Distribution of Schwa in English

In English the schwa only occurs in unstressed syllables. However, in such positions it is very common. The occurrence of the schwa in English is not predictable, but a few rules can be formulated.

The schwa often occurs immediately before a stressed syllable. This is the case with the words ago, eleven and position. It is also very common after a stressed syllable. Consider the words carrot, lettuce and sugar.

Many function words have weak forms which have a schwa. Examples include a, and and to. The pronoun you also has a weak form which is pronounced with a schwa.

The schwa does not occur immediately before a vowel. In the word radio, the second syllable is never reduced to a schwa because it precedes another vowel. The word the has a schwa in the house, but in the orange, the vowel of the is a high front vowel because the word orange begins with a vowel sound.

Many words can be pronounced with either a schwa or a high front unrounded lax vowel. However, speakers usually prefer one vowel over the other. Examples include before, delicious and reply. In Received Pronunciation, the unstressed syllable does not have a schwa but a high front unrounded lax vowel. The schwa is used less frequently in Received Pronunciation than in other varieties of English.

Unlike in other languages such as Albanian, Afrikaans and Slovenian, the English schwa only occurs in unstressed syllables. It is a very common vowel in English, but its distribution is not predictable. Nevertheless, the schwa does not occur in every unstressed position. In English words which consist of two adjacent vowels, neither vowel can be a schwa.