The most frequent phoneme in spoken English.
The only short vowel which does occur word-finally, in my opinion/
version of RP.
Occurs only in unstressed syllables, except in the increasingly frequent pronunciation of because as /bɪˈkəz/.
Rare before /ŋ/ - see section 3.8.2.
N.B. Where the schwa vowel is part of a diphthong it is dealt with elsewhere – see /eə, ɪə, ʊə, əʊ/, sections 5.6.3-5, 5.7.4. For the so-called
‘triphthongs’ /aɪə/ (which I analyse as a two-syllable sequence consisting of a diphthong plus schwa) and /aʊwə, ɔɪjə/ (which I analyse as two-syllable sequences consisting of a diphthong plus automatic intervening /w/- or /j/-glide plus schwa), see sections 5.7.3, 5.6.2 and 5.6.1 respectively. For
this treatment of triphthongs, see also Cruttenden (2014: 153).
For all categories see also Notes, and for further guidance sections 6.7-9.
THE MAIN SYSTEM
Basic grapheme <a> 35% e.g. about. Regular in initial and medial positions. Especially prevalent in initial position, where the only exceptions appear to be words formed from the Latin prefix ob- and its derivatives, e.g. obscure, obtuse, occur, offend,but medial position is much more variable Other frequent
graphemes
<o> 19% e.g. Burton, obscure
<er> 15% e.g. alter. Regular in word-final position and in the prefixes hyper-, inter-, per-, super- when not stressed on <er>. All these prefixes permit /r/-linking (see section 3.6) before stems beginning with a vowel phoneme, e.g. hyper-active, interactive, peroxide, supererogatory
<e> 13% e.g. artery Rare 2-phoneme
grapheme
/əl/
spelt
<-le>
6% only word-final and only in this reversed spelling, e.g. able, possible. Though not very frequent as a correspondence for /ə/ this counts as part of the main system because of its higher frequency as a correspondence for /l/ - see section 3.6.5
THE REST
Oddities 12% in total. Of all those listed, only <ar, or, ur>
occur in both medial and final positions. None occur in initial position (see above under Basic grapheme, and Notes)
- in medial position
<ai> only in certain, chieftain, coxswain, curtain, mainsail (second syllable), topsail, villain
<anc> only in blancmange /bləˈmɒnʤ/
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 2: Vowels 155
<ar> regular in the suffixes /wəd(z)/ spelt
<-ward(s)>, e.g. afterwards, backward(s), downward(s), forward(s), froward, inward, leeward, onward, outward, windward, and predominant in the ending /əd/ more generally – see Notes. Otherwise in an unpredictable
ragbag of words, e.g. anarchy, awkward, bastard, billiards, blackguard pronounced /ˈblægəd/ (also pronounced /ˈblægɑːd/), bombardier, bulwark, coward, custard, dotard, gabardine, halyard, innards, lanyard, monarch, mustard, niggardly, orchard, scabbard, stalwart, steward, vineyard, wizard
<eau> only in bureaucrat(ic)
<ei> only in foreign
<eo> only in bludgeon, curmudgeon, dudgeon, dungeon, gudgeon, luncheon, puncheon, (e)scutcheon, smidgeon, sturgeon, surgeon, truncheon, widgeon. See Notes
<eu> only in pasteurise pronounced /ˈpaːsʧəraɪz/
<i> in a large number of adjectives ending in /əbəl/ spelt <-ible> where the stem without the /əbəl/ mostly does not sound like a real word, e.g. possible. See Basic grapheme <a>
above, Notes and section 6.7. Also in a few adverbs ending <-arily> when not stressed on the <a>, which becomes elided (see section 6.10), so that the <i> in <-ily> spells /ə/, e.g.
necessarily, voluntarily pronounced /ˈnesəsrəliː, ˈvɒləntrəliː/ (see also under /e/. section 5.4.2)
<ia> only in fuchsia, miniature, parliament. In words like crucial, initial and in Christian I count the
<i> as part of a digraph with the preceding consonant letter – see /∫, t∫/, sections 3.8.3, 3.7.2
<io> only in cushion, fashion, marchioness,
stanchion. In words like question, nation, lesion, vision, lotion, fusion I count the <i> as part of a digraph with the preceding consonant letter – see /t∫, ∫, ʒ/, sections 3.7.2, 3.8.3-4
<oar> only in cupboard, larboard, starboard
<oi> only in connoisseur, porpoise, tortoise
<or> 2% regular medially in prefix /fə/ spelt <for->, e.g. forbid, forget, forgive, forsake (but this is a very small set); otherwise rare medially, but cf.
