Vowels STRUT

The STRUT vowel is characteristically rendered as /ɔ/ (e.g. in number, son, tough, blood, does), and thus merges with the LOT, THOUGHT and FORCE vowels. One often hears [wan, kam] one, come which can historically be ascribed to the influence of the pronunciation of the Cameroon Pidgin English of these words, which indeed have /a/. /ε/ is further heard for but and, by some speech-conscious speakers, in words like cut and discuss. The influence of spelling yields /u/ in words like Brussels, buffalo, buttock, buttress, lumbago, culprit, and occasionally supplement and its derivatives. Finally, many Cameroonians have /au/ in southern (under the influence of south) and in country under the influence of other words with <oun> like count, county, round, sound, and for pronunciation whose spelling is often changed to *pronounciation.