Hi again and welcome back to Seattle Learning Academy's American English pronunciation podcast.

My name is Mandy, and this is our 168th episode.

Today, we're returning to the concept of schwa.

Specifically, we're going to study it in three-syllable words.

We talked before about shua in two-syllable words, and it was pretty straightforward.

When we have a two-syllable word, we know that one syllable will be stressed.

This means it is pronounced louder and for more time than any other syllable of the word.

We can expect the other syllable to be reduced, often to a quick uh.

The position of the mouth during the pronunciation of schwa is pretty much the same as it is

for the quick, short, U sound, a. That position is very neutral and allows the pronunciation

to occur quickly.

When we look at three syllable words, however, syllable stress gets a little more complicated.

First, there is obviously one more syllable where the stress can fall.

Second, schwa usually occurs next to the stress syllable.

This can cause shua to occur twice in one word.

For example, the word banana is a three-syllable word and the stress is on the middle syllable.

Both the first and third syllable of banana are reduced to shua.

Listen as I break the word apart into individual syllables. B, nah, n, banana. Listen to some other words with a pattern of

shua, main stress, schwa. Agenda. Opponent. Consistent. Now let's say we have a three-syllable word with the stress

falling on the first syllable. Let's use the word emphasis as an example. Since the first syllable is stressed,

pronounced M, we can expect schwa to occur on the second syllable. That syllable is reduced to a quick

f. But then what happens to the third syllable?

...