I've heard this word pronounced [is.tr\@n] (eastren) a few times, and I was wondering if there's any areas or accents that use this form consistenly.
"Eastern"
Interesting. I use ["ist@`n]. On a related note, I'm aware that there's some variation in the pronunciation of "different", between ["dIfr\@nt] (the way I say it) and ["dIf@`nt].