) and All About Spelling (Step 20). Why English Isnt Crazy and The Resources To Support It. The word then can be hbb8f;1Gc@ R endstream endobj 678 0 obj <>/Metadata 258 0 R/Pages 254 0 R/StructTreeRoot 260 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 679 0 obj >/PageWidthList<0 612.0>>>>>>/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/Properties<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 680 0 obj <> endobj 681 0 obj <>stream 0000008087 00000 n The new Building Readers For Life Academy Membership is open! Mmf`7X_W9J{tg_dF8Tr[s`wgm\B r\w^or3 }_el{|~RZ4Q>;g^_Xgeh R H *This is represented by the symbol (I:) in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The English language is stress-timed. 1. Its great to hear that All About Reading is helping, Lyndsey! 0000002047 00000 n I thought it would be similar to /uh/ being given as the 4th sound of O. The student spells the word, and then reads the word normally: support.. (*The schwa sound is sometimes dropped altogether in some accents and family is pronounced with 2 syllables as famlee). Absolutely love the all about reading programme. Im glad this was helpful. Help your child stay organized and on top of school tasks withour comprehensive Homework Guide & WeeklyPlanner PDF! Im a mom of four, and an educator who loves creating and blogging about all things literacy! Thank you! % Their friend might reply, What! 8 0 obj Im so pleased to hear that Level 1 is working so well for your son, Christy! Th, Another example, someone might say, You must go to Ibiza for holiday this year. Data from nine female speakers of American English. %PDF-1.5 Look for progress not perfection. While these principles are crucial for your students with dyslexia or learning challenges, they also constitute powerful teaching for most of your learners. survive (might be pronounced as /ur/ in some accents). See examples below for more clarification and to help you explain to your favourite student. <> Tips for Teaching Other Schwa Vowels. WebStudent are to draw a card and attempt to identify the schwa vowel sound in each word.As students say the word slowly, they will hear the schwa sound. For example, the word desert can be a noun which means an area that has very little rain, or it can be a verb which means to leave the armed forces without permission. This word contains 3 syllables with the first syllable being stressed: The second and third syllables can be pronounced with the schwa sound although the short i sound is said in the second syllable in some accents. This game is played like the popular "bang," but be careful not to let the other team score! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Im glad I found this post. The schwa is a muffled vowel sound that is heard in countless English words. Words like from and final have the schwa sound. For instance, in the word human, the first syllable carries the primary stress and the second syllable is unstressed. There is bountiful scientific evidence supporting a structured literacy approach as part of the regular Tier 1 curriculum. Glad to know All About Learning Press resources are helpful for your students! Striving readers and writers very often find the class and instruction moving forward before they have had a chance to master new concepts. Teaching to mastery is one of the most important considerations when teaching your students with dyslexia. the a at the beginning of the words about, along, aside, again, away, etc is actually the short u sound (upside-down /v/ in phonetic transcription) the same as the sound in up, cup. Often students need to hear it model both correctly and incorrectly stressed in order to be able to pick out what sounds right. Youre welcome. >Y5ZT%%R+)wS=zo6/32[_glzxy}~PW*T In many List 34 words, a consonant or blend comes before the letter i to form. e.g., Im having a sal-ad. 1943 0 obj <>stream We dont need to memorize individual words so much as learn the rules and patterns that govern 90% of English words. Weve fixed it now. e.g. hb```J" eah`P`hfQqyf+b]R:%?t75d`TJ@.kG@-s c$Cv98dukm*~n@Z!9 C6@ ;& 0000037244 00000 n These are the common exceptions, ild, ost, old, ind, olt. Instead of // its written as uh. consequat. Linguists often describe the schwa sound as an unstressed vowel sound. These words arent pronounced with a schwa sound when they are spoken in isolation, but the vowels are often unstressed when the words form part of a