For what it's worth, one thing to note is that I'm pretty sure these two sounds are basically identical in most accents of American English. I'm an American who was trying to learn the difference between these two, and none of the pairs of words I found in examples online sounded any different for me (the "a" in "about" is the same as the "u" in "strut" for us). I'm glad I found this video, because I learned that there is a distinction between them in British English and can even reproduce it myself most of the time now. I'm leaving this comment for any other American speakers or people trying to learn American English so they don't have the same confusion I did.
English School Online Community: UA-cam recently changed the way they monetise my content. My channel now needs 1000 subscribers so it would be great if you could show your support by both watching my videos and subscribing to the channel if you haven’t already done so. Monetising my videos allows me to invest back into the channel by creating more frequent videos so a small gesture from you goes a huge way for me! Many thanks for your support.
Thank you so much our teacher Michael Roberts. What about /ə/ vs /e/ ? We really find difficulties to differnetiate between these two sounds. Thank you again you made me improving so well.
Thank you so much... I am an ESL teacher and I need to teach the difference of these sounds.This video is so helpful. The way you explained it is so easy to understand.
Hi Nica, Thanks for your comment. Great to get good feedback from a fellow teacher :) I'm glad it's helped. If you know anyone that could benefit from it then please do share it! Cheers, Michael
🎁🎂 THANK YOU for sharing this tutorial! 4,366 of you have shared this tutorial, or one of my others on social media and with your friends. It's REALLY helping me to grow the channel, and help more people like you to improve their career and confidence in English. Who are 3 people you know who could benefit from watching THIS tutorial? Thank you for sharing it with them! I appreciate every share, and look forward to talking to you in the comments!
When you or any of us pronounce schwa it’s the same as strut, in all native English accents (except the speakers that would say stroot). In your examples where you’re comparing the two: the accent only differentiates when you use the vowel on its own (separate to the word), however, I can’t hear the same vowel used for schwa when you voice the actual word. Schwa and dust for example. It’s exactly the same ‘uh’ sound at the end. Don’t you think? I think this is the same for all native speakers, except as mentioned the ones that evidently pronounce the two sounds totally differently. Eg The Scottish schwa and doost (dust).
That's good to know Ed, and hopefully useful for being able to pronounce the English schwa... it might just take a bit of practice to let it be unstressed! Have you seen the new video I've just posted today? I think you'll find it useful! Here's the link to check it out: ua-cam.com/video/kEznGvS6GKU/v-deo.html Thanks for your comment! Michael :)
great video! is the schwa sound produced in the back of the mouth in words like fun, cut, from, butter? it sounds a bit similar to the a in father..you mentioned the schwa is produced in the middle of the mouth. thanks
Hi Gar, You're welcome! I'm glad its helped you so much. I'm giving away a free 5 day pronunciation course at the moment... You might have seen a UA-cam Ad for it. Have you gained access to it? Cheers, Michael
Hi Egypt love, Thank you for your comments on the videos. Here are links to videos comparing the short vowel sounds i and I: ua-cam.com/video/0yLeiCOVvF8/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/Aqqo-II_0wQ/v-deo.html Hope these help :)
You are welcome Shreen! I've got a new video out today which I think you'll find useful. Check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/FdEooTRF05M/v-deo.html Cheers, Michael
Hi Michael! I've seen this video and others related to the schwa sound in your and other UA-cam channels and I see that there's something hidden that I still cannot get. I'm Spanish and for me this sound is kind of an unstressed "e" (what I consider the real sound of this vowel sound). However, I see that depending on where this sound is placed it sounds differently for me. Let me put you some examples: (when I refer "a" "e" "o" sounds I mean how these vowels are pronounced in Spanish, we only of one sound for each of them, much less complicated than English haha) In words ending with -er (better, butter, deeper ...) I hear the sound pronounced like an unstressed "a" sound (like the ^ sound). I think this is extremealy noticeable in British and Aussi acents since the final r sound is omitted. In words ending -al like chemical, principal the sound I hear is similar to an unstressed "o" There are more examples but I think you see my point. As I see it, depending on the vowel is being unstressed by replacing it with the schwa sound I find the pronunciación different. I would like know if this thing that I've mentioned is indeed real and if there is a reason behind. For me it makes no sense since the sound for the schwa must be unique. I am looking forward to hearing from you to gain insight into this topic. Thank you for your time reading me and your videos
Hi Ivan, It's a good question that you ask here. The simple answer is that it may be pronounced with a subtle difference in these words - but not one worth paying much attention to. There are no rules that explain this - and no one would notice anything unnatural if you pronounced a 'normal schwa' in any of the situations where the schwa appears. A key point with the schwa is that it's an unstressed sound. So in words like 'chemical' it's like the vowel isn't even there. My suggestion is to get comfortable pronouncing the schwa in all the situations that it appears, and to think of it as a single sound. The reason why it's only referred to as one sound in IPA is because any change in pronunciation is so minor, that it's not worth referring to it as another sound. Hope this helps. Michael
Hi Noor, Thank you so much 😀 Have you seen the new video I've just posted today? I think you'll find it useful! Here's the link to check it out: ua-cam.com/video/kEznGvS6GKU/v-deo.html Michael :)
Speaker of standard British English here: the first vowel in "demand" is not schwa. It's the KIT vowel. This is confirmed by the the OALD and the Cambridge equivalent. Your examples of how to say (e.g.) "doctor" are good, but in practice, you seem to my ears to pronounce that final syllable as /ʌ/! This is a valid, variant pronunciation, but this was not a good moment to bring it in, as it can only cause confusion and convince many non-native learners that there is no difference between the two sounds.
