Pronunciation: aunt

We say "ant" in Northern Illinois. I think it's common in the midwest/Northern regions to say it that way.

I hear both on the West Coast of the United States.

I'm from Tennessee/Alabama. Around here we say "ant" as in the animal (rhymes with "can't"). However, the majority of people of African decent say "ah-nt" (I'm assuming that's what you mean with "ont").

I'm Irish and I say 'ant'. I don't usually hear the 'ont' pronunciation but I could imagine someone with a posh British accent saying it.

As with practically ALL vowels, it depends on where you are from.
Furthermore, the way we are writing these variations down is also affected by our own vowels - 'ant' for an American probably means a long 'a', but for somebody from the north of England it means a short 'a'. So if we write down 'ant' or 'ont', even when we give examples of things it may rhyme with (forgetting that those vowels also shift), it might be helpful to use the phonetic alphabet where possible (not easy, of course, when posting on a forum).
And you shouldn't refer to that British pronunciation as 'posh'. Many non-'posh' people use similar vowels.

Well I live in the Bay Area in California and I've always said "Ont" but I definitely hear people say "Ant" now and then. I seriously cringe when I hear people pronounce it, "Ant."

Bert Vaux at U Wisconsin has generated some nice maps of U.S. dialect. The link below will take you to maps showing the distribution of the pronunciation of "aunt."

At the end of the day, about 3/4 of the country pronounces "aunt" the same way they pronounce "ant." The Northeast (where I and most of my aunts live) is the region where "ahnt" is most common, but this amounts to about 10% of the U.S. population. Interestingly, about 7% of the population reports that they say "ant" when refering to a particular person, but "ahnt" when refering to the general concept. In my family, most of my aunts are "ahnts" but I have a couple great "ants" who hail from the same western Massachusetts hill town that is otherwise stocked with "ahnts."

Please do not marry into my family if you are part of the 3% of America that pronounces "aunt" with the same vowel sound as is used in "caught. We could not handle the (additional) confusion.

Here is the link:
http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_1.html

"aren't"/aaah-nt for me, as a southeastern Brit

Chris that's a great link, nice one!

We pronounce aunt as "ant" in the Philippines where we use the American English standard.

"ah-nt"for me, when I heard this word for the first time in my life from a nun from Ireland in 60's in Japan

I grew up with the "ont" pronunciation in my family (African America from New Jersey not "Jois-see".) But since I moved to CA I've made a lot of friends that are Phillipino and I've noticed myself changing to "ant" and "ant-ee".

Another cute thing I picked up from my Phillipino friends is the term of endearment "Auntie Baby" (ant-ee bay-bee) referring to your youngest Aunt. Almost all my friends have an "Auntie Baby" and I think it's just the cutest phrase.

I looked at the UWisconsin link and was very surprised by the results. I think it must have been a very Caucasian poll. I, too, am Caucasian, but I don't know any African-Americans that pronounce the word "ant". All of my black acquaintances and friends pronounce it "ahnt".

I am from Sweden, and sadly enough my english is a mish-mash of british english and american english, therefore the pronounciation depends upon the accent of the person whom I'm talking to. My br. english teacher hear me saying "ah-nt" and talking with friends in class I use the long vowel.

I would probably say ont because if you are referring to you aunt as aunty, then it wouldn't sound right if it was (AN-tee) unless you have a new york accent.

I grew up in the suburban Midwest (Kansas City aria) and I only heard ah-nt from African-American kids at school.

I'm on the south east coast now and I hear ah-nt MUCH more often from "Southern" women.

Strangely, "Southern" men from the same families say ant.

In Virginia (The real one, not West), we say 'ont' because there's a "u" in there. I don't think I have ever heard of a silent "u".

Using that logic, Arfon, shouln't you say "awnt", rhyming with haunt or taunt?

In southern Britain one says 'arnt' ~ long 'a' ~ 'ont' rhymes with 'want' and is therefore wrong.

I'm from NJ (I don't speak anything like a New Yorker) I say 'ant'
Cal - I cringe when I hear 'ont'
I believe the story goes..'ont' being the New England pronunciation. After the Civil War, women in NE felt it was their obligation to school Southern African Americans. The African Americans picked up this pronunciation and it has spread throughout the country as they moved through out the states. 'ant' is still the most accepted pronunciation. The only other people I've heard say it 'ont' mispronounce many common words. I'm inclined to put that pronunciation in the mispronunciation category because of that.

I say ahnt because I don't want to confuse my aunt with an ant.