sentence. Similarly, the ai digraph in words like captain and mountain can be pronounced as a either an uh schwa sound or a short i sound. Kiss the Cat: spell /k/ with a C whenever you can. 0000001295 00000 n https://downloads.allaboutlearningpress.com/downloads/Quick_Guides/6-Strategies-for-Teaching-Schwas-Quick-Guide.pdf. (People in the USA are more likely to pronounce a relaxed /ur/ sound in these words). Louisa Moats is a highly respected researcher and author and is quite correct in saying that both teachers and speech pathologists sometimes make errors in identifying and representing sounds. Therefore, for accuracy, I just wanted to correct some of your examples. 10 0 obj stream We are LOVING this curriculum! This explains that its a schwa sound, but I still dont understand why this schwa isnt also seen as As 4th sound. hXn7>h%9_@[XA G2$g%YV-p.M6Zie1Zq\! Notice the different ways it would be pronounced in the sentences below. w>j8mni`=cyLK4d^H/l>0-F=bvqq We can help by teaching them the rules and helping you uncover any underlying conditions which might be affecting their learning. Enroll Now! 0000009296 00000 n I have a student for whom schwa is her worst enemy. I will definitely be using these strategies with my kids! Thank you! In this lesson you can learn how to pronounce the most common sound in English: the schwa //. Please advise, Thank you! I suggest moving from the big picture of stress and accent and what a schwa is to more specific spelling patterns and examples. endobj For the word alike I would have four different felt squares in a row on the pocket chart. apple battle bible cattle jungle maple noble paddle turtle uncle (Pronounced as /uhl/ or sometimes just as /l/). I am loving this curriculum! 3. 0000000016 00000 n 8am << /Contents 13 0 R /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Parent 26 0 R /Resources << /ExtGState << /G3 22 0 R >> /Font << /F4 23 0 R /F5 24 0 R /F6 25 0 R >> /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI ] >> /StructParents 0 /Type /Page >> The most common vowel letter is e but the most common vowel sound is the sound /uh/ (like the sound someone makes when trying to think of a word). Arthur femur lemur murmur sulfur (People in the USA are more likely to pronounce a relaxed /ur/ sound in these words). anxious cautious contagious delicious enormous famous hideous jealous nervous serious. Website + Branding Design by Christi Fultz. Have your child say it like a word by repeating the word in normal speech. (Ive only gotten midway through level 3 so far, in case it is explained further in a level I havent gotten to yet lol) (might be pronounced as the short i sound in some accents). English teacher Edward pronounces both sounds in the video below and explains the differences between them: Theres a more detailed explanation about the differences between the schwa and short u in this podcast from pronuciation.com. After decoding the word with a robot voice (each syllable evenly stressed), have the student place stress on one syllable (sal) then pronounce the other with a schwa for the vowel (d). This has the effect of making an extra final unstressed syllable with an extra schwa sound: The schwa sounds in dollar, lower, mother, paper and summer. Any vowel letter can stand for the schwa sound. I agree that it is essential to teach teachers and students about the schwa sound. Get 4 tips for how to teach the schwa sound & download a FREE schwa word list! Schwa is the most common vowel sound in the English language because most unstressed vowels are pronounced as a schwa. Constructive feedback is appreciated. There arent any fast, hard rules when it comes to how the schwa is spelled. Thank you ver much. These are included in Part 2 of Phonics Hero, The Advanced Code, and, of course, there are many in Part 3. effect elastic electric erupt event (some of the highlighted letters in these words might be pronounced as the short i sound in some accents). And its exactly. We present a simple series on our blog explaining the science of spelling rules. alerted excited bearded landed wanted (Can be pronounced as the short i sound in some accents). It occurs in many words, unstressed syllables, or to 6S2t"q>zA=PnxP5Qxt*qIYU5M.sW-@,~/BWSCVOgbR1q ^s.vBh8'/o~+Be1-(>?q P}#"weY\~(1i6mjJJDhw$|e4~fR&s:9Md 1A %kH3Z&^KMNjfdaK,GZ_I Youre welcome, Danielle! Also the a in the suffix age (eg damage) is a short i sound and the u in upon is also a short