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Schwa restriction
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The schwa restriction is an exceptionless principle, stating that schwa syllables cannot be stressed. Schwa syllables are nearly always directly preceded by a stressed syllable.

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Schwa syllables cannot be stressed, that is, they can bear neither primary nor secondary stress.

Schwa Restriction
A syllable headed by schwa cannot bear stress.

In monomorphemic words, schwa syllables are nearly always directly preceded by a stressed syllable (primary or secondary stress). This is illustrated below for the words artikel [artikəl] article and sirene [sirenə] sire:nə:

Table 1
APU PU U
x [ar.'ti.kəl], [si.ˈre:.nə]
* x [*'ar.ti.kəl], [*ˈsi.re:.nə]
* x [*ar.ti.'kəl], [*si.re:.ˈnə]
There are a few counterexamples to this pattern. A selection is provided below:

Example 1

oarkonde ['oər.kon.də] document
terriër ['tɛr.ri.jər] terrier
agrariër [aɡ.'ɡra:.ri.jər] farmer
fegetariër [fe.ɣe.'ta:.ri.jər] vegetarian

Some placenames and nationalities are counter-examples as well:

Example 2

Betuwe ['be:.ty.wə] Betuwe
Australië [ɔw.'stra:.li.jə] Australia
Brazilië [bras.'si.li.jə] Brazil
Syrië ['siə.ri.jə] Syria
Georgië [ɡe:.'ɔr.ɣi.jə] Georgia
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