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xkcd #2907: Schwa (imgs.xkcd.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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https://xkcd.com/2907

Alt text:

Doug's cousin, the one from London, runs a Bumble love cult.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Doesn't the 'nel' in tunnel break this?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Maybe it depends on where you're from but I pronounce "tuh-nuhl"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Really? I think it's supposed to be silent, not a schwa. Did you mean “tuh-nl”?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Slow down your speech a bit (like listen to it in super slow mo) and you'll realize there's definitely a schwa sound between the N and the L sounds. Just how our mouths work moving through the shapes for them creates a schwa sound.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

By that logic, should not there be a schwa after the L too? That ('tǝnǝlǝ) would be absurd.