Learn The Secret To Pronouncing English Vowels In Practice English Pronunciation
Today we are going to improve your English pronunciation with some listen and learn practice of English vowels. Want to talk more like a native speaker of English? This lesson is for you.
There is a single sound that a lot of English language learners just donât know about
. A sound that can quickly and easily help you improve your English vowel pronunciation.
Iâm going to explain what the sound is, why it works and how to use it to improve your English language pronunciation.
The only vowel I'm concerned with is 'I.'
â Enzo Amore, Musician
Which English vowel pronunciation do you need to work on? How about all of them? Just listen to this podcast. This podcast has lots of examples you can try for yourself. You will improve your English language skills in no time.
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Most Unusual Words:
Comfortable
Bizarrely
Occasion
Emphasis
Syllable
Emphasis
Most common 3 word phrases:
Phrase | Count |
---|---|
Native English Speakers | 3 |
Never Heard Of | 3 |
The Vowel Sounds | 3 |
Vowel Sounds In | 2 |
You Like To | 2 |
Of The Word | 2 |
Aside From The | 2 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
The mp3 audio and pdf transcript for this lesson is now part of the Adept English back catalogue . You can still download and listen to this lesson as part of one of our podcast bundles.Transcript: Quickly Mastering The PRONUNCIATION Of All English Vowels
Would you like to sound more like a native English speaker? Well, thereâs something that all native English speakers do that most of them are completely unaware of. But if you listen to this Adept English lesson on pronunciation, you will be aware of it - and this knowledge will improve your English pronunciation a lot and help you sound more like a native speaker. So in todayâs podcast, Iâm going to talk about âthe schwaâ.
Never heard of it? Well, even better, youâre about to learn something really useful.
Hello, Iâm Hilary, and youâre listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.
What is âthe schwaâ?
Now when it comes to pronunciation in English, vowel sounds are quite difficult. But today Iâve promised you a piece of knowledge, a short-cut if you like, to improve your English pronunciation and sound more like a native speaker across all the vowel sounds. And this involves understanding the idea of âthe schwaâ.
Now thatâs spelt SCHWA. And bizarrely, most native English speakers have never heard of âthe schwaâ, but they use it all the time. Until I came to study English pronunciation myself as a language teacher for Adept English, Iâd never heard of âthe schwaâ either! Yet I use it in almost every English sentence that I speak!
What is this thing? What is âthe schwaâ? Well, itâs something that happens with vowel sounds in English. If you think about it, itâs the vowel sounds in a language that give it the syllables. So if I say a word like âcomfortableâ, âcomfortableâ, COMFORTABLE - that word has four sounds, or four syllables - âcumâ-âfortâ-âabâ-âulâ.
Now, for many English language learners, the natural thing there is to say each of these sounds, each of these syllables, these parts of the word âcomfortableâ with an equal emphasis. COM-FORT-AB-LE, COM-FORT-AB-LE. But, if you listen to native English speakers, this isnât what they do at all. A native English speaker like me - well, weâd say âcom-frt-b-lâ, âcom-frt-b-lâ.
Changing the emphasis on words to sound more like a native English speaker
Look at whatâs happening there. The emphasis or the stress is not the same, itâs not equal on each sound, on each syllable of a multi-syllable word. In âcomfortableâ, Iâm very much emphasising the âcomâ, the COM bit of the word. And the rest of the syllables, well the vowels may as well not be there. So COM-FORT-AB-UL becomes âcom-frt-b-lâ, âcom-frt-b-lâ.
Do you want to try saying that? âIâm here sitting recording a podcast with a cup of coffee on the side and Iâm comfortableâ. In this word then, aside from the first syllable, the âcomâ, the vowel sounds have been replace by âthe schwaâ. âCom-frt-b-lâ, âCom-frt-b-lâ. Thatâs aside from the E on the end, which of course makes the BUL sound - thatâs the part thatâs spelt BLE. âCom-frt-b-lâ.
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A photograph woman in a comfortable swinging chair. This lesson will help you improve your English pronunciation and make you a better English speaker.
The âschwaâ is like a lazy âuhâ sound that replaces any vowel sound. Itâs as though weâre too busy or too lazy to pronounce all the syllables properly - instead we emphasise one or two of them, and then we âschwaâ the rest. The schwa happens then on many words in English that have more than one syllable. In fact, the more syllables in an English word, the more of them are likely to be âschwaâd outâ as I say - replaced with a schwa sound on the vowel.
Do you like chocolate?
Let me give you a couple more examples. Do you like chocolate? Well, I certainly do. Biscuits, cakes, pastries, sweets - if Iâm trying to cut down on my sugar intake, I can stop eating any of those things. But take away my chocolate and Iâm not very happy! But just take a moment to listen to that pronunciation there? âChocolateâ.
âChocolateâ is spelt CHOCOLATE. Now thereâs a letter E on the end, which isnât pronounced, of course - you may be familiar with the idea of Magic E? That final E is just there to make the ATE into an âayâ sound for the vowel. But what about that middle O? Well, itâs almost disappeared.
The most youâll hear is a sort of âuhâ sound - âchocolateâ. So the emphasis here again is on the first syllable âCHOCâ, the middle O has nearly disappeared and then weâre âschwa-ing outâ that final A into a âL-uh-Tâ sound. âChocolateâ.
Video
Do you like photography?
More examples? Well, how about I read you a short passage, a little story, (a really little story!) with some words in it that use the schwa. Not difficult to find words in English, which use the schwa but Iâve chosen words here, where itâs more noticeable.