Thanks If! I'm pleased the video has helped you :) Did you see today's new video? Here's the link to check it out if you'd like: ua-cam.com/video/MRfFhC8t0Hk/v-deo.html Cheers, Michael
The explanation is really terrible. And not because he is not trying. He is, but both RP and GA moved their vowels a laaaaht (lot) since the democratization of speech (that is since the permissive mixing of the standard pronunciations (RP, GA) with the regional accents (pronunciations)). What you have now is many acceptable pronunciations of the same sound and speakers understanding each other mainly from context. That is the rule. And most probably you can't have a unified pronunciation standard when a language spreads over so large a territory as English has had. To expand a little, there are broadly speaking 6 sets of native speakers. 1. Dialectal/regional speakers of English 2. Mixers of their dialectal/regional idiom with a standard pronunciation 3. Those who try to have a mix from all the regions and a standard pronunciation. -(A tad too self-conscience these ones. But even here you have clear winners like Tucker Carlson who mixes an old standard GA with new inputs from everyday GAs in what is becoming a new standard GA) 4. Those who try to have a Transatlantic accent. - These are antiquity. Except for speakers of Canadian Standard English, some Brits living in USA and Americans living in UK.) 5. Those who try to follow their standard pronunciation variant. 6. And Second Language Learners of English (SLLE), their teachers included. Luckily, all these variants of English regard only the vowels. With the exception of letter T, the consonants are pronounced almost identical by all the native English speakers. To go back to the vowels which are not uttered the same. A few examples: the "a" in "exampl"e - is not "ae" as it used to be. Your students should now that. Nowadays it is basically the first "a" in the Italian "mafia" in RP and eə in GA. the "o" in "lot" - is "o" like in "Coco" Chanel in contemporary RP and "ah" like in "mafia" in GA . Of course there are many Americans and Brits who have a mix between "o" and "ah" and who would disagree. the ə (schwa) in" better" - is "ah" for many native speakers of English. the ʌ (wedge) in "buddy" - is ə in GA and "ah" in contemporary RP. Again, not always, but we have to keep it simple You should be frank and tell people that in RP "but" is "baht" and in GA is "bət". Yes, I know it is a bit more complicated, but essentially this is what it is. Basically, what your subscribers need is an explanation of the way letters and English IPA symbols are used in different English idioms and a simplified set of sounds to use in their international English settings What you need to do in order to help SL learners of English is 1. To explain how a sound is pronounced in the main English accents, so that they would understand what the native say and why they are pronounce a sound the way they do. 2. To give them a simplified and accepted set of sounds, as closer as possible to their language sounds. Where they don't have the sound the next best option is to come up with the best onomatopoeic examples, like the sound of throwing up in the case of schwa. That means that we have to dispense, in usage at least, with short i, short u and the wedge. And maybe other sounds as well. I suppose this text (from Wikipedia) on the evolution of the wedge will clarify why we should let go of the wedge: Wikipedia: Before World War II, the /ʌ/ of Received Pronunciation was phonetically close to a back vowel [ʌ], which has since shifted forward towards [ɐ] (a near-open central unrounded vowel). Daniel Jones reported his speech (southern British) as having an advanced back vowel [ʌ̟] between his central /ə/ and back /ɔ/; however, he also reported that other southern speakers had a lower and even more advanced vowel that approached cardinal [a].[30] In American English varieties, such as in the West, the Midwest, and the urban South, the typical phonetic realization of the phoneme /ʌ/ is an open-mid central [ɜ].[31][32] Truly backed variants of /ʌ/ that are phonetically [ʌ] can occur in Inland Northern American English, Newfoundland English, Philadelphia English, some of African-American English, and (old-fashioned) white Southern English in coastal plain and Piedmont areas.[33][34] However, the letter ⟨ʌ⟩ is still commonly used to indicate this phoneme, even in the more common varieties with central variants [ɐ] or [ɜ]. That may be because of both tradition and some other dialects retaining the older pronunciation.[35]
Just have to dislike the video. Whole video he explains about schwa sound and hardly tells anything on other sound. He even didn't think necessary to give single example
For what it's worth, one thing to note is that I'm pretty sure these two sounds are basically identical in most accents of American English. I'm an American who was trying to learn the difference between these two, and none of the pairs of words I found in examples online sounded any different for me (the "a" in "about" is the same as the "u" in "strut" for us).
