Pronunciation of a/an.

[pizza]

What is the standard American pronunciation of a in, for example:

a dog.

an apple.

Is it /æ/ as in cat or /ə/ as in away?

[SoothingDave]

A dog is like a way.

[pizza]

But never /a/ like in aye, correct?

[Raymott]

But never /a/ like in aye, correct?

You can say it that way if you're speaking very slowly, or if you're making a decision, eg:
"Give me ... a (aye) ... um ... a (ə) hotdog with mustard, please."

[pizza]

Sorry to bump this thread but I realize I didn't close this idea well enough.

What about "an apple".

What would be the IPA for the whole sentence?

1) /ən ˈæpəl/
2) /æn ˈæpəl/

(General American).

[BobK]

Could be either, depending on emphasis:

Mother: 'When you've cleared your plate [='eaten everything up'] you can have [your 1].'
Child finishes, eats an apple, then reaches for another.
Mother: 'Little monkey. I said you could have [your 2].' [/æn/ emphasizes singleness here.]

The unstressed version is more common.

b

[pizza]

Very interesting BobK, thanks.

Unstressed vowels usually default to /ə/, is this correct?

Another confusion I have is with /ʌ/, I realize it exists in RP, but I think it does not in GA, e.g., run /rən/ instead of /rʌn/.

[BobK]

Very interesting BobK, thanks.

Unstressed vowels usually default to /ə/, is this correct? - Usually*

....

*There are exceptions (though, as often with exceptions, they are in the process of being ironed out [although the ironing out often creates yet more exceptions!]. If you asked a speaker of RP 'How do you pronounce "civil"?' they would probably answer '/'sɪvɪl/'. But often, especially in contexts that have other instances of a stressed /ɪ/, the unstressed one becomes /ǝ/: for example /'sɪvǝl dɪsǝ'bi:diǝns/. Tony Blair called himself the /praɪm 'mɪnǝstǝ/.

I haven't commented on your second point; there are lots of people here more knowledgeable about GA than I am.

b

[BobK]

PS Also an unstressed written 'e' can often be realized as /ɪ/ - as in /prɪ'zju:m/. In fact that /ɪ/ is quite common - even giving rise to misspellings (with 'i'). Only yesterday, for example (/ɪg'za:mpǝl/ !), in this forum, I saw 'aggravate' misspelt with an 'i'. (And in that case, as it happens, the misspelling allows for a change in the meaning - for me, 'aggravation' will always involve the idea of making something more grave; but not many people insist on this more restricted meaning; and I have to accept that 'aggravation' can often be used to refer to behaviour that is just disruptive.)

b

[pizza]

Thanks again for taking your time to answer my questions.