Just a reminder before I do that - like many other aspects of English pronunciation, the schwa is best learned through English listening practice. So donât forget that there is plenty more English listening practice available on our website at adeptenglish.com in the form of our podcast bundles.
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There are hundreds of podcasts like this one that you can download, so youâve always got plenty of great English language learning material to listen to, wherever you go. Donât miss an opportunity to use your âdead timeâ and improve your pronunciation this way.
Can you spot the schwa sounds in this passage?
OK, back to the schwa. Listen to the following passage, and try to hear where Iâm using the schwa. Afterwards, Iâll pick out some of the words with a schwa, then you can practise saying them and hearing them. OK, here goes.
One of my favourite pastimes at the weekend is photography. Photography is great if you want something which is interesting and enjoyable to do, and which also gives you memorable images. You can use your artistic flair to edit on your computer afterwards.
On a sunny day, one of my great pleasures is to take my camera and go for a walk in the countryside and try to take some beautiful photographs. Or if Iâm at a celebration with my family - I can record the occasion.
Letâs talk about the schwa sounds in this passage
OK, so how many words with schwa sounds did you hear? Can you remember them?
Well, how about the word âfavouriteâ - thatâs FAVOURITE. So youâd expect three syllables, three sounds. Thatâs another Magic E on the end, so we donât count that one. But what you hear is âfav-ritâ or âfav-uhâritâ. The middle syllable is either not there at all, as in âfav-ritâ or youâll hear it replaced with a schwaâ- âfav-uh-ritâ.
And then âphotographyâ. So itâs not âphotographyâ with all equal syllables. Itâs more like âph-tog-r-phyâ. So that TOG syllable gets the emphasis and all the others are âschwaâd outâ.
The word âIn-ter-est-ingâ - itâs not âInt-er-est-ingâ. Like âchocolateâ one vowel sound has almost completely disappeared. We donât say âIn-ter-est-ingâ, we say âInt-rest-ingâ. And the main emphasis is on the INT in âinterestingâ - and the other syllables are more of a schwa.
What about âenjoyableâ? Thereâs more emphasis on the JOY, the âjoyâ part, the second syllable - and the schwa is there for the rest of them.
Or âmemorableâ? So here, the emphasis is more on the MEM, the first syllable. You can clearly hear the âehâ sound at the start of âmemorableâ, but the middle O sound has almost completely disappeared and the âableâ ending is schwaâd. Itâs more like âub-ulâ. So âmemorableâ.
And âcomputerâ? Well again COM, âcomâ is emphasised, you can hear a bit of the âooâ sound in the middle, but the ER ending, well youâve guessed it, itâs the schwa. Itâs more like an âuhâ sound. âComputerâ.
Another one? The word âcameraâ. That middle E is barely noticeable. You might hear a slight âuhâ sound of a schwa. âCameraâ.
And âbeautiful photographsâ? Well, in âbeautifulâ, the emphasis is mainly on the âbeauâ. And the âifulâ, âbeautifulâ - well thatâs schwaâd out. BEAUTiful.
And âphotographsâ? Well, you might expect the emphasis to be the same as in the word âphotographyâ. But itâs not. The middle O is now schwaâd and the emphasis is on the first syllable. PHOT-uh-graphs. What about the word âcelebrationâ? Well, you can hear, again first syllable is emphasised as is the third - CEL-uh-BRA-shun. And the second and fourth syllable are shwaâd. âCelebrationâ.
And the word âfamilyâ - what do you notice? Well, yes âFAM-uh-ly. So the emphasis again on the first syllable, the I in the middle is schwaâd and the âiâ sound at the end is pronounced, but not emphasised. You might also hear people say âFAM-lyâ. Thatâs quite common - so that middle syllable has disappeared altogether - itâs not even a schwa.
And the last two - ârecordâ. So here, as is common with many English verbs, the first syllable is a schwa and the emphasis is on the second syllable âRecORDâ. If this same spelling was being used for the noun âRECordâ - notice the emphasis changes. The ârecâ bit is emphasised and the second syllable is now a schwa sound. This is quite a common way of distinguishing a verb and a noun which have the same spelling in English.
And finally âoccasionâ. So here - youâve got it - the emphasis is on the middle syllable the âayâ sound of âoccasionâ, while the O at the start and the âshunâ at the end are both schwa sounds.
Listen again, now youâve heard the schwa sounds
So the schwa is one of the reasons that English listening practice is so important. And you canât pick this up through reading, of course. You have to hear the words being said to notice this at all.
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Even if youâre noticing it automatically, without realising youâre noticing it and you reproduce it, which is what happens if you do a lot of listening. But itâs good to pay attention to which syllables in a word have the emphasis, and which syllables are schwaâd, when youâre learning to pronounce.
Your English will sound much more natural, much more like a native English speaker. Just before we finish, Iâll read that short passage out again to you - so that you can all those words one more time, in context. Here goes.
One of my favourite pastimes at the weekend is photography. Photography is great if you want something which is interesting and enjoyable to do, and which also gives you memorable images. You can use your artistic flair to edit on your computer afterwards.
On a sunny day, one of my great pleasures is to take my camera out for a walk in the countryside and try to take some beautiful photographs. Or if Iâm at a celebration with your family - I can record the occasion.
Practise with that one. Notice the schwa. See if you can do the schwa.
Goodbye
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com