Question
Jallll
15 January

  • Arabic
  • English (US)
Question about English (US)

Hi there

I find a confusion when I have to pronounce "o" in the syllable "con"

sometimes it is pronounced as schwa ə
as in: confess/connect/consider

and at other times pronounced as ä
as in: constant/confident/conversation

what is the pronunciation rule behind it?
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dongelev85
15 January

  • English (US)

It's ä if the syllable is stressed and ə if the syllable is unstressed. This can lead to the same root being pronounced two different ways ("convict" is pronounced differently as a noun and as a verb because of this.)

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Ktoyahin
15 January

  • English (US)

If the syllable is stressed then con is pronounced /kɑn/. But if the syllable is unstressed, then it is /kən/.
Confess: /kən'fɛs/
Connect: /kə'nɛkt/
Consider: /kən'sɪɾɚ/
Constant: /'kɑnstənt/
Confident: /'kɑnfədənt/
Conversation: /ˌkɑnvɚ'seʃən/

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Jallll
15 January

  • Arabic
@dongelev85@Ktoyahin thank you both
but the question here is when to have this syllable stressed and when not?
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Ktoyahin
15 January

  • English (US)

@Jallll I don't know the specific rules, but usually the first syllable is stressed in nouns and adjectives, and the second is stressed in verbs.

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