schwa


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schwa

 (shwä)
n.
1. A mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed syllables, as the final vowel of English sofa.
2. The symbol (ə) used to represent an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic transcription, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but.
[German, from Hebrew šəwā', probably from Syriac (nuqzē) šwayyā, even (points), pl. passive participle of šwā, to be even; see šwy in Semitic roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

schwa

(ʃwɑː) or

shwa

n
1. (Phonetics & Phonology) a central vowel represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by (ə). The sound occurs in unstressed syllables in English, as in around, mother, and sofa
2. (Phonetics & Phonology) the symbol (ə) used to represent this sound
[C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

schwa

or shwa

(ʃwɑ)

n., pl. schwas or shwas.
1. the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, as the sound of a in alone and sofa or u in circus.
2. the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.
[1890–95; < German < Hebrew shəwā name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.schwa - a neutral middle vowel; occurs in unstressed syllables
shwa
vowel, vowel sound - a speech sound made with the vocal tract open
murmur vowel, murmur - a schwa that is incidental to the pronunciation of a consonant
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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schwa

schwah [ʃwɑː] N → vocal f neutra
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

schwa

n (Phon) → Schwa nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
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References in periodicals archive ?
Such a radical method may be unrealistic with the elusive nature of the schwa.
This article will introduce schwa types, a categorization that typifies schwas according to their sounding (how they are carried out), regardless of their notation.
She sang feuillage, the only word whose schwa is notated with a tie, as a type 2 schwa.
Hahn notated the elongation of the penultimate syllable, instead of suggesting it in writing the schwa. An alternate notation that would suggest the same rhythmic declamation for those words is added beneath them in Example 17.
To be or not to be: notes on the muted E, Part 2
A schwa is "a diacritic marking silence instead of a vowel sound," according to Webster's, and the name is appropriate for Calvin Schwa, who is "functionally invisible"--nobody ever notices him, even when they're standing next to him.
There are lots of plotlines here, as the two pull pranks based on the Schwa's ability to be overlooked, and end up walking dogs for cranky Old Man Crawley and serving as escorts for his feisty blind granddaughter while becoming rivals for her affection; there are also subplots about Antsy's parents, Antsy's attempts to find out what happened to the Schwa's mother, attempts to destroy a crash test dummy, and more.
Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa was here

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