I'm glad I found this video, because I learned that there is a distinction between them in British English and can even reproduce it myself most of the time now. I'm leaving this comment for any other American speakers or people trying to learn American English so they don't have the same confusion I did.
Ty bud, you helped a lot
I suggest you check out the you tube video by Geoff Lindsey.
Two years into the future and still useful.
English School Online Community: UA-cam recently changed the way they monetise my content. My channel now needs 1000 subscribers so it would be great if you could show your support by both watching my videos and subscribing to the channel if you haven’t already done so. Monetising my videos allows me to invest back into the channel by creating more frequent videos so a small gesture from you goes a huge way for me! Many thanks for your support.
Thank you so much our teacher Michael Roberts.
What about /ə/ vs /e/ ?
We really find difficulties to differnetiate between these two sounds.
Thank you again you made me improving so well.
Thank you so much... I am an ESL teacher and I need to teach the difference of these sounds.This video is so helpful. The way you explained it is so easy to understand.
Hi Nica, Thanks for your comment. Great to get good feedback from a fellow teacher :) I'm glad it's helped. If you know anyone that could benefit from it then please do share it!
Cheers,
Michael
🎁🎂 THANK YOU for sharing this tutorial!
4,366 of you have shared this tutorial, or one of my others on social media and with your friends.
It's REALLY helping me to grow the channel, and help more people like you to improve their career and confidence in English.
Who are 3 people you know who could benefit from watching THIS tutorial?
Thank you for sharing it with them!
I appreciate every share, and look forward to talking to you in the comments!
When you or any of us pronounce schwa it’s the same as strut, in all native English accents (except the speakers that would say stroot).
In your examples where you’re comparing the two: the accent only differentiates when you use the vowel on its own (separate to the word), however, I can’t hear the same vowel used for schwa when you voice the actual word. Schwa and dust for example. It’s exactly the same ‘uh’ sound at the end. Don’t you think?
I think this is the same for all native speakers, except as mentioned the ones that evidently pronounce the two sounds totally differently. Eg The Scottish schwa and doost (dust).
You're very good teacher
Liked and subscribed right away. Excelent way of teaching . I fully understood you. Thanks a lot.
You are a Great Teacher!!!!!!
Thank you! 😃
The stressed schwa sounds so much like the Spanish A. great video!
That's good to know Ed, and hopefully useful for being able to pronounce the English schwa... it might just take a bit of practice to let it be unstressed!
Have you seen the new video I've just posted today?
I think you'll find it useful! Here's the link to check it out: ua-cam.com/video/kEznGvS6GKU/v-deo.html
Thanks for your comment!
Michael :)
Thank you you great teacher for me to pronounce
Hi Kieng, Thank you for your great feedback. It's good to have you here as part of the channel! Keep the comments coming :)
Michael
great video! is the schwa sound produced in the back of the mouth in words like fun, cut, from, butter? it sounds a bit similar to the a in father..you mentioned the schwa is produced in the middle of the mouth. thanks
Perfect thanks from Syria
thank you sir! it is very usful for me.
Thank you Minh! Welcome to the channel. Do you have and requests for tutorials?
can you give a description of what the tongue does to produce the schwa? thanks
Thank you
Thank you so much for the class! That helped me a lot.
Hi Gar,
You're welcome! I'm glad its helped you so much.
I'm giving away a free 5 day pronunciation course at the moment... You might have seen a UA-cam Ad for it. Have you gained access to it?
Cheers,
Michael
Very nice explanation!! Thanks
Thanks a lot ❤❤❤❤
Now this guys is really brilliant.
Thank you!
Perfect! Thanks.
You're welcome!
1:02 "and what we're gonna focus on is... roooogghhh"
classic.