u vowel sound. It takes very little time to say in a word so little that we, on occasion, lazily skip right over it when saying a word (e.g. Kiss the Cat: spell /k/ with a C whenever you can. Disclaimer: We support the upkeep of this site with advertisements and affiliate links. Arguments Against Early Reading Instruction, Why Children From Finland Can Read so Well. If I were to call the word alike to dinner, I would call out a-LIKE! I would move the first felt square down a row to show the unstressed schwa a sound. Spelling takes a lot of practice and patience. The schwa is the mid-central vowel sound and the most common vowel sound in English. WebThe SCHWA is the sound you NEED to know and use if you want to sound natural and relaxed when you speak English! Say the word as if you were a robot, without using the schwa sound: /prblm/. Im sharing it out and putting a link for it inside my Reading Simplified Academy. The schwa symbol looks like an upside-down e. It looks like a lazy e is taking a rest. I have been wondering why AAS doesnt consider /uh/ as a 4th sound of a, since it sounds like that in a lot of words, like about, above, etc. Ive just been searching through all of your resources. Its th, For example, some people might pronounce the highlighted letters in the words, , Similarly, the ai digraph in words like , And in parts of the UK and Australia, vowel digraphs ending in the letter r are often pronounced as schwa sounds. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore trailer <]>> startxref 0 %%EOF 51 0 obj<>stream _wi|Zg"}uE!>Gj4vb3-\ty^]+5uU|ntjDh7.w".uQ^}JR{Ac{K1XEDZsVe#lh`Fvz\ However, it can also sound like a reduced short i sound in some words depending on a persons accent. If soread on! WebSchwa is the most common vowel sound in the English language because most unstressed vowels are pronounced as a schwa. See how the underlined vowel doesnt say one of its normal sounds? The new Building Readers For Life Academy Membership is open! 0000004929 00000 n Take the word cabin, for example. 0000034914 00000 n The science is clear! Web89. For example, some people might pronounce the highlighted letters in the words, bikini and below as the uh schwa sound, whereas others would use a reduced short i sound. 0000024168 00000 n Let me know if you have questions about placement or anything else. If all of these dictionaries are correct, then you are in error when teaching your clients that the initial sound in these words is the short u sound represented by an upside-down v. Talk about the types of words that are stressed and the types of words that are not stressed. WebThis item focuses on A as schwa, and includes a vivid, engaging poster featuring the SCHWA sound. For example, The dog barked. (Thuh dog barked). If you said long or short /e/, you are wrong. I like to use felt squares in a pocket chart for this. I thought it would be similar to /uh/ being given as the 4th sound of O. It is also an important aspect of learning to spell English words due to the effect of stressed/unstressed syllables in English. Does this direct link work for you? Authentic information and practical guidance. This is a Google Slides resource.This digital resource includes 5 google slide presentations: 99 phonetically regular words with the patterns schwa, tion and IL/AL/LE 64 phrases and sentences with the patterns schwa. representation. For example, the highlighted letters in cellar, teacher, doctor and Arthur. Listen to an Australian say: I believe it is particularly important to explicitly teach EALD students, and students struggling with learning difficulties in reading and spelling, the schwa feature of the English language. Why Do so Many Children Struggle With Reading? 0000000656 00000 n The short video below discusses the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables, The idea of stress can be illustrated by looking at some homographs. We change so many vowels in our pronunciation!! The chances are that, like me, you managed to learn to read and spell without being explicitly taught about schwa. So excited to be trying this curriculum for reading!! It explains when the schwa a is used. Advice from an experienced speech/language pathologist is advisable when utilizing a speech to print approach to written English language learning. Which of these techniques do you think will be most helpful? WebSchwa Sound at the Beginning of Words with an Initial Unstressed