Deptford (and many other placenames with this element), Holborn, scissors, stubborn
<ou> regular in adjectives ending in /əs/ spelt
<-ous>, e.g. anxious, famous. Otherwise only in camouflage, doubloon, limousine, moustache, tambourine, vermouth pronounced /ˈvɜːməθ/
(also pronounced /vəˈmuːθ/)
<ow> only in Meadowhall (locally, in Sheffield), sorrowful
<u> regular in unstressed prefix /səb/ spelt
<sub->, e.g. subdue, subject (verb, pronounced /səbˈʤekt/), sublime, submerge, submit, subside, subsist, substantial; also in nouns ending in unstressed /əs/ spelt <-us>.
Otherwise in, e.g., bogus, capitulate, cherub, commensurate, congratulate, conjugate, glandular, modular, naturist, petulan-t/ce, postulant, spatula
<ua> in nouns, only in actuary, estuary, mortuary, obituary, sanctuary, statuary, voluptuary, when pronounced with /ʧəriː/ rather than /ʧʊəriː/
(see also under /ʧ/, section 3.6.2), plus casualty, February, victuals /ˈkæʒəltiː, ˈfebrəriː, ˈvɪtəlz/; also often in rapid pronunciation of
adjectives like actual (see again /ʧ/, section 3.6.2), sexual and especially adverbs derived from them (see also section 6.10 on elided vowels)
<ur> perhaps usual only in Saturday, surprise,but there are several words which may have either /ɜː/ (see section 5.5.3) or /ə/, e.g. liturgy, metallurgy, saturnine, surmise, surmount, surpass, survey (verb), survive
<y> only in pyjama(s)
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 2: Vowels 157
- in final position
<ah> only in ayah, cheetah, fellah, haggadah, hallelujah, Hannah, loofah, messiah, moolah, mullah, mynah, pariah, purdah,(maha)rajah, Sarah, savannah, verandah, wallah and some other very rare words
<ar> only in an unpredictable ragbag of words, e.g.
altar, beggar, briar, burglar, cedar, cellar, cochlear, collar, columnar, curricular, familiar, friar, fulmar, globular, jugular, liar, linear, lumbar, lunar, molar, nuclear, particular, peculiar, pedlar, peninsular, planar, polar, popular, regular, scalar, scapular, scholar, sugar, titular, vicar, vulgar. Many such words permit /r/-linking, e.g. polarise, polarity – see section 3.6
<ere> only in were when unstressed
<eur> only in amateur, chauffeur (if stressed on first syllable and pronounced /ˈʃəʊfə/), grandeur. /r/-linking occurs in amateurish – see section 3.6
<or> regular in nouns formed from verbs in <-ate>, e.g. administrator, agitator, alternator, commentator, creator, curator, dictator, elevator, incinerator, insulator, orator, spectator, including cases where the verb is rare, e.g. aviator, plus groups ending in /ktə, esə, ɪtə/ spelt <-ctor, -essor, -itor>, e.g.
actor, conductor, constrictor, detector, reactor; aggressor, assessor, compressor, confessor, depressor, predecessor, possessor, professor, successor; capacitor, depositor, editor, inhibitor. Otherwise only in an unpredictable ragbag of nouns, e.g. advisor (also spelt adviser), camphor, conspirator, conqueror, contributor, conveyor, councillor, counsellor, distributor, donor, emperor, error, horror, incisor, inventor, languor, liquor, metaphor, pallor, pastor, phosphor, rotor, sailor, sponsor, squalor, stupor, suitor, survivor, terror, tormentor, torpor, traitor, tutor, plus <or> in rigor only in the Latin phrase rigor mortis
<ough> only in borough, thorough
<our> only in an unpredictable ragbag of words, e.g.
