How English Words Are "Reduced"

We’ve talked about how English speakers stress some words in a sentence. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are called  “content words.” Content words tell you what the sentence is about. Other words in a sentence, like articles, pronouns, conjunctions and helping verbs, are called “structure words.” Structure words are usually “reduced,” or made shorter and quieter. Let’s talk about how English words are reduced.

Structure words provide the grammar in a sentence. You are probably thinking, “But grammar is important!” And you are right! However, the speaker isn’t talking because he likes to use grammar. He wants to give information to the listener.

Content words are stressed, and structure words are reduced. How does this work?

The Vowels “Take the Hit”

When a word is reduced, the vowels change. They lose their pure sound and become a “schwa.” The word “schwa” came into the English language from German, in 1895. The Germans got it from the Hebrew word “shewa,” which means “emptiness.” The shewa is also a small mark added to a Hebrew letter which adds an “uh” sound, or no sound at all.

So How Does It Work?

Let’s look at a few words that almost always reduce. There are many more, but we’ll use these as an example.

a
the
for
and
at

When you learned these words, you were probably taught to say them one word at a time, not in a sentence.