What is the "schwa" sound?

[Dana in OR]

I am just not understanding this. It seems to be more than one sound depending on the word.

[Mrs Mungo]

http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000383.htm

[Tarheel Heather]

Sorry couldn't resist. When I tryed to ask my mil (who was a teacher) she didn't know what I was talking about!

[Alana in Canada]

That's all it is? A barely pronounced vowel in a syllable?

All my life I have wondered what that upside down "e" meant. (I didn't even know what it was called!)

And that's IT?

Too funny.

[cin]

I learned that the schwa was pronounced uh, as in.....duh sort of like a short u.

[Annie G]

A good number of families in our support group have kids who compete in the Scripps spelling bee program. The schwa sound is what usually ends our kids' spelling seasons. Although my own kids are no longer competing, they both have friends who still do and the kids are most worried about unfamiliar words with schwa sounds.
Schwa is not a happy word.g

[Lolly]

A schwa is a vowel that is being lazy. It sounds like someone who has been hit in the stomach "uh"; of course, that is why the "e" rolled over for the symbol! Yep, just a vowel that is being lazy in an unaccented syllable. You can usually pronounce the vowel more formally with it's short sound if you really try. Schwa didn't used to exist you know...

[Alana in Canada]

Lolly--great definition! My nickname as a kid used to be Lolly.

[Dana in OR]

It really is the same sound, just can be made by different vowels depending on the word (sort of). Now I need to search for a list of words with the schwa so I can get a little more familiar with it. At least I will be able to say it correctly if I see the upside down e in a phonetic word. I can see how it could get *very* confusing if you were drilling for a spelling bee.

Thanks for the info, everyone!

[susie in tx]

I have a friend who always reminds me about the schwa sound when I lament teaching my 6 yo to read. She tells me that I'm raising Texans and they speak Texan. Texans love the schwa and the long i. Of course, she pronounces the i with the schwa sound. LOL

[angela in ohio]

Yes, the schwa has ended my 11 yo dd's spelling bee hopes the last two years. She has a serious problem figuring out the vowels, increased by odd speech patterns she picked up from me. Now, my second dd can always figure out schwa's letter.