Re: THEORY: [THEORY: Allophones]

Edward Heil wrote:
> Sure.  In American English, most vowels have schwa as an allophone in
> unstressed environments.
[snip]
> Or am I blurring the boundaries between allophony and phonological
> rules here?
In this case, I think you are, since schwa is a separate phoneme.  Most
people have (some of the) vowels in unstressed position, such as
/'lej.di/ or /'p&.siN/ (passing).  Thus, the many cases of unstressed
vowels becoming schwa is merely a phonological rule.  IF schwa was the
only possible vowel in unstressed position, thus /'lej.d@/ and
/'p&.s@N/, then you'd be right in calling schwa a shared allophone.

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