Phonetics

Question 1

In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, ______ (/ʃwɑː/, rarely /ʃwɔː/ or /ʃvɑː/;[1]sometimes spelled _______)[2] is the mid central vowel sound (rounded or unrounded) in the middle of the vowel chart, denoted by the IPA symbol ə, or another vowel sound close to that position. An example in English is the vowel sound of the ‘a’ in the word about. _________ in English is mainly found in unstressed positions, but in some other languages it occurs more frequently as a stressed vowel.

Answer 1

Schwa / shwa

Question 2

In relation to certain languages, the name “_______” and the symbol ə may be used for some other unstressed and toneless neutral vowel, not necessarily mid-central.

Answer 2

Schwa

Question 3

In New Zealand English, the high front lax vowel (as in the word bit) has shifted open and back to sound like _________, and both stressed and unstressed ________s exist. To a certain extent, that is true for South African English as well.

Answer 3

schwa