They may sound out wag-on, but then they usually can make that transition naturally. Some words, like wagon are easier to adjust. I capitalize the O in that so you can hear how they are saying it. I would say, “yes, but say it faster!” They would say pilOt again. Students are always stumped on that one because they are sounding out pi-lot with emphasis on the lot. One example I can think of that recently came up when I was teaching syllable division rules with 2-syllable words was pilot. It probably sounds like this: The caml is pulln sevun robns in n orunge wagun. Now say it normally and try to focus on the vowel sounds that are sort of dropped or making the /uh/ sound. See what I mean? It sounds like a robot is talking. Try saying this sentence enunciating every syllable, using the proper vowel sounds: The camel is pulling seven robins in an orange wagon.Think of how little you have to move your mouth to make that sound.
Because of this, our mouths naturally take the lazy route, which is usually the /uh/ sound.We always pronounce one syllable more that the others (more about that in a sec), so that leaves the other syllable(s) to not have as much emphasis.The schwa sound happens in the syllable that we are not fully pronouncing.I actually pronounce wagon like wagin, not wagun. I would also argue it sometimes sounds like /i/ depending on how you pronounce words.It makes the / uh/ sound, but lazier and not as pronounced.The schwa is a sound that is represented by all of the vowels.But wait, they say the wrong word because one of those vowels sounds isn’t quite making the sound it’s supposed to make. They say the correct sounds and blend it together perfectly. What is the Schwa?įirst of all, what the heck is the schwa? Well, think of all those moments when a reader is attempting to sound out a word and they do it perfectly. I consider that a learning opportunity and welcome open, respectful dialogue. If you read something that is within your expertise (or even just an opinion) that you disagree with, please feel free to call me out on it. For that reason, I’m sure you will find grammatical errors in all of my posts! I’m just a teacher who loves to learn and wants to understand all of this. I admittedly struggle with expressive language, spelling uncommon words from memory, and grammar. *Disclaimer * I am not a linguist, although I wish I was! I am not claiming to be an expert, just trying to share what I have learned and how I teach this to my students to help them understand our tricky language. That’s right, I got through high school, college, grad school, and several years of teaching and I had never heard of the schwa! I figured I’m probably not alone, so I wanted to take some time to blog about this. Good morning! Today I’m excited to write about the most common vowel sound that I never knew even existed.