Question: In a [sister site](https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/51752/if-fireflys-mal-reynolds-is-a-sergeant-why-does-zoe-call-him-sir) I saw the word ***sir*** written in IPA as **/sər/** 
and not **/sɜ:r/** as it was in my OALD. So I looked it up at [Oxford Dictionary on-line](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sir) and sure enough, they had it as **/sər/**. The same at [MW.](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sir)

The same pronunciation is given for words like *purr* and *bird* where my OALD shows /ɜ:r/

I thought the [schwa](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schwa) was used to indicate a reduced vowel in an unstressed syllable.

*I am also seeing the same in the word **cut***. Although my 30 year-old copy of OALD shows **/kʌt/**, I am seeing **/kət/** in MW.

Is schwa now being used to indicate a vowel sound in a single syllable word? When did this change?

Answer: 
First of all, let's figure out the case of the word **sir**. According to [Oxford Learners' Dictionary](http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/sir?q=sir), both /sɜːr/ and /sər/ are correct pronunciations of the word. I have seen both pronunciation in OLD only (However I didn't look in a lot of dictionaries).

Next, keep in mind that, [according to some native speakers](http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pronunciation-%C9%9D%CB%90-%C9%9C%CB%90-ur-er-ir-ae-be.2612515/), /ɜ:/ and /ə/ sound similar, except that (according to other speakers) /ɜ:/ is elongated. /ɜ:/ occurs before the consonant r only. It makes sense why dictionaries would choose to just use a schwa instead.

For the example of cut, this is a practice that infuriates me a lot, since *Cut* doesn't sound at all like the first syllable in a word like *Qatar*. However, according to my Accent Reduction teacher, /ʌ/ is just a stressed schwa, and that's why you see some dictionaries using a schwa instead. I don't understand why some dictionaries practice this. A wedge might be a stressed schwa, but at least for me they don't sound alike.

My advice: Merriam-Webster and the normal Oxford dictionary are designed for native speakers in mind. I'd recommend, as an ESL speaker, to use [Learner's Dictionary](http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/cut) (By Merriam Webster) and [Oxford Learner's Dictionary](http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/). I assume that normal dictionaries don't pay much attention to transcription as they'd expect people to just hear the word being spoken rather than read the actual transcript. A native speaker can distinguish between all the different phonemes in his language, making it ideal to just listen instead of reading.
Although for someone learning English, prescription is pedagogically appropriate (tell them what they should do) I remind everyone that a dictionary's PURPOSE is to describe NOT to prescribe. (It says how things are, NOT how they should be). Language (pronunciation, usage, grammar, and meaning) all vary by location and change over time (as well as differing by generation of the speaker) as we all know. Dialect matters. Oxford, England is not Springfield Massachusetts. (although I didn't remember that Encyclopedia Britannica owned MW).
From Wikipedia I also note:The Merriam-Webster company once used a unique set of phonetic symbols in their dictionaries—intended to help people from different parts of the United States learn how to pronounce words the same way as others who spoke with the same accent or dialect did. Unicode accommodated IPA symbols, but did not specify room for Merriam-Webster phonetics.[So MW had to revise their on-line material...]