WAEC 2021 English Language · Question 73

/ə/ — choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol. /ə/

A.pence
B.abuse
C.cat
D.refer

Answer: B. abuse

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: The symbol /ə/ is the schwa, the weak, unstressed "uh" sound. It is the most common vowel sound in English and appears in unstressed syllables.

Check each option:

A. pence /pens/. The vowel is /e/, so there is no schwa.
B. abuse (noun) /əˈbjuːs/ or (verb) /əˈbjuːz/. The first syllable "a-" is unstressed and is pronounced /ə/. ✔
C. cat /kæt/. The vowel is /æ/, so there is no schwa.
D. refer /rɪˈfɜː/. The first syllable is /rɪ/ (or /riː/), and the stressed second syllable has the long vowel /ɜː/. In British English there is no /ə/ here. (In American English the final "-er" is an r-coloured schwa, but WASSCE follows British English, so the long /ɜː/ applies.)

Answer: Option B, abuse, begins with the unstressed syllable /ə/.

Tip: Schwa almost always sits in an unstressed syllable. Mark the stress first, then check the weak syllables. In words like about, again, abuse, support, the initial "a" is nearly always /ə/. Also remember that /ɜː/ (as in bird, refer, learn) is a long, stressed sound and is different from /ə/.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.