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Vowel Reduction

This website uses symbols to transcribe phonemes (sounds). For an explanation of what these symbols represent, click here: vowels, consonants. The following special symbols are used:
ə Λ ā ē ī ō ū ű œ θ δ š ž č ĵ ŋ
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Note: an apostrophe ' is placed before the accented vowel.

English is a heavily vowel-reducing language. This means that is weak (unaccented, unstressed) syllables, vowels tend to change to a less prominent prounciation, closer to the neutral vowel [ə] (schwa), or to complete loss of the vowel. The extent of reduction differs a lot between speakers.

Most importantly, any vowel can reduce to /ə/. This generally happens when a syllable moves into an unaccented position, as a in fast /f'ast/ or /f'āst/ reduces to /ə/ in the compound breakfast /br'ekfəst/. When the substantive progress /pr'ōgres/ or /pr'ogres/ becomes the verb progress /prəgr'es/, it moves its accent to the final syllable to, the o in the first syllable is reduced to /ə/.

Vowels can reduce further, to zero (complete loss): nation /nēšən/ + al > national /našnəl/.

The letter e is frequently reduced to /i/ in unaccented syllables, and less commonly a is too: masses /m'asiz/, wanted /w'ontid/, cabbage /k'abiĵ/, orange /'orinĵ/. Some speakers prounces this reduced /i/ as /ə/.

/ī/ can reduce to /i/: happy /h'apī/ + -ly > happily /h'apilī/. It can reduce further to /j/: happy /h'apī/ + -er > happier /h'apīər/, which may be pronounced /h'apjər/.

/ű/ often becomes /jū/. The /ū/ may then reduce to nothing, leaving /j/: residue /r'ezidű/ > /r'ezidjū/ + -al > /rez'idjūəl/, which may be pronounced /rez'idjəl/.

/j/ can palatalise preceding consonants (/s/, /z/, /t/, /d/). So /rez'idjəl/ would normally be pronounced /rez'iĵəl/ (palatalisation /dj/ > /ĵ/).

Words in -ary

The spelling -ary occurs in many words. Its spelling can change to -ari- with addition of suffixes: -ary + -es > -aries, and -ary + -ly > -arily. The 'full' pronunciation of the a -ary is /e/, which occurs when this a is the accented syllable: ordinarily /ordən'erilī/, necessarily /nesəs'erilī/, secondarily /sekənd'erilī/.

In related words with the accent on a different syllable, some speakers (particularly in North America) still use this full pronunciation: ordinary /'ordənerī/, necessary /n'esəserī/, secondary /s'ekənderī/ (these pronunciations are all four syllables).

Other speakers reduce the a completely from /e/ to zero: ordinary /'ordənrī/, necessary /n'esəsrī/, secondary /s'ekəndrī/ (these pronunciations are all three syllables).

In some words, some speakers partially reduce the a to /ə/ rather than zero: primary /pr'aimerī/ (full), /pr'aimərī/ (partially reduced), /pr'aimrī/ (completely reduced). The a has its full pronunciation in the adverb form primarily /pr'aim'erilī/.

Names in -borough/-burgh

Borough /b'Λrə/ means 'town'. Many place-names in Great Britain end in -borough or the alternate spelling -burgh. Some speakers give these the 'full' pronunciation /bΛrə/: Peterborough /p'ītərbΛrə/, Loughborough /l'ΛfbΛrə/, Edinborough /'edinbΛrə/, Fraserborough /fr'ēzərbΛrə/. Other speakers reduce the pronunciation to /brə/: Peterborough /p'ītərbrə/, Loughborough /l'Λfbrə/, Edinborough /'edinbrə/, Fraserborough /fr'ēzərbrə/.

Reduced e (see entries in pronunciation list for e, -ed, -es)

The 'full' pronunciation of e is typically /e/ or /ī/. There are many instances in which this this reduces to /i/, particularly in prefixes and suffixes:

Prefix be- /bī/ > /bi/: because /bik'oz/, belief /bil'īf/, betray /bitr'ē/.
Prefix de- /dī/ > /di/: detect /dit'ekt/, destroy /distr'oi/, delay /dil'ē/.
Prefix e- /ī/ > /i/: elect /il'ekt/, emit /im'it/, entire /int'air/.
Prefix re- /rī/ > /ri/: relax /ril'aks/, respond /risp'ond/, retreat /ritr'īt/.
Suffix -ed /ed/ > /id/: wanted /w'ontid/, added /'adid/, knitted /n'itid/.
Suffix -es /ez/ > /iz/: misses /m'isiz/, ashes /'ašiz/, spices /sp'aisiz/.

However, when de- is used to mean 'remove' or re- to mean 'again', they are usually pronounced with /ī/: de-scale /dīsk'ēl/ 'remove limescale', decentralise /dīs'entrəlaiz/ 'remove central power', re-record /rīrik'ord/ 'record again', redecorate /rīd'ekərēt/ 'decorate again', re-run /rīr'Λn/ 'run again'. (Two such words are commonly used as substantives, with the accent shifted to the first syllable: rerun /r'īrΛn/ 'act of re-running', replay /r'īplē/ 'act of re-playing'.)

Many speakers reduce this /i/ further to /ə/. So we have because /bik'oz/~/bək'oz/, destroy /distr'oi/~/dəstr'oi/, wanted /w'ontid/~/w'ontəd/, misses /m'isiz/~/m'isəz/.

Occasionally we can see related forms with non-reduced and reduced e, such as reduced e- in evolve /iv'olv/ vs. full e- in evolution /īvəl'ūšən/ (typically British) or /evəl'ūšən/ (typically North American).

In North America, and increasingly in other parts of the world too, words in re- are shifting their accent to the first syllable, which then has the full pronunciation /ī/: research /ris'œrč/ > /r'īsœrč/, resource /riz'ūrs/ > /r'īzūrs/.

/i/~/ə/ occurs in -en in a few words, such as kitchen /k'ičin/~/k'ičən/, chicken /č'ikin/~/č'ikən/. Be careful not to confuse this /i/~/ə/ with the suffix -en /ən/, as in broken /br'ōkən/, golden /g'ōldən/. This -en is never pronounced /in/, so there are speakers who contrast the vowel in rotten /r'otən/ with that in rotted /r'otid/.

Ending -age, -ange (see entry in pronunciation list)

many English words and with -age /iĵ/, such as damage /d'amiĵ/, sausage /s'osiĵ/, carriage /k'ariĵ/, cabbage /k'abiĵ/. A similar form also occurs in orange /'orinĵ/. Like reduced e above, many speakers pronounce this /ə/, producing cabbage /k'abəĵ/, orange /'orənĵ/.

Words in -y > -ies, -ied, -ily

English words which end with a consonant followed by unaccented y usually pronounce this last syllable as /ī/. When the suffixes -ed or -es are added, these usually change the spelling to -ied and -ies. The 'full' pronunciation of these is /īd/ and /īz/, but most speakers reduce them to /id/~/əd/ and /iz/~/əz/, like reduced e above. Many speakers would pronounce these two words the same:

band + -ed > banded /b'andid/~/b'andəd/
bandy + -ed > bandied /b'andīd/ > /b'andid/~/b'andəd/

Adding the suffix -ly changes -y to -ily. Most speakers reduce the /ī/ to /i/ or /ə/:

happy /h'apī/ + -ly > happily /h'apilī/~/h'apəlī/
merry /m'erī/ + -ly > merrily /m'erilī/~/m'erəlī/

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