IT'S ONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO ONE WANTS AN ANT FOR AN AUNT!
AUNTS ARE COOL

"BigJock Jan-18-06 6:26PM

UK wide, we pronounce it 'ant'."

Not so. In London people say pronounce it to rhyme with 'aren't'. When I've been in the north of England I've heard 'ant'.

I live in the south-west of england and we pronounce it ant. None of my 'ants' think I am being in the least bit demeaning or that, in any way, I am likening them to the insect. It is accepted as the way we pronounce it here.
More often than not we say auntie but pronounced the same way as 'anti'. Either way we get sweeties and cakes from our favourite ANTI!!! Ha ha!

I have no family, I am gay.

R-N-T. The U makes a sound too. AU is pronounced as R. English is English, not American. As a Brit' I think it's time the Americans called their Language something else. It's not English - it's been bastardised too much!

Lozza,

What about Appalachian English, which is known to be more conservative than most other dialects? The English spoken in Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, and surrounding areas retains many of the features of English spoken northern Engliand in the 18th century. And why even have the letter "r" if you can't pronounce it? The English talk like they're from Boston or something ("pahk ya cah in hahvahd yahd"). While I find the Texan insertion of "r" into words where it doesn't belong (i.e., "idear," "drawring") to be annoying, I must point out that American English, in recognizing the existence of the letter "r," has given us one of the world's most unique phonemes: the rotacized r. In England, the word "bird" pronounced "beud," two consonants and a vowel, that's it. How boring. In America, we use the "r" as a vowel ("r," being a liquid, has flexible properites and has close affinities with vocalic sounds. Note also, "L," and semivocalic glides "w," "y"). Did you know that less than one percent of the world's languages have this phoneme, the rotacized r? Ha! It's YOU guys who have bastardized (note the intentional "z") English!

You're all a bunch of racist morons with too much time on your hands. I know plenty of African-American people that can speak circles around any "white" person. So, your comments of "blacks" saying the word 'ax' instead of 'ask' and the pronunciation of aunt vs. 'ant' being a "black thing" is completely out of line. I would hope that you would re-examine your theories and find true and factual hypotheses based on research and not hearsay!

Hey Stan, why don't you go back to your ukelele? Up here in New England (for geographic illiterates like you, we're also Americans), we pronounce it "ahnt", ok? Nothing wrong with that, and pronouncing it like the insect has always sounded weird to me.

We in India normally say 'Ont.'

ITS ANT. I ALSO CRINGE WHEN I HEAR WHITE PEOPLE AHNT. BUT I LIKE IT WHEN I HEAR BLACK PEOPLE ANT (AND SOME DO:)

I say both "aunt" and "ant".....I drive myself crazy with it.....When I say "ant" I feel like a total hillbilly and so correct myself by saying "aunt" even though I don't really know which is actually right...So I probably end up sounding like even more of idiot by saying both ways than if I were to just pick one already! THANKS JUSTIN for pointing this out to me! -punk!

A person from Worcester, Mass., once saw a cartoon with a couple on a picnic blanket and a bunch of old ladies walking by and the caption, "What would a picnic be without aunts!" AND DIDN'T GET IT because he pronounced the word aunt as ont. He remembered the cartoon DURING a discussion of the ant/ont pronunciation. My father was English, and both sets of grandparents were from England (Yorkshire), and we pronounced the word ahnt.

The Oxford English notes that Chaucer spelled ask as ax, and that most of England did, too, up until the time of Shakespeare. Post-Shakespeare the word became ask. So the African-American pronunciations of ax and ahnt probably both came from older English pronunciations.

The Brits use autumn rather than fall, but our term fall originated with a Brit phrase "the fall of the leaves" which disappeared there.

I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah, and I say "ant."

My wife is from the San Francisco Bay area, and she says "ant."

I have never heard a Westerner say "ont." We live in Virginia now, and once in a while I hear someone say "ont." People don't typically talk about aunts in Virginia--they talk about property values, which is far more annoying than "ont."

I lived in Rhode Island for a few months, not long enough that I remember anyone saying "ont" instead of "ant," but long enough that I remember a few people saying "con't" instead of can't.

Merriam-Webster lists "ant" before "ont" but does list both pronunciations. For can't, it lists three: can't, "con't," and "cain't" ("especially Southern" it says).

Finally, I find "ont" mildly annoying but not worth complaining about (except when anonymous on the Internet). :-)

I am from Virginia and our family always has said "ont." My husband's family all say "ant" and they think I am trying to be posh with my pronunciation, but I can't help it. My children have two kinds of female relatives of their parents, "ants" and "onts." One for my husband's side and one for mine. They will grow up confused!

