Here's why:
* Schwa is a vowel sound represented by the symbol ə. It's a very common sound in English and is often described as a short, unstressed "uh" sound.
* In "gerbil", the first syllable "ger" is unstressed, meaning it's pronounced quickly and with less emphasis than the second syllable "bil".
* The "e" in "ger" is pronounced as a schwa sound (ə), making it sound like "guh".
So, the word "gerbil" is pronounced like "guh-bil", with the schwa sound in the first syllable.