Schwa deletion, or schwa syncope, is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs in Assamese,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

, Punjabi,

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, and several other Indian languages with schwas that are implicit in their written scripts. Languages like

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and Maithili with increased influence from other languages through coming into contact with them—also show a similar phenomenon. Some schwas are obligatorily deleted in pronunciation even if the script suggests otherwise. Schwa deletion is important for intelligibility and unaccented speech. It also presents a challenge to non-native speakers and

speech synthesis Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal languag ...

software because the scripts, including

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

, do not tell when schwas should be deleted. For example, the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word "

Rāma Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

" (, राम) is pronounced "Rām" (, राम्) in Hindi. The schwa ( ə) sound at the end of the word is deleted in Hindi. However, in both cases, the word is written राम. The schwa is not deleted in ancient languages such as Sanskrit or

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

, or medieval forms such as

Early Assamese Early Assamese ( as, পুৰণী অসমীয়া, translit=Puroni Oxomiya) or Proto-Eastern Kamarupa is an ancestor of the modern Assamese language. It is found in the literature from the 14th century to the end of 16th century in Kama ...

. The schwa is also retained in all the modern registers of the languages

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

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, and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

as well as

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Hindi

Although the Devanagari script is used as a standard to write

Modern Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been des ...

, the schwa ('ə') implicit in each consonant of the script is "obligatorily deleted" at the end of words and in certain other contexts, unlike in Sanskrit. That phenomenon has been termed the "''schwa syncope rule''" or the "''schwa deletion rule''" of Hindi. One formalisation of this rule has been summarised as ''ə → ∅ /VC_CV''. In other words, when a schwa-succeeded consonant (itself preceded by another vowel) is followed by a vowel-succeeded consonant, the schwa inherent in the first consonant is deleted. However, this rule sometimes deletes a schwa that should remain and sometimes fails to delete a schwa when it should be deleted. The rule is reported to result in correct predictions on schwa deletion 89% of the time. Schwa deletion is computationally important because it is essential to building

text-to-speech Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal languag ...

software for Hindi. As a result of schwa syncope, the Hindi pronunciation of many words differs from that expected from a literal Sanskrit-style reading of Devanagari. For instance, राम is pronounced ''Rām'' (not ''Rāma'', as in Sanskrit), रचना is pronounced ''Rachnā'' (not ''Rachanā''), वेद is pronounced ''Ved'' (not ''Veda'') and नमकीन is pronounced ''Namkīn'' (not ''Namakīna''). The name of the script itself is pronounced ''Devnāgrī'', not ''Devanāgarī''. Correct schwa deletion is also critical because the same letter sequence is pronounced two different ways in Hindi depending on the context. Failure to delete the appropriate schwas can then change the meaning. For instance, the letter sequence 'रक' is pronounced differently in हरकत (''har.kat'', meaning ''movement'' or ''activity'') and सरकना (''sarak.na'', meaning ''to slide''). Similarly, the sequence धड़कने in दिल धड़कने लगा (''the heart started beating'') and in दिल की धड़कनें (''beats of the heart'') is identical prior to the nasalisation in the second usage. However, it is pronounced ''dhaṛak.ne'' in the first and ''dhaṛ.kanẽ'' in the second. While native speakers pronounce the sequences differently in different contexts, non-native speakers and voice-synthesis software can make them "sound very unnatural", making it "extremely difficult for the listener" to grasp the intended meaning.

Other North Indian languages

Different

North Indian North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

languages can differ in how they apply schwa deletion. For instance, medial schwas from Sanskrit-origin words are often retained in Bengali even if they are deleted in Hindi. An example of this is रचना/রচনা which is pronounced ''racanā'' (/rɐtɕɐnaː/) in Sanskrit, ''rachnā'' (/rətʃnɑː/) in Hindi and ''rôchona'' (/rɔtʃona/) in Bengali. While the medial schwa is deleted in Hindi (because of the ə → ∅ / VC_CV rule), it is retained in Bengali. On the other hand, the final schwa in वेद /বেদ is deleted in both Hindi and Bengali (Sanskrit: /veːd̪ə/, Hindi: /veːd̪/, Bengali: /bed̪/).

Assamese

The Assamese equivalent for Schwa is

Open back rounded vowel The open back rounded vowel, or low back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . It is called "turned script ''a''", being a rotated ...

or � Assamese deleted this vowel at the end of consonant ending words, with a few exceptions like in numerals. In clusters, it's deleted in words like কান্ধ (/kandʱ-/, shoulder), বান্ধ (/bandʱ-/, bond) while optional in the word গোন্ধ (/ɡʊnˈdʱ(ɒ)/, smell). Modern Standard Assamese developed the schwa in words like কাছ (/kaˈsɒ/, turtle), পাৰ (/paˈɹɒ/, pigeon), তই কৰ (/tɔɪ kɒɹɒ/, you do) which appear with different vowels in some other dialects, like কাছু /ˈkasu/, পাৰা /ˈpaɾa/, কৰাহ /ˈkɒɾaʱ/ in some

Kamrupi dialects Kamrupi dialects are a group of regional dialects of Assamese, spoken in the Kamrup region. It formerly enjoyed prestige status. It is one of two western dialect groups of the Assamese language, the other being Goalpariya. Kamrupi is hetero ...

. Eastern (and its sub-dialect, Standard) and Central Assamese retained the schwa in medial positions, like নিজৰা (/niˈzɒɹa/, stream), বিচনি (/biˈsɔni/, handfan), বতৰা (/bɒˈtɒɹa/, news), পাহৰে (/paˈɦɒɹe/, forgets), নকৰে (/nɒˈkɒɹe/, doesn't do), which were deleted in some of the Kamrupi dialect, while some others kept them as /a/. Conjuncts in Sanskrit loanwords always have the schwa, and in consonants ending words (that are followed by schwa), the schwa is optionally present in words ending with suffixes, for example, শিক্ষিত from Sanskrit शिक्षित (śikṣita, "educated") is pronounced both as /x̩ikˈkʰitɒ/ and /xˌikˈkʰit/.

Bengali

The Bengali equivalent for Schwa is

Open-mid back rounded vowel The open-mid back rounded vowel, or low-mid back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The IPA symbol is a turned letter ''c'' a ...

or � Bengali deletes this vowel at the end when not ending in a consonant cluster but sometimes retains this vowel at the medial position. The consonant clusters at the end of a word usually follows a

Close-mid back rounded vowel The close-mid back rounded vowel, or high-mid back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . Close-mid back protruded vowel The close ...

or For example, the Sanskrit word पथ (/pɐt̪ʰɐ/, way) corresponds to the Bengali word পথ /pɔt̪ʰ/. But the Skt. word अन्त (/ɐnt̪ɐ/, end) retains the end vowel and becomes অন্ত /ɔnt̪o/ in Bengali, as it ends with a consonant cluster. However, ''tatsama'' borrowings from Sanskrit generally retain the 'ɔˈ except in word-final positions and except in very informal speech. That vowel in medial position are not always retained. For instance, 'কলকাতা' is pronounced as /kolkat̪a/, and not /kolɔkat̪a/. (although different pronunciations based on dialect exist, none pronounce it this way).

Gujarati

Gujarati has a strong schwa deletion phenomenon, affecting both medial and final schwas. From an evolutionary perspective, the final schwas appear to have been lost prior to the medial ones.

Kashmiri

In the Dardic subbranch of Indo-Aryan,

similarly demonstrates schwa deletion. For instance, ''drākṣa'' (द्राक्ष) is the Sanskrit word for grape, but the final schwa is dropped in the Kashmiri version, which is ''dach'' (दछ् or دَچھ).

Maithili

Maithili's schwa deletion differs from other neighbouring languages. It actually doesn't delete schwa, but shortens it., ə → ə̆ / VC_CV applies to the language. Maithili with increased influence of other languages through coming into contact with them has been showing the phenomenon of schwa deletion sometimes with words that traditionally pronounce schwas. For instance, हमरो is ''həməro'' (''even ours'') with schwas but is pronounced ''həmᵊro''. That is akin to the neighbouring

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

in which हमरा (meaning ''mine'') is pronounced ''həmrā'' rather than ''həmərā'' from the deletion of a medial schwa.

Marathi

Marathi exhibits extensive schwa deletion. The schwa at the end of a word is almost always deleted, except in the case of a few

tatsama Tatsama ( sa, तत्सम , lit. 'same as that') are Sanskrit loanwords in modern Indo-Aryan languages like Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Hindi, Gujarati, and Sinhala and in Dravidian languages like Malayalam and Telugu. They ...

words from

as well as when the word ends in a conjunct. Schwas essentially get deleted when there is an opportunity for a consonant with a schwa to turn into a coda consonant for the previous syllable, though the actual rules are more complicated and have exceptions. However, in places where the schwa occurs in the middle of words, Marathi does exhibit a propensity to pronounce it far more regularly than Hindi. Words like प्रेरणा, मानसी, केतकी retain the schwa sound in the र, न, and त respectively, often leading to their transliteration by native Marathi speakers in the Roman script as Prerana, Manasi and Ketaki rather than Prerna, Mansi or Ketki. Sometimes, to avoid schwa deletion, an

anusvara Anusvara (Sanskrit: ') is a symbol used in many Indic scripts to mark a type of nasal sound, typically transliterated . Depending on its location in the word and the language for which it is used, its exact pronunciation can vary. In the context ...

is placed at the end of the word. For example, the word खर (, "roughness") is often read without the schwa. When the schwa needs to be made explicit, it is written as खरं (, "true"). This often happens in the case of pluralization, e.g. फूल (, "flower") can be written as having the plural फुलं (, "flowers"). This arises from the original plural marker -एं (as in फुलें , "flowers") having degraded to a schwa in modern speech, and the

serves a purpose as a non-deleted vowel even though it is not realized as a nasal.

Nepali

Nepali orthography is comparatively more phonetic than Hindi when it comes to schwa retention. Schwas are often retained within the words unless deletion is signaled by the use of a halanta(्). सुलोचना (a name) is pronounced ' by Hindi speakers while ' by Nepali speakers. Some exceptions exist, such as सरकार (government), pronounced ', not '. The following rules can be followed to figure out whether or not Nepali words retain the final schwa in a word. # Schwa is retained if the final syllable is a conjunct consonant. (, 'end'), (, 'relation'), (, 'greatest', a Newari last name).
Exceptions: conjuncts such as in (, 'stage') (, 'city') and occasionally the last name (/). # Although postpositions are written joined to the preceding word in Nepali (unlike Hindi), schwa cancellation treats the words as if they were written separately. For example, उसको (his, of him) is not pronounced as ''*''; it is pronounced as if it were written उस को: '. Similarly, रामले (Ram-ergative marker, by Ram) is pronounced ' rather than ''*''. # For any verb form the final schwa is always retained unless the schwa-cancelling halanta is present. (, 'it happens'), (, 'in happening so; therefore'), (, 'he apparently went'), but (, 'they are'), (, 'she went'). Meanings may change with the wrong orthography: (, 'she didn't go') vs (, 'she went'). # Adverbs, onomatopoeia and postpositions usually maintain the schwa and if they don't, halanta is acquired: ( 'now'), (, 'towards'), (, 'today') ( 'drizzle') vs (, 'more'). # A few exceptional nouns retain the schwa such as: (, 'suffering'), (, 'pleasure'). Note that schwas are often retained in music and poetry to facilitate singing and recitation.

Odia

in its standardised form retains the schwa in its pronunciation as an

open-mid back rounded vowel The open-mid back rounded vowel, or low-mid back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The IPA symbol is a turned letter ''c'' a ...

. Both medial and final schwas are retained: in the medial case ଝରଣା ''jharaṇā'' is pronounced /dʒʱɔɾɔɳā/ (spring) and in the final case ଟଗର ''ṭagara'' is pronounced /ʈɔgɔɾɔ/ (spring). Sanskrit loanwords or ‘tatsama’ words, being more formal, always have the schwa pronounced. However, deletion is more common in a number of non-standard dialects, as well as increasingly in the speech of urban areas as a result of exposure to English and Hindi. For Example: The name of the city ‘Bhubaneshwar’ can be pronounced either informally as /bʰubɔneswɔɾ/, or more formally /bʰubɔneswɔɾɔ/.

Punjabi

Punjabi has broad schwa deletion rules: several base word forms (ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼, کاغز, ''kāghəz''/''paper'') drop schwas in the plural form (ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼ਾਂ, کاغزاں, ''kāghzāṅ''/''papers'') as well as with instrumental (ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼ੋਂ, کاغزوں, ''kāghzōṅ''/''from the paper'') and locative (ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼ੇ, کاغزے, ''kāghzé''/''on the paper'') suffixes.

Common transcription and diction issues

Since Devanagari does not provide indications of where schwas should be deleted, it is common for non-native learners/speakers of Hindi, who are otherwise familiar with Devanagari and Sanskrit, to make incorrect pronunciations of words in Hindustani and other modern

languages. Similarly, systems that automate

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

from Devanagari to

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...

by hardcoding implicit schwas in every consonant often indicate the written form rather than the pronunciation. That becomes evident when

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

words are transliterated into Devanagari by Hindi-speakers and then transliterated back into English by manual or automated processes that do not account for Hindi's schwa deletion rules. For instance, the word ''English'' may be written by Hindi speakers as इंगलिश (rather than इंग्लिश्) which may be transliterated back to ''Ingalisha'' by automated systems, but schwa deletion would result in इंगलिश being correctly pronounced as ''Inglish'' by native Hindi-speakers. An example is Google's automated transliteration of Some examples are shown below:

Vowel nasalisation

With some words that contain /n/ or /m/ consonants separated from succeeding consonants by schwas, the schwa deletion process has the effect of nasalising any preceding vowels. Here are some examples in Hindustani: * ''sən.kī'' (, , ''whimsical'') in which a deleted schwa that is pronounced in the root word ''sənək'' (, , ''whimsy'') converts the first medial schwa into a nasalised vowel. * ''chəm.kīlā'' (, , ''shiny'') in which a deleted schwa that is pronounced in the root word ''chəmək'' (, , ''shine'') converts the first medial schwa into a nasalised vowel.

References

{{Language phonologies Hindustani language Urdu Hindi Indo-Aryan languages Indo-Aryan phonologies