Home

Tip 6 - Combining Schwas

Combining Schwas
A schwa is an unstressed vowel sound that appears in lots of words and expressed as ə in dictionary pronunciations such as the i in manicure or the o insaxophone.For when you come across a word that has a tricky schwa in it, study the following origin schwa tips.

  • In Latin, the combining schwa is usually an i as in investiture, the word that threw me off at the 2008 Denver City Oral Spelling Bee.
  • In Greek, the schwa is most commonly an o as in xylophone, kaleidoscope or onomatopoeia