I am a medical transcriptionist so I hear lots of pronunciations and most everyone says "ant," except me and my extended family. This is definitely a regional thing and has nothing to do with your level of education or your race.

I'm an English teacher in Turkey .Here we say and teach it as ont / ahnt plus my American friend whose English I like a lot pronounces it the same.I'm her twins' ahntiee :) (she's from Pennysylvenia)

I have to say that I am a black woman and yes, I pronounce "Aunt as Ont", and no I don't do so because I am black. I don't know why Aunt would be pronounced ant. It doesn't sound right to me. Ant = Ant.

My dictionary states that Aunt can be pronounced two ways:

Aunt (ant or änt)

For everyone that is trying to make it seems as if only black people say "ont" instead of "ant", you need to stop stereotyping and open your eyes to the real world!

Another thing, for the person that said that black people say "ax" - I say ask. Oh, and if a black person has said "ax", in your presence, I am sure he or she wasn't the only race that have done so.

Hey Dan B. ... AHNT! AHNT! AHNT! AHNT! AHNT! AHNT!

Being a German/American who grew up in the midwest I always have said ahnt. My wife, who is an English major says its supposed to be pronounced "ant" as in the dictionary. But according to me, she and the dictionary are wrong. They do not pronounce "automobile" as atomobile.

Yes, but Klaus, it's not pronounced ahtomobile either. It's awtomobile, and aunt isn't pronounced awnt. Regardless, comparing similarly spelled words in English is almost meaningless. There are so many different word origins that the same spelling can have many different pronunciations. The same pronunciation can also have a dozen different spellings.

PS - The dictionary is supposed to represent a consensus and be a final arbiter to allow some common method of communication. Ahnt is also listed in the dictionary (albeit after ant), so ahnt isn't wrong. According to the dictionary, ant may be preferred, or perhaps more common. To say the dictionary is wrong seems an odd point of view. The dictionary is simply a rule book that we as an English speaking society agree to abide by so that we can all have a common ground for communication. You're certainly free to say aunt any way you like, but it seems a bit self-centered to think that the rest of society is wrong.

I have always pronounced "aunt" with an ignored "u". I would, if convinced I
was in error, make a concerted effort
to change. I had given the word "aunt"
a picnic pests name "ant" If I pronounce it aunt, giving recognitian
to the "u", I would sound like a goose.....
"auunt-auunt auunt"
Or I could give it a Opie translation and call it "Aint"

It's a shame that some people are so thinned skinned and self-righteous that they find "racism" in such an innocuous discussion. If it is truth, why are you so weak and insecure that you would scream racism? There are racial differences, culturally, linguistically, physiologically, etc. Anyone that claims otherwise is either a liar or a fool. And if acknowledging that there are racial differences is racism, then science is racist. Grow up.

Growing up in New England,everyone pronounced aunt "ahnt". Just as in AUGUST,AUTO,AUTHENTIC,. The only time we ever heard "ant" was on tv shows. Like" Leave it to beaver."

I'm an African American, and yes, I pronounce the word in question as "Ont." However, I have never "axed" anyone for anything in my life.

* FYI; Though I'm from the Midwest, that Midwestern flat "A"/spitting monosyllabic words into two syllables makes me cringe (e.g. pants == pi-ance, slacks == sli-akhs etc...)

I find it strange that it is the only "a u n t" word that is not pronounced phonetically or with emphasis on all of the vowels. Examples:

chaunt
daunt
Gauntlet
flaunt
haunt
jaunt
taunt

I do not imagine people say,
“What a pretty afternoon, let’s go for a jant, shall we?”
“Wow, that was a dant ing task.”
“If you’ve got it, flant it!”

A majority usage does not make it a grammatical rule. It just means a lot of people say it incorrectly in my opinion, but whatever. It is not a big deal. I shall simply revel in my correctness and laugh at everyone else as they run through the gantlet of the english language and flant their poor pronunciations. I hope no one is upset by my tanting.

PS
Im regards to “ask,” I know black and white people that drop the “sk” and replace it with an “x.” But, I do not a lot of blacks that say “ax” as opposed to “ask.” On the other hand, I know a lot of white people that replace the “k” with an additional “s.” It makes for some great self entertainment. “Hey, Bobby, let me ass you?” “Yeah, go ahead.”

