The /ɔ/ as described by Wikipedia is an unelisioned "aw" sound, as in the pure Latin vowel "o" for those singers out there. The /ʌ/ sound, as found in the word "plus", is an open-backed "uh". Close off the back of the throat by dropping the soft palate, bringing the jaw back and/or raising the back of the tongue and you have what most Americans would call a "schwa" (/ə/) as in the second syllable of "special".
In most American English dialects/accents, the mouth is held in a more open, relaxed position while speaking than for most British accents. This can tend to make "aw" sound more like more like "ah", and "ah" like an open short "a" as in "bat". Similarly, the opening of the lips leads to closing off the back of the throat to provide nuances between vowels, which can make "uh" sound like "ugh", "oo" sound like "eu", etc. Vocal coaches tear their hair out over this natural accent, especially in the deep South and Texas, where the "twang" pollutes the "pure" Latin vowels normally desired for singing in almost any language.
However, I doubt you will find an English dialect where a particular vowel shape is never heard. First of all, there will always be a word in the language that even a heavily-accented speaker will pronounce using the shape you're looking for. It may be misplaced, but it'll be there.
Second, there are degrees of vowel modification from what we would consider "neutral" American English to "accented", no matter the accent, so you will always find a person who speaks with just the right level of accent to use the vowel shape you're looking for at least some of the time. Urban residents tend to accent less than suburban and rural in my experience, and higher education, which normally involves a mingling of people from many locations nationwide, also tends to reduce accenting. Watching national broadcast TV also tends to reduce accenting, as most actors have their natural accents trained, coached, and/or beaten out of them while on camera.
Using the CMU pronouncing dictionary, I gathered all the words that have the STRUT vowel (ARPABET AH1
) or the FOOT vowel (ARPABET UH1
) before an L sound. Then I eliminated all the rare words, most proper names, and the etymologically related words, leaving only roots:
FOOT words
bull Fulbright pull
bulldoze full pulley
bullet fulsome wolf
bulletin Fulton wool
bully Pulitzer
STRUT words
adult gulf pulp
bulb gull pulse
bulge gullet pulverize
bulk gullible result
compulsion gully revulsion
consult gulp scull
convulse gulped sculpt
cull hulk skulk
culminate hull skull
culpa indulge stultify
culprit insult sulfur
cult lull sulk
cultivate lullaby sullen
culture medulla sultan
culver mulberry sultry
culvert mulch tulsa
divulge mull tumultuous
dulcet mullah ulcer
dulcimer mullen ultimate
dull mullet ultra
emulsion mulligan vulcan
engulf multi vulgar
exculpate null vulnerable
expulsion occult vulture
exult promulgate
gulch propulsion
Words which, according to at least one dictionary, could be FOOT or STRUT
boulevard
ebullience
fulcrum
fulminate
pulpit
Then I set about to analyze the lists to see if I could find any patterns, and then devise a set of rules I could use to determine when to use the STRUT vowel and when I could use my native FOOT vowel.
We will call a "short U" followed by L a "UL"
- Default: ordinarily, UL words have the STRUT vowel (e.g. cull, vulgar, gullet, ultra)
- F-rule: UL words preceded by F have the FOOT vowel (e.g. full, fulsome)
- B/P-rule: UL words preceded by B or P have FOOT if that is the end of the word, or the next sound is a vowel (e.g. bull, bullet, pull, pulley, but not bulb, pulse, pulverize)
- exceptions: wolf, wool
Interestingly, only a labial consonant (/b/, /f/, /p/, /w/) followed by UL can have the FOOT vowel, and then, only in some cases.
Best Answer
We very seldom create explicit separation between the last phoneme of the first word and the first phoneme in the second. In the cases where we do, it's usually if the sounds are the same and we want to make sure the distinction is clear. For example, someone giving his name as Bob Bridger over the phone might put a glottal stop after the first name so that the person on the other end doesn't think he said Bob Ridger.
The words you say above are all spoken fluidly, without stops. In order they would be (sorry, no IPA here)
Note that the t sounds usually get vocalized except for the final one: "put it in" becomes pudditin.
The sentence "Ed had edited it" sounds like "Eddədeddədədit." Really.