Schwa
The neutral vowel /ə/ in unstressed syllables, the most frequent vowel in English.
Real World
The word 'chocolate' is spelled with three syllables but most speakers say 'CHOK-lət' with a schwa, reducing it to two — autocorrect and spell-checkers can't capture this because schwa is a feature of speech, not writing.
Exam Focus
Identify schwa in transcription tasks by locating unstressed syllables — it is always /ə/, never a full vowel.
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