arbour, ardour, armour, behaviour, candour, clamour, clangour, colour, endeavour, favour, fervour, flavour, glamour, harbour, honour, humour, labour, neighbour, odour, parlour, rancour, rigour (but <or> in the Latin phrase rigor mortis), rumour, saviour, splendour, succour, tumour, valour, vapour, vigour. In many of these words US spelling has <or>
<re> only in an unpredictable ragbag of words, e.g.
accoutre, acre, calibre, centre, chancre, fibre, goitre, litre, louvre, lucre, lustre, manoeuvre, massacre, meagre (contrast eager), mediocre, metre and its compounds, e.g. kilometre (contrast meter and its compounds, e.g.
barometer), mitre, ochre, ogre, reconnoitre, sabre, saltpetre, sceptre, sepulchre, sombre, spectre, theatre, timbre. In many of these words
US spelling has <er>. None of these words has a /r/ phoneme in the final syllable (in RP), but when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added, some lose /ə/ and have /r/-linking instead;
e.g. centre /ˈsentə/ plus /əl/ becomes /ˈsentrəl/
(central) - see section 3.6. In accoutrement the schwa disappears and two phonemes surface:
/r/ spelt <r> and /ɪ/ represented by the first
<e> - see section 7.2. In acreage, massacreing, ochreous, ogreish /ˈeɪkərɪʤ, ˈmæsəkərɪŋ, ˈəʊkərəs, ˈəʊgərɪʃ/ /r/ also surfaces, but the
schwa and /r/ seem to be represented by
<e, r> in reverse order - see again section 7.2.
Even more difficult to analyse is manoeuvrer if pronounced /məˈnuːvərə/, where no letter seems to spell the first schwa – but, as Gödel proved, no formal system can be both complete and consistent
<ur> only in augur, femur, langur, lemur, murmur (second syllable), sulphur
<ure> almost all examples of word-final /ʧə/ are spelt
<-ture>, e.g. architecture, capture, caricature, conjecture, creature (contrast preacher, teacher), culture, curvature, departure (contrast archer, marcher), expenditure, feature (again
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 2: Vowels 159
contrast preacher, teacher), fixture, fracture, furniture, future, gesture, juncture, lecture, legislature, literature, manufacture, miniature, mixture, moisture, nature, nurture (contrast lurcher, (re)searcher), pasture, picture (contrast pitcher), posture, puncture, rapture, rupture, scripture, sculpture, signature, stature, stricture, structure, temperature, texture, tincture, torture, (ad)venture, vulture. Other examples of final /ə/ spelt <-ure> include censure, conjure (‘do magic tricks’) pronounced /ˈkʌnʤə/, figure, injure, leisure, measure, perjure, pleasure, pressure, procedure, seizure, tonsure, treasure, verdure (cf. verger); also in azure pronounced /ˈæʒə, ˈeɪʒə/ (also pronounced /ˈæzjə, ˈeɪzjə, ˈæzjʊə, ˈeɪzjʊə/). See Notes
<yr> only in martyr, satyr, zephyr
/əm/ spelt <m> see /m/, section 3.4.4 /ən/ spelt <n> see /n/, section 3.4.5 /jə/
(1) spelt <eu> only in aneurism/aneurysm, pasteurise pronounced /ˈpaːstjəraɪz/ (also pronounced /ˈpaːsʧəraɪz/)
(2) spelt <u> frequent in unstressed penultimate syllables of words of three or more syllables stressed on the antepenultimate syllable, e.g. amulet, angular, argument, calculate, chasuble, coagulate, contributor, corpuscular, distributor, emulate, fabulous, garrulous, immunise, inaugural, incubus, insula-r/te, jugular, manipulate, muscular, nebulous, particular,
penury, popul(o)us, querulous, regula-r/te, scapula(r), scroful-a/ous, scrupulous, stimul-ant/ate/us, succubus, succulent, tremulous, truculent, vernacular; also in antepenultimate syllable of copulation, population with stress on following syllable. Where the preceding consonant is /d, t/ the sequences /dj, tj/
affricate to /ʤ, ʧ/ (see sections 3.7.4, 3.7.2 and cf. pasteurise above), e.g. in(in)credulous, fraudulen-ce/t, glandular, modul-e/ar, nodul-e/
