Central Vowels

The central, low-mid, lax vowel of English is /Λ/ (e.g. bus [bΛs]). This vowel is found only in stressed syllables; in unstressed syllables, a higher vowel, [ə] ‘schwa’ [ʃwɑ], is the realization (e.g. around [əɹ̣aʊnd]).

Before a tautosyllabic [ɹ̣] in stressed syllables, as in nurse, her, etc., a slightly higher, r-colored vowel, [ɝ], is found. Its corresponding unstressed version is [ɚ]. These are the two r-colored vowels of the word herder [hɝdɚ]. When /ɹ̣/ is intervocalic, as in courage, it may be represented as in [kзɹ̣ədZ] to show that the vowel is not in the same syllable as /ɹ̣/. In some such words (e.g. hurry, worry), [Λɹ̣], instead of [зɹ̣], may be found along the Atlantic seaboard, throughout most of Pennsylvania ([hΛɹ̣i], [wΛɹ̣i]). There are several different treatments of these central vowels in different manuals with respect to the number of phonemes. Without going into these controversies, we will adopt the following in our transcriptions:

[Λ] in stressed syllables (e.g. bus [bΛs])

[ə] in unstressed syllables (e.g. sofa [sofə])

[ɝ] in stressed syllables before a tautosyllabic [ɹ̣] (e.g. bird [bɝd])

[ɚ] in unstressed syllables before a tautosyllabic [ɹ̣] (e.g. father [fɑðɚ])

[зɹ̣] in stressed syllables before a heterosyllabic [ɹ̣] (e.g. courage [kзɹ̣əʤ])

[əɹ̣] in unstressed syllables before a heterosyllabic [ɹ̣] (e.g. parade [pəɹ̣ed])