mid-central
Neither high nor low
Mid-central describes a vowel produced with the tongue positioned in the middle of the mouth—neither front nor back, neither high nor low.
The schwa sound in unstressed syllables like the first syllable of about or the second of sofa is the most common mid-central vowel in English.
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- reductionMaking something smaller
- syllabicOf speech segments
- nucleusCentral controlling part
assimilation · elision · allophone · neutralization · weakening · deletion · insertion · alternation
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- reducedMade less in amount
- sonorityRichness of tone
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
allophone · acoustic · auditory · phonation · resonance · frequency · formant · spectrogram
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- stress patternSyllable emphasis arrangement
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
cadence · accent · syllable · fluency · prominence · citation form · tempo · pitch
Free from prejudice
- impartialShowing no preference
- objectivePurpose or goal
- detachedApart or uninvolved
- disinterestedFree from personal stakes
evenhanded · nonpartisan · equitable · balanced · unprejudiced · dispassionate · indifferent · nonaligned
schwa
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- reductionMaking something smaller
- syllabicOf speech segments
nucleus · assimilation · elision · allophone · neutralization · weakening · deletion · insertion · alternation · underlying form
schwa
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- reducedMade less in amount
- sonorityRichness of tone
phoneme · allophone · acoustic · auditory · phonation · resonance · frequency · formant · spectrogram · articulation
schwa
Neutral unstressed vowel
- unstressedWithout rhythmic emphasis
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- stress patternSyllable emphasis arrangement
rhythm · cadence · accent · syllable · fluency · prominence · citation form · tempo · pitch · tone
unbiased
Free from prejudice
disinterested · evenhanded · nonpartisan · equitable · balanced · unprejudiced · dispassionate · indifferent · nonaligned · apolitical