Schwa is everywhere! It is heard in commonly used words like a, the, was, and about. And it is found in multisyllabic words like balloon, pasta, accomplish, establish, family, freedom, and wisdom.

Teachers tell us that schwa is one of the concepts they didn't understand before learning about Logic of English. They also tell us that understanding schwa is extremely helpful for teaching reading and decoding. Which makes sense! Because schwa is the most common sound in English.

A schwa vowel may sound like /ŭ/ as in ahead, again, and continue, or /ĭ/ as in woman, mountain, and kitten. These are not exceptions. They are schwa.

Unstressed vowels are said more quietly than other vowels. When a vowel is said more quietly, the mouth is not opened as far, causing the sound to be distorted.