schwa in bribery

[keannu]

The schwa ə in bribery /braɪbəri/ is marked as an italic in some pronunciation symbol like "student /stu:dnt/" 's reduced sound between d and n.(Sorry, I can't find it on computer and post it here)
Do native speakers pronounce sometimes /braɪbəri/ (like ʌ)and sometimes /braɪbri/ (removed, zero sound) depending on their mood or is it a personal or regional difference?
In Korean, we also pronounce some words like /gəji/ meaning beggar as /gji/ with ə sound removed.

 

[5jj]

The Cambridge EPD transcribes the word with only two syllables - i.e., no schwa. The LPD gives the schwa as optional. I think that I always pronounce the word with three syllables; it is difficult to be sure, unless one has access to a spectogram.

 

[keannu]

It was also difficult for me to choose either schwa-ed pronunciation or schwa-less one for so many words with schwa whenever I had to, so I always hesitated in some pronunciations. I couldn't explain it to Koreans well, either.
I can't also judge if schwa-ed or schwa-less pronunciation for some Korean words is right, but either might be okay as long as we can understand the meaning.

 

[emsr2d2]

If asked in a formal context how many syllables the word "bribery" has, I would always answer "3". When I say it, it's more like 2.5 syllables! I know that's not possible but it really doesn't sound like the full three, yet it's not quite squashed up enough to only be two.

 

[5jj]

If asked in a formal context how many syllables the word "bribery" has, I would always answer "3". When I say it, it's more like 2.5 syllables! I know that's not possible but it really doesn't sound like the full three, yet it's not quite squashed up enough to only be two.

I think the idea of a 'half-syllable' can be very useful for learners.

 

[konungursvia]

In any case, schwa before r is an almost unanswerable question, given that rhotic /r/ is almost a semi-vowel in character, in many regions. Schwa before a nasal is also a dicey thing to answer, since nasal consonants can be sustained, like vowels. So, it's very hard to say where schwa ends and /r/ or /n/ begin in these words.

I pronounce bribery with three syllables and a half-schwa half /r/ in the second syllable. The two-syllable pronunciation sounds almost impossibly posh, like a false RP.