ar, pendulum, sedulous; century, congratulate, fistula, flatulen-ce/t, fortunate, petulan-t/ce, postulant, postulate, saturate, spatula, titular (3) spelt <ua> in my analysis, only in January, valuable – but
see the discussion of words with <u, a> under
<u>, section 10.36
(4) spelt <ure> only in failure, tenure and azure pronounced /ˈæzjə, ˈeɪzjə/ (also pronounced /ˈæzjʊə, ˈeɪzjʊə, ˈæʒə, ˈeɪʒə/)
3-phoneme grapheme
/waɪə/
spelt with a single grapheme <oir>
only in choir – one of only two 3-phoneme graphemes in the entire language
NOTES
Under /ɪə/ in section 5.6.4 you will see that I disagree with Carney’s analysis of that phoneme and have therefore re-allocated a large number of words to /iː/ plus /j/-glide plus /ə/. However, this has not added any graphemes to the correspondences for /ə/. I have left Carney’s percentages for /ə/
unchanged on the assumption that the distribution of its correspondences within his analysis of /ɪə/ is broadly similar to that within his analysis of /ə/.
The articles a, the are pronounced /ə, ðə/ before consonant phonemes in running speech, and sometimes also when pronounced as citation forms – and therefore stressed, thus also counting as partial exceptions to the rule that /ə/ occurs only in unstressed syllables. But they also have the alternative citation forms /eɪ, ðiː/, which are not exceptions. Other function words which have /ə/ in running speech, e.g. to, was, were pronounced /tə, wəz, wə/, are never so pronounced as citation forms, which are instead /tuː, wɒz, wɜː/.
The reason for the wide range of spellings for /ə/ is that any vowel, however spelt for its full pronunciation, can be reduced to the non-distinctive
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 2: Vowels 161 schwa in an unstressed syllable. The default spellings are <a> in initial and medial positions and <er> in final position, and some guidance can be given for a few major categories, but there are very many words that just have to be learnt – see the Oddities above and the various ragbag lists there and in these Notes.
1. Initial position
Here the hugely predominant spelling is <a>, and this applies both to the native English prefix a- (historically derived from on), e.g. in abide, aboard, about, ahead, alight, aside, athwart, away, and to derivatives of the Latin prefixes ab-, ad-, e.g. in abrupt, abhor, abound, acclaim, accost, accuse, acquire, address, adhere, adopt, affirm, aggressive, allure, annul, appear, assure, attend, aver; also in some words of other origins, e.g. (Greek) anaemia, anathema, aroma.
The only set of exceptions appears to be words with /ə/ spelt <o> in the Latin prefix ob- and its derivatives, e.g. oblige, obscene, obscure, observe, obsess, obtain, occasion, occur, offend, official.
2. Medial position
Again the default spelling is <a>, though less strongly than in initial position. Some patterning can be seen in initial and final word elements, but very little otherwise in medial position.
2.1 Medial position in prefixes/initial elements
A few guidelines can be given for when a schwa here is not spelt <a>:
• the prefixes /ˈhaɪpə, ˈɪntə, ˈsuːpə/ are almost always spelt <hyper-, inter-, super->
• the unstressed prefixes /kən (and related forms), prə, tə/ are spelt with <o>, e.g. collect, collide, command, commit(tee), confess, connect, connive, connubial, contrast (verb, pronounced /kənˈtrɑːst/), corrode, corrupt; procure, produce, profane, profess(or), prolong; today, together, tomorrow
• there are several words beginning <chloro-, micro-, mono-, phono-, photo-, saxo-> where the stress is on the first syllable and the schwa in the second syllable is spelt <o>.