😂
Thank you, sir
Thanks for sharing this video with us
good lesson.
will you explain diphtongs and short vowels i and I
Hi Egypt love, Thank you for your comments on the videos. Here are links to videos comparing the short vowel sounds i and I:
ua-cam.com/video/0yLeiCOVvF8/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/Aqqo-II_0wQ/v-deo.html
Hope these help :)
Please please new video for all Double vowels sounds Diphthongs sound please ❤❤❤❤please ❤❤❤❤
Love it , thank you 🙏
Thank you very much
You are welcome Shreen!
I've got a new video out today which I think you'll find useful. Check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/FdEooTRF05M/v-deo.html
Cheers,
Michael
How many sounds are there for the letter A
Hi Michael! I've seen this video and others related to the schwa sound in your and other UA-cam channels and I see that there's something hidden that I still cannot get. I'm Spanish and for me this sound is kind of an unstressed "e" (what I consider the real sound of this vowel sound). However, I see that depending on where this sound is placed it sounds differently for me. Let me put you some examples: (when I refer "a" "e" "o" sounds I mean how these vowels are pronounced in Spanish, we only of one sound for each of them, much less complicated than English haha)
In words ending with -er (better, butter, deeper ...) I hear the sound pronounced like an unstressed "a" sound (like the ^ sound). I think this is extremealy noticeable in British and Aussi acents since the final r sound is omitted.
In words ending -al like chemical, principal the sound I hear is similar to an unstressed "o"
There are more examples but I think you see my point. As I see it, depending on the vowel is being unstressed by replacing it with the schwa sound I find the pronunciación different. I would like know if this thing that I've mentioned is indeed real and if there is a reason behind. For me it makes no sense since the sound for the schwa must be unique.
I am looking forward to hearing from you to gain insight into this topic.
Thank you for your time reading me and your videos
Hi Ivan,
It's a good question that you ask here.
The simple answer is that it may be pronounced with a subtle difference in these words - but not one worth paying much attention to.
There are no rules that explain this - and no one would notice anything unnatural if you pronounced a 'normal schwa' in any of the situations where the schwa appears.
A key point with the schwa is that it's an unstressed sound. So in words like 'chemical' it's like the vowel isn't even there.
My suggestion is to get comfortable pronouncing the schwa in all the situations that it appears, and to think of it as a single sound.
The reason why it's only referred to as one sound in IPA is because any change in pronunciation is so minor, that it's not worth referring to it as another sound.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hoh an amazing prononciation teacher!
Please please Need new Video All Diphthong sounds ❤❤❤❤
thanks
Now I know the difference between it. Thanks
مداد قلمي Your welcome
Between them 😊👍
I loved . I liked . I realy understand
Hi Noor,
Thank you so much 😀
Have you seen the new video I've just posted today?
I think you'll find it useful! Here's the link to check it out: ua-cam.com/video/kEznGvS6GKU/v-deo.html
Michael :)
Thank you, but how about the words "dull" "doll"?
Hi Teng, good question. Both these sounds come from the same place in the mouth, the only difference is that the lips are rounded for 'doll'.
great and useful. really appreciate
Hi Crystal, thank you for your comment. I'm glad you've found the video useful.
Welcome to the channel.
Michael
I have been you fan since I saw you video first time . I will be watching you videos and learning them seriously .Thank you !
man, thank you.
thanks a lot. now it is easy for me
You're welcome Honer, glad it's made it easy! Where abouts are you from?
Michael
English School Online, I'm from Kurdistan Region gov -Iraq.
Good luck
excellent
Thank you Kimykite! :)
Michael
❤❤❤❤❤
Love you bro
6:13
Speaker of standard British English here: the first vowel in "demand" is not schwa. It's the KIT vowel. This is confirmed by the the OALD and the Cambridge equivalent. Your examples of how to say (e.g.) "doctor" are good, but in practice, you seem to my ears to pronounce that final syllable as /ʌ/! This is a valid, variant pronunciation, but this was not a good moment to bring it in, as it can only cause confusion and convince many non-native learners that there is no difference between the two sounds.
I was looking that kind of video
Excelent!
Thanks Elías!
Elías Núñez
I think focusing on the mouth shape is distracting, I can do either sounds in either position with no trouble
It Is so useful for me this video. I am learning english
Thanks Melakhim, what sounds do you find most difficult?
@@britishaccentmethod everything hahaha. Well i can not put the tongue like you.
Haha there are lots of challenging sounds! If you’re having difficulty, the number 1 thing you can do is just to slow down when practicing
Practice getting you’re like in the right position on its own, and then build around it
Can i practice with you on facebook or WhatsApp???
