The Schwa /ə/ Sound - Endings British Pronunciation & Spelling Tips | -er -ar -or -our -ure -re

Hello everyone and welcome back to

English with Lucy, you might notice that

my voice is slightly different today

and that's because, I am suffering from

bronchitis

I caught it on a trip to Milan

and I've been suffering for a while now

and that's why I haven't filmed any... any

content for you, but I'm back today

with my voice sounding a little bit...

a little bit sexy I quite enjoy it

is I'm... I'm enjoying speaking with this voice, umm

but today I'm going to try and help you

with your British English pronunciation

So today, we're going to be looking at

the schwa sound, act the end of words

I'm going to say some words now

and I want you to listen to the last

syllable of the word, and also look at

the spelling at the end of the word

BETT'ER' /ˈbetə(r)/

ACT'OR' /ˈæktə(r)/

CALEND'AR'/ˈkælɪndə(r)/

COL'OUR' /ˈkʌlə(r)/

CENT'RE' /ˈsentə(r)/

LEIS'URE' /ˈleʒə(r)/

the last syllable the ending of these words is

pronounced in exactly the same way

it's using the /ə/ sound with is the "Schwa"

to create this sound you need to relax

your mouth, lips aparts /ə/

just push a little bit of voice, through your mouth

and then stop it. /ə/

/ə/

it's a very short sound, so that's

the "Schwa" however look we've got them

spelled in all different ways

we've got '-ER'

BUTTER /ˈbʌtə(r)/

'-OR'

AUTHOR /ˈɔːθə(r)/

'-AR'

VICAR /ˈvɪkə(r)/

'-OUR'

HUMOUR /ˈhjuːmə(r)/

'-RE'

METRE /ˈmiːtə(r)/

'-URE'

AGRICULTURE /ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə(r)/

so, it's very important to know that when

you read words that end in some of these letters

you should normally pronounce them with a

schwa sound, now it's not always the case

take a look at the word

"GUITAR /ɡɪˈtɑː(r)/"

for example "GUITAR /ɡɪˈtɑː(r)/"

it's NOT /ɡɪˈt"ə"(r)/

it's "GUITAR /ɡɪˈtɑː(r)/" , so this isn't a schwa sound

now notice that in American English this

isn't always the case, they will often

pronounced was ending in "R" with an "R"

sound like BETTER BUTTER they do have

more the "R" sound, we "drop the R" and

British English, now you might be

thinking, well I know how to say some of

these words that how do I know which

ending each one has? unfortunately there

is no strict set of rules, but I have got

a few tips, that might be able to help you

Tip number one

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES END IN "-ER"

and yes they use the "Schwa"

LIGHTER

SOFTER

BLONDER, for example

Tip number two, is not a role just a

guide a tip the "-OR" ENDING OFTEN FOLLOWS

-CT- ACTOR /ˈæktə(r)/

-IT- VISITOR /ˈvɪzɪtə(r)/

-AT- DICTATOR /dɪkˈteɪtə(r)/

-RR- HORROR /ˈhɒrə(r)/

and -SS- SUCCESSOR /səkˈsesə(r)/

The last tip, -AR OFTEN FOLLOWS L

COLLAR /ˈkɒlə(r)/ , SIMILAR /ˈsɪmələ(r)/

REGULAR /ˈreɡjələ(r)/

Alright guys, that is it for today's video

remember you can still get a free trial

on audible.com if you want to improve

your listening, and also improve your

pronunciation, because you will get used to

how native people pronounce different words

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and I will see you soon for another lesson

hopefully, with a better voice.

bye!