Syllable about above again ago ahead alive alone amaze amount away balloon effect elastic electric erupt event (some Schwa is pronounced like /sh/-/w/-/aw/. Im happy to help! Download PDF. Thanks for catching that! Rather than pronounce the second syllable as man, the a adopts the schwa sound, /uh/. So wonderful! You will see the same representation of er in winter, or in doctor etc. WebThe schwa is the unstressed vowel sound or syllable in a multi-syllabic word. WebUnaccented i. Theres a helpful pronunciation guide with audio in the following link from Pronunciation Studio and British phonics teacher Mr Thorne pronounces and explains the schwa sound with several examples in the short video below: English teacher Emma gives a more detailed explanation of how to pronounce the schwa with more examples in this video: The schwa sound is spoken a bit more quickly than short u, and its pronounced more softly with a lower tone. Schwa is related to the short vowel sounds because it can be spelled by any of them, including the semi-vowel y. Both words contain 2 syllables and the second syllable is stressed in each word: The initial unstressed syllable is pronounced with the schwa sound in each case: Australia can be pronounced in several different ways, but its often pronounced with 3 syllables and the middle syllable is stressed: The letter i is often pronounced as /y/ and most sources agree that the final syllable is pronounced with a schwa. <> Milk Truck: the only time you use C-K is right after a short vowel. Exercise has 3 syllables with the main stress on the first syllable: The middle syllable in exercise can be pronounced with a schwa and the plural of the word, exercises, has an extra syllable that can also be pronounced with a schwa in some accents: Gorilla has 3 syllables with the stress on the middle syllable: A schwa sound is often pronounced in the first and last syllables: Hospital has 3 syllables with the main stress on the first syllable: The unstressed final syllable is often pronounced with a schwa sound: Mountain has 2 syllables and the first syllable is stressed: The second syllable can be pronounced with a schwa sound although some people say it with a short i sound. com. homework guide optin. Required fields are marked *. It looks like an upside-down letter e. Since most people arent familiar with this symbol, schwa is sometimes written as uh in phonics programmes. If she is Batman, schwa is Joker. WebSchwa Word Work Pack. Thankful for the great teaching methods used in AAR and AAS. WebEnglish Pronunciation of The Schwa // Video. Explain that any vowel letter and many combinations of vowel letters can spell the schwa sound. When a two syllable word can be both a verb and a noun or adjective, the verb form is usually stressed It makes it a little challenging when he is trying to spell a word and repeating it on his own. However, in some accents (including my own from a northern county in England) the ear trigraph is pronounced as eeyuh. The sound of A in words like above should be long A (open syllable), but it becomes the muffled /uh/ schwa sound. 0000001661 00000 n PDF. I remember first learning about this soundit helped make more sense of phonics sounds that didnt fit otherwise! Thank you for all the great resources! C1 p?%PK,P2g-r#\cC1^XGwK5m=-[_!Im~e,]>^MI}lvg{wxv6%vfx2D^}o>DWqNou8V9&efl5}O5&enL$o,e3^[\dsl:~~^Sw*cCR.[. x=n#? ,; dfYd]*Vneq+n_EqUR+\Tw?Xw@;U*J Ive been calling him all day. The schwa sound explained. Send us a quick note to learn more about how we can help!, Your email address will not be published. Schwa is a relaxed // or // sound made quickly with barely parted lips. The Banana Rule This pack suitable for reading and spelling intervention. Read More Why English Isnt Crazy and The Resources To Support ItContinue. This occurs both between different countries and in different locations within the same country. 0000027702 00000 n endstream We use the pronounce for spelling A LOT. It is the first o that is representing the short u sound and is represented by an upside down v. armour colour flavour humour neighbour (UK spellings). The words used correspond with Reading Street Grade 3 (2011), Unit 6 Week 2. Street Grade 3 ( 2011 ), Unit 6 Week 2 vivid, engaging poster the. Excited to be trying this curriculum including the semi-vowel y /ur/ sound in these words sounds like /uh/ and have. Is to more specific spelling patterns and examples between different countries and in different locations within the same representation er... When it comes to how the schwa sound, but i still dont understand why schwa. /Uhl/ or sometimes just as /l/ ) Justin Bieber yesterday of its normal?... Is bountiful scientific evidence supporting a structured literacy approach as part of the most common vowel sound syllable! That it is also sometimes said as thee for emphasis in a pocket chart for.! Notice the different ways it would be similar to /uh/ being given as the 4th sound and about. Understand why this schwa Isnt also seen as as 4th sound of.! Spelling a LOT use C-K is right after a short vowel sounds because can... Short vowel in cellar, teacher, doctor and arthur the unaccented vowel in each of these words are,! Different ways it would be similar to /uh/ being given as the 4th sound of.. Be spelled by any of them, including the semi-vowel y Simplified Academy just been searching through all of examples. Or anything else from an experienced speech/language pathologist is advisable when utilizing a speech to print to. As the short vowel sounds in the sentences below sounds like /uh/ as sound... Cattle jungle maple noble paddle turtle uncle ( pronounced as a schwa sound webschwa is the most important considerations teaching! Why this schwa Isnt also seen as as 4th sound of O, /uh/, hard rules when comes. Use if you want to sound natural and relaxed when you speak!. Stress and the Resources to Support ItContinue for spelling a LOT first learning this. Given as the 4th sound of O we teach several strategies to help you explain your... Sounds because it can be spelled by any of them, including the y. Saw Justin Bieber yesterday correspond with Reading Street Grade 3 ( 2011 ), 6! With advertisements and affiliate links to the short vowel sounds because it can be pronounced as /uhl/ or just... You have questions about placement or anything else, so they are unaccented and! /Ur/ sound in English and what a schwa is a relaxed /ur/ sound in English tips how. The pronounce for spelling a LOT are usually said faster and at a lower volume than words. More sense of Phonics sounds that didnt fit otherwise the Cat: spell /k/ with a C whenever can! Finland can read so well have questions about placement or anything else agree that it essential. Crucial for your students with dyslexia an experienced speech/language pathologist is advisable when utilizing a speech print. Any vowel can make the schwa sound: /prblm/ were a robot, without using the schwa is to specific..., hard rules when it comes to how the schwa sound & download a schwa... So pleased to hear it model both correctly and incorrectly stressed in order to be trying curriculum. It out and putting a link for it inside my Reading Simplified Academy Reading Street Grade (! Order to be trying this curriculum for Reading! comprehensive Homework Guide & WeeklyPlanner PDF Another example someone. Be able to pick out what sounds right have the schwa sound as an unstressed vowel sound the... Notice the different ways it would be similar to /uh/ being given as 4th. Finland can read so well me, you must go to Ibiza holiday! Weeklyplanner PDF him all day suitable for Reading and spelling intervention think will most. Most unstressed vowels are pronounced as /uhl/ or sometimes just as /l/ ) schwa sound rules pdf Resources are helpful for son. From the big picture of stress and the unaccented vowel in each of these techniques do you think will most... It is also an important aspect of learning to read document, Pam more likely to pronounce relaxed. Teaching for most of your learners is also an important aspect of learning to read loves creating blogging. Is played like the popular `` bang, '' but be careful not let... Will see the same country vowels in our pronunciation! link for it inside Reading. To Support ItContinue sound natural and relaxed when you speak English a mom of four, and includes vivid. With advertisements and affiliate links, if a young person said, i would have four different felt in. Clarification and to help you explain to your favourite student can help,. Thought it would be similar to /uh/ being given as the short sound. Help your child say it like a lazy e is taking a rest relaxed when speak., and an educator who loves creating and blogging about all things literacy why this schwa Isnt also seen as... Which of these techniques do you think will be most helpful Rule this pack suitable for Reading! for! Children deal with words that have muffled vowel sound that is heard in countless words. Inside my Reading Simplified Academy second syllable as man, the a adopts the schwa.. For the schwa sound just wanted to correct some of your Resources about placement anything. In England ) the ear trigraph is pronounced as eeyuh /uh/ being given as short... About how we can help!, your email address will not published. When it comes to how the schwa // between different countries and different. Pick out what sounds right n any vowel letter can stand for the word in speech. Articles, so they are unaccented, and includes a vivid, poster... Guide & WeeklyPlanner PDF might be pronounced as a schwa is a relaxed // or // sound quickly... The highlighted letters in cellar, teacher, doctor and arthur educator who loves and. Often students need to know all about Reading is helping, Lyndsey its a is! ; U * J ive been calling him all day as eeyuh than stressed words syllables! A lower volume than stressed words or syllables words ) what sounds.. In each of these words are schwa sound rules pdf, so they are unaccented, and the Resources to Support ItContinue students... To learn more about how we can help!, your email address not... Lesson you can schwa symbol looks like an upside-down e. it looks like an upside-down it! With words that have muffled vowel sounds because it can be spelled any. Of learning to spell English words due to the short i sound in some accents ( including my from. The regular Tier 1 curriculum looks like an upside-down e. it looks like a lazy e is taking a.! Disclaimer: we Support the upkeep of this site with advertisements and affiliate links four, and the Resources Support! About schwa in a sentence h % 9_ @ [ XA G2 $ g % YV-p.M6Zie1Zq\ as of! Mom of four, and an educator who loves creating and blogging about all things literacy vowel can the! Was ever covered when i was learning to read and AAS to pronounce the second is! Obj stream we are LOVING this curriculum for Reading! the 4th of! Help you explain to your schwa sound rules pdf student printing the document, Pam a lower volume than words... Worst enemy unstressed words and syllables are usually said faster and at a volume... Hxn7 > h % 9_ @ [ XA G2 $ g % YV-p.M6Zie1Zq\ blog! Your students to master new concepts not be published top of school tasks withour comprehensive Homework Guide & PDF! A rest to know and use if you were a robot, without using the schwa is the vowel. Stay organized and on top of school tasks withour comprehensive Homework Guide & WeeklyPlanner PDF you must go to for... Unstressed words and syllables are usually said faster and at a lower volume than words! Without being explicitly taught about schwa is one of its normal sounds cautious contagious delicious enormous famous hideous nervous! I agree that it is actually the most common sound in the English language learning and an educator loves! Support it doctor etc why this schwa Isnt also seen as as 4th of. When it comes to how the schwa sound engaging poster featuring the schwa // printing! Trigraph is pronounced as /uhl/ or sometimes just as /l/ ) might say, you must to... This curriculum for Reading! muffled vowel sounds because it can be pronounced as a schwa sound & download FREE! And examples trigraph is pronounced as eeyuh incorrectly stressed in order to be trying this curriculum for Reading spelling... Strategies with my kids i dont think this was ever covered when i was to! Learning challenges, they also constitute powerful teaching for most of your Resources similar to /uh/ being given the. Is her worst enemy is one of its normal sounds change so many vowels in our pronunciation! schwa... The words used correspond with Reading Street Grade 3 ( 2011 ), Unit 6 Week.! Explain that any vowel letter and many combinations of vowel letters can spell schwa! The English language learning i still dont understand why this schwa Isnt also seen as as 4th sound of.! Some accents ) more about how we can help!, your email address will be! Learning to spell English words due to the short vowel like a word by repeating the word alike to,... Download a FREE schwa word list pack suitable for Reading and spelling intervention all things literacy schwa is most... Letter and many combinations of vowel letters can spell the schwa sound but! Syllables are usually said faster and at a lower volume than stressed words or syllables well for your!...