You're amazing 🔥
❤️
😊
0:12
You're nice ✳️
Thanks If! I'm pleased the video has helped you :)
Did you see today's new video?
Here's the link to check it out if you'd like: ua-cam.com/video/MRfFhC8t0Hk/v-deo.html
Cheers,
Michael
@@britishaccentmethod sure 👍
I'm lost for words.
Where is the Arabic translation for use?
a-e-o-aeo
Simplifying, ə is a rounded e and the other one a rounded a.
Hello my name is uh-!
very important when you are going to buy socks or sucks
I find mother difficult to say
The explanation is really terrible. And not because he is not trying. He is, but both RP and GA moved their vowels a laaaaht (lot) since the democratization of speech (that is since the permissive mixing of the standard pronunciations (RP, GA) with the regional accents (pronunciations)). What you have now is many acceptable pronunciations of the same sound and speakers understanding each other mainly from context. That is the rule. And most probably you can't have a unified pronunciation standard when a language spreads over so large a territory as English has had.
To expand a little, there are broadly speaking 6 sets of native speakers.
1. Dialectal/regional speakers of English
2. Mixers of their dialectal/regional idiom with a standard pronunciation
3. Those who try to have a mix from all the regions and a standard pronunciation.
-(A tad too self-conscience these ones. But even here you have clear winners like Tucker Carlson who mixes an old standard GA with new inputs from
everyday GAs in what is becoming a new standard GA)
4. Those who try to have a Transatlantic accent.
- These are antiquity. Except for speakers of Canadian Standard English, some Brits living in USA and Americans living in UK.)
5. Those who try to follow their standard pronunciation variant.
6. And Second Language Learners of English (SLLE), their teachers included.
Luckily, all these variants of English regard only the vowels. With the exception of letter T, the consonants are pronounced almost identical by all the native English speakers.
To go back to the vowels which are not uttered the same. A few examples:
the "a" in "exampl"e - is not "ae" as it used to be. Your students should now that. Nowadays it is basically the first "a" in the Italian "mafia" in RP and eə in GA.
the "o" in "lot" - is "o" like in "Coco" Chanel in contemporary RP and "ah" like in "mafia" in GA . Of course there are many Americans and Brits who have a mix between "o" and "ah" and who would disagree.
the ə (schwa) in" better" - is "ah" for many native speakers of English.
the ʌ (wedge) in "buddy" - is ə in GA and "ah" in contemporary RP. Again, not always, but we have to keep it simple
You should be frank and tell people that in RP "but" is "baht" and in GA is "bət". Yes, I know it is a bit more complicated, but essentially this is what it is.
Basically, what your subscribers need is an explanation of the way letters and English IPA symbols are used in different English idioms and a simplified set of sounds to use in their international English settings
What you need to do in order to help SL learners of English is 1. To explain how a sound is pronounced in the main English accents, so that they would understand what the native say and why they are pronounce a sound the way they do. 2. To give them a simplified and accepted set of sounds, as closer as possible to their language sounds. Where they don't have the sound the next best option is to come up with the best onomatopoeic examples, like the sound of throwing up in the case of schwa.
That means that we have to dispense, in usage at least, with short i, short u and the wedge. And maybe other sounds as well.
I suppose this text (from Wikipedia) on the evolution of the wedge will clarify why we should let go of the wedge:
Wikipedia:
Before World War II, the /ʌ/ of Received Pronunciation was phonetically close to a back vowel [ʌ], which has since shifted forward towards [ɐ] (a near-open central unrounded vowel). Daniel Jones reported his speech (southern British) as having an advanced back vowel [ʌ̟] between his central /ə/ and back /ɔ/; however, he also reported that other southern speakers had a lower and even more advanced vowel that approached cardinal [a].[30] In American English varieties, such as in the West, the Midwest, and the urban South, the typical phonetic realization of the phoneme /ʌ/ is an open-mid central [ɜ].[31][32] Truly backed variants of /ʌ/ that are phonetically [ʌ] can occur in Inland Northern American English, Newfoundland English, Philadelphia English, some of African-American English, and (old-fashioned) white Southern English in coastal plain and Piedmont areas.[33][34] However, the letter ⟨ʌ⟩ is still commonly used to indicate this phoneme, even in the more common varieties with central variants [ɐ] or [ɜ]. That may be because of both tradition and some other dialects retaining the older pronunciation.[35]
Just have to dislike the video. Whole video he explains about schwa sound and hardly tells anything on other sound. He even didn't think necessary to give single example
Thanks a lot ❤❤❤❤
Thank you