In Southeastern Virginia (Tidewater/Hampton Roads Region) For anyone with class or regional linguistic pride, "Aunt" usually sounds like "caught" and "haunt" because of our connection with the original people from England that came in the 1600's. There is a "u" in there for a reason people, and it should not be ignored.

I pronounce it "ont" not "ant". There's no wrong or right way. Either way is fine. Also, not just African Americans pronounce it "ont". I don't think it has to do with education, SES or race.
The way I see it is: There is a "u" A+U=O aunt= ont and ant (insent) = ant, but if I hear someone say "ant" i don't "cringe" because i know what they are referring to and that's what communication/language is all about.

In response to the above comments:

There are many words in the Queen's English that are similar in spelling but pronounced differently. Just because "au" is a part of "jaunt" or whatever examples someone gave, doesn't mean it's pronounced the same. Speaking of Cananda, "Newfoundland" , is not pronounced "new-found-land"....right?! It's pronounced "new-fin-lind". I'm not saying that ant or ont is either correct or incorrect,....but you can't give the above examples as fact. That would surely show your ignorrance and the good Queen shall have your head.

Good day.

Everyone take a deep breath, OK? it doesn't matter, tomato, tomahto. WTF, I am from the West Coast orignially and have always pronounced it aunt as in "ont" and everyone can go blow. Everyone mocks each other over the stupidest things, get over yourself. Toodles, I wish I had not ever found this webpage...

i am from arkansas and i say ont but i am 1 out of a million but i have never said ant

ewwwwwww!!!

Ok, I'm really going to throw a wrench in the works. The argument so far as been between ant and ahnt. Well, for those who say ant, how many say it with the same assonance as hat, cat, at... and how many say it with the same vowel sound as care, air, etc.? And for those who say ahnt, how many say it like font, con, ponder, and do any say it like awnt, as in fawn, pawn, launder? There, that's four different ways to say it now! Of course, some of it is regional. Many of you may recognize this: "Merry Mary Married Hairy Harry." Some people (and I've met some) will pronounce every vowel in that sentence exactly the same (all like "air").

Hey CHIMP, I think it is YOU who needs to check the dictionary, you IGNORAMUS. What exactly is your objection to the previous post? It seemed to me to be a lighthearted attempt to make some interesting points. It was relevant, and no less valid than anything else in this thread. And "Merry Mary..." happens to be commonly used in the formal study of accents and dialects to exemplify Anonymouses point exactly. You are extremely rude and should make your attacks somewhere else. they're not appreciated here. You might want to rethink your pseudonym, too. Comparing you the them is an insult to primates everywhere.

August; autumn; autonomy; aunt; automotive; etc., ant does not "work". aunt = (au)nt sounding like the "au" sound not (an) sound

Yes, I'm from New England which was settled by the English

It's discussions like this that bring me to understand what God was thinking when he destroyed the Tower of Babel and gave the people of the world different langauges (or however the story goes). This issue--is it ant or ahnt--has been pounded for about a year and a half, fostering an environment for absolute assertions, insults, immense pride, and all the things that make the world a nasty place. Thankfully, we are all nerds and nerds do not wield guns. Our equivalents in government, unfortunately, do. Personally, I say ahnt. I am white. I am American. I feel no connection with the British heritage that I lack (my parents immigrants from somewhere that isn't Britain). I will continue to say ahnt forever and nothing will stop me. Furthermore, if you say ant (or awnt or oint or aint or ownt or whatever), that's terrific.

Does no one pronounce it the way they do on The Andy Griffith Show, like Ain't. Remember Aint Bea? I'm from Texas and a lot of central Texas folks say it "aint". For myself, sometimes I say ahnt and sometimes I say ant. And I think ahnt sounds the most sophisticated and aint sounds the least sophisticated. But what do I know?

went thru all the comments and gathered few words with 'au'
audio
audi car
auction
august
auxillary
autumn
augment
author
audience
audit
auditorium
auto
auspicious
caution

see for yourself how they sound.
so aunt must sound like 'aunt' and not 'ant'

Sukeshini, I suggest you scroll up and look at the previous posts. None of the words you listed are pronounced like "aunt". While I seem to be repeating myself, some pronounce aunt as "ant" and some pronounce it as "ahnt", but all of the words you list are pronounced with an "aw-" sound, not an "ah-" sound, so your list really doesn't prove anything. Very few (I suppose I can't say none) pronounce it as "awnt". Besides, such a list is meaningless. "au" has many different pronunciations depending on the word. "Laugh" uses the short "a" sound like "ant". "Gauge" sounds like "ay". "Faux" sounds like "oh". None of this has anything to do with how to pronounce