The Schwa

Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights

Why aren’t words always spelled as they are pronounced?

28%

28%

25%

10%

5%3%

FrenchLatinGermanicUnknown/OtherGreekFrom Proper Names

Origin of Words in the English Language

Before foreign words were borrowed…

Ða wæs on burgum Beowulf Scyldinga, leof leodcyning, longe þrage folcum gefræge (fæder ellor hwearf, aldor of earde), oþþæt him eft onwoc heah Healfdene; heold þenden lifde, gamol ond guðreouw, glæde Scyldingas.

Now Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings,leader beloved, and long he ruledin fame with all folk, since his father had goneaway from the world, till awoke an heir,haughty Healfdene, who held through life,sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.

Old English Translation

Excerpt taken from Beowulf, lines 53-58

/trænˈskrɪpʃən/

Where is the “schwa”?

What is the IPA?

• International Phonetic Alphabet• Spell words as pronounced• For every language … even English!

IPA - Consonants

• Most consonants stay the same.• Voiceless are paired with voiced• A few extra symbols are used.

Bilabial Labio-dental

Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar

Palatal Velar Labio-velar

Glottal

Nasal m n ŋ

Plosive p, b t, d k, g

Affr. tʃ, dʒ

Fric. f, v θ, ð s, z ʃ, ʒ h

Flap

Appr. ɹ j w

Lateral l

IPA - Vowels• Each vowel sound has its own symbol• Unrelated to English alphabet

i ɪ ue ə oɛ ɔæa

The schwa

əExamples:

• About• Supply• Under• Cover• Compatible

Examples taken from http://www.dictionary.com/

/əˈbaʊt//səˈplaɪ//ˈʌndər//ˈkʌvər//kəmˈpætəbəl/

Is the dictionary wrong?

The Spelling List.

1. Hos - pi - tal3. Ac - cep - ta - ble5. A - ban - don

Transcriptions taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com/

\ˈhäs-(ˌ)pi-təl\\ik-ˈsep-tə-bəl\\ə-ˈban-dən\

The Brothers Grimm

• Jacob (1785-1863)• Wilhelm (1786-1859)• Were German linguists• Collected fairytales• Invented the schwa

Famous Grimm Fairytales

• Rumpelstiltskin• Snow White• Hansel and Gretel• Rapunzel• Cinderella• The Frog Prince• Sleeping Beauty

Online Dictionaries

• Dictionary.com (IPA)• Merriam Webster Dictionary (IPA)• Oxford English Dictionary (not IPA, no audio)

InconsistenciesRectangle

• /ˈrɛkˌtæŋgəl/ Dictionary.com• /ˈrek-ˌtaŋ-gəl/ Merriam-Webster• /ˈrekˌtaNGgəl/ OED

InconsistenciesMetropolitan

• /ˌmɛtrəˈpɒlɪtn/ Dictionary.com• /ˌme-trə-ˈpä-lə-tən/ Merriam-Webster• /ˌmetrəˈpälitn/ OED

InconsistenciesSuburban

• /ɛnˈdɛvər/ Dictionary.com• /in-ˈde-vər/ Merriam-Webster• /enˈdevər/ OED

Why are the transcriptions different?