2.2 Medial position in suffixes/endings/final syllables
The ending /ət/ in many nouns and adjectives is almost always spelt
<-ate> - see the list of about 90 words under /t/ spelt <te>, section 3.5.7 (exceptions: chariot, idiot, patriot).
For those who say /ɪtɪv/ for words ending <-itive> the ending /ətɪv/ is always spelt <-ative>.
The adjectival ending /əbəl/ is mainly spelt <-able> in words where the unsuffixed form sounds like a real word, and mainly <-ible> where it doesn’t, but there are numerous exceptions (see section 6.7).
The adjective-forming suffix /əl/ is usually spelt <-al>, e.g. central, liberal, loyal, royal; (ar)boreal, cereal, corporeal, ethereal, funereal, marmoreal, sidereal, venereal; congenial, editorial, industrial, jovial, managerial, material, memorial, radial, remedial, serial and about 450 others ending in <-ial>. For the various spellings of final /əl/ see also sections 4.4.3 and 4.4.2-3.
There are fairly clear rules for word-final /əm/:
• if preceded by /d/ the ending is usually the noun-forming suffix /dəm/ spelt <-dom>, e.g. kingdom, thral(l)dom, wisdom (exceptions:
agendum, carborundum, macadam, madam, referendum, sedum, tandem)
• if preceded by /z/ the spelling is almost always <sm> (only exception:
bosom). See under /m/, section 3.4.4
• if preceded by /s/ the ending is usually adjectival /səm/ spelt <-some>, e.g. handsome (exceptions: balsam, flotsam, jetsam; besom, blossom, buxom, hansom, lissom, ransom, transom)
• otherwise word-final /əm/ is usually spelt <-um>, e.g. atrium, bacterium, compendium, delirium, gymnasium, medium, opium, potassium, radium, stadium, tedium and about 200 others ending in <-ium>, plus album, colosseum, linoleum, lyceum, mausoleum, maximum, museum, petroleum, rectum (exceptions: algorithm, rhythm; amalgam, bantam, bedlam, buckram, gingham, marjoram; anthem, emblem, item, problem, stratagem, system, theorem, totem; atom, axiom, bottom, custom, fathom, idiom, maelstrom, phantom, pogrom, symptom, venom).
There are fairly clear rules for word-final /əs/:
• in adjectives the spelling is almost always <-ous>, e.g. famous and at least 2000 others (only exceptions: bogus, emeritus)
• in nouns the spelling is almost always <-us>, e.g. abacus, anus, bonus, cactus, campus, caucus, census, chorus, circus, citrus, corpus, crocus, discus, exodus, focus, fungus, genius, genus, hiatus, hippopotamus, isthmus, litmus, lotus, octopus, onus, nucleus, radius, rhombus, stimulus, surplus, syllabus, Taurus, terminus, tinnitus, virus and
The phoneme-grapheme correspondences, 2: Vowels 163 hundreds more (exceptions: (some of which are also pronounced with /ɪs/): furnace, menace, necklace, palace, pinnace, populace, solace, surface, terrace; alias, bias, Candlemas, canvas, Christmas, Lammas, Martinmas, Michaelmas; carcase/carcass, purchase; canvass, trespass, windlass; purpose; porpoise, tortoise)
• there seem to be only five pairs of adjective/noun homophones which differ only in the spelling of the /əs/ ending: callous/callus, mucous/
mucus, populous/populace, rufous/Rufus, venous/ Venus, though of course nouns which are rank-shifted to modifier position before other nouns retain the <-us> spelling: chorus line, citrus fruit, litmus test
• there seem to be only two words ending /əs/ which exist only as verbs:
embarrass, harass (pronounced /ˈhærəs/ rather than the more recent /həˈræs/); the spellings of the other few verbs ending /əs/ are the same as the related nouns: menace; bias; purchase; canvass, trespass; chorus, focus.
The ending /əd/ is usually spelt <-ard>, e.g. awkward, bastard, blackguard pronounced /ˈblægəd/ (also pronounced /ˈblægɑːd/), coward, custard, dotard, halyard, lanyard, mustard, orchard, scabbard, steward, vineyard, wizard and see Oddities above for the suffixes /wəd(z)/ spelt <-ward(s)>
(exceptions; method, period, synod).
The endings /ək, əp/ are usually spelt <-ock, -op>, e.g. bollock, bullock, buttock, hassock, hillock, mattock, pillock, rowlock (exception: bulwark);
bishop, gallop, wallop (exceptions: catsup, chirrup, ketchup, stirrup, syrup).
In the suffix spelt <-ology>, the schwa after /l/ is always spelt <o>, e.g.
biology, chronology.
In the suffix spelt <-ological>, the schwa before the first /l/ is always spelt <o>, e.g. biological, chronological, and the second one always <a>.
The ordinal numeral-forming suffix /əθ/ is always spelt <-eth> in twentieth, …, ninetieth.
Beyond various words listed under the medial Oddities <ai, ei, eo, io, or>
there are some fairly clear rules for word-final /ən/:
• in the various endings pronounced /ʃən/, all words with <-si*n, -ti*n>
have <o> for the schwa except Asian, Persian, Prussian, Russian, gentian, Titian; all words with <-ci*n> have <a> for the schwa except coercion
• the spelling <-on> otherwise occurs mainly in nouns, e.g. bacon, Briton, button, carton, chameleon, cotton, galleon, halcyon, matron, melodeon, mutton, Odeon, person, piston, siphon/syphon, wanton,
plus a set of words in <-ion>: accordion, aphelion, bastion, battalion, billion, bullion, carrion, centurion, champion, clarion, collodion, companion, criterion, dominion, ganglion, medallion, million, mullion, minion, oblivion, onion, opinion, pavilion, perihelion, pinion, rebellion, scorpion, scullion, stallion, union
• the irregular past participle ending /ən/ (that is, when the ending is pronounced as a full syllable, namely after a consonant phoneme) is spelt <en>, e.g. (for)bidden, bitten, broken, chosen, eaten, fallen, forsaken, frozen, (for)given, hidden,(a)risen, spoken, stolen, swollen, (mis)taken, (a)woken, woven, written,even in fossilised forms where the stem verb is now regular or its past participle is disused or used only adjectively, e.g. beholden, bounden, brazen, cloven, drunken, graven,((mis)be/ill-)gotten, laden, molten, proven,(bed)ridden, riven, rotten, (mis)shapen, shaven, shriven, shrunken, smitten, stricken, stridden, striven, thriven,(down)trodden
• <en> also occurs in, e.g.; alien, dozen, even, flaxen, garden, golden, happen, heaven, listen, open
• <an> occurs in the noun/adjective ending /ən/ in antipodean, caesarean, cyclopean, empyrean, epicurean, euclidean, European, galilean, Herculean, Jacobean, Linnaean, Manichaean, paean, pythagorean; plebeian; barbarian, comedian, grammarian, guardian, historian, pedestrian, reptilian, ruffian, thespian and about 200 other
words ending in <-ian>
• But the endings /ənt, əns, ənsiː/ have the variant spellings <- ant/-ent, -ance/ -ence, -ancy/-ency> - see section 6.8.
2.3 Otherwise in medial position
The default spelling is still <a>, e.g. sole <a> in buffalo, dynamo, seraph, theatre; first <a> in banana, bravado, farrago, mama, palaver, papa, staccato; second <a> in archipelago, balaclava, ballast, breakfast. Exceptions:
• with <e> include artery, bolero (/ʽbɒlərəʊ/ ‘garment’), soviet, first
<e> in coterie;
• with <o> include abdomen, acrobat, aphrodisiac, bolero (/bəʽleərəʊ/,
‘dance’), cellophane, cenotaph, custody, daffodil, espionage, exodus, geographic, iodine, kaolin, lobelia, mandolin, mimeograph, parody, police, purpose, ricochet, second, theocratic, violate, vitriol; first
<o> in creosote, stereophonic, tobacco; second <o> in broccoli,
<o> in creosote, stereophonic, tobacco; second <o> in broccoli,