With the new Apple iOS 15 update, the phonetic symbol "schwa" was introduced in the keyboard of iPhone and iPad, the reverse "ə" used more and more for a generic plural, which includes masculine and feminine, instead of the common masculine overextended. (for example "Hello everyone").

Not only that, the sign - fundamental for those who strongly believe in the need for a more inclusive language - is also used in the singular by those who do not recognize themselves in the gender binary.

To display it on the keyboard, you have to do exactly what you do when looking for accents or special characters. Just hold down the "e" for a long time: among the various accented "e" the schwa will also emerge.

On Android systems you can already type it for those who have installed the latest version.

The "ə" is a phonetic symbol that has a very specific sound, recognized in the international phonetic alphabet and used in several languages such as English (the first phoneme of "about" is a schwa, for example). In the Italian language it is widely used in dialects, in Neapolitan for example but also in Piedmontese.

(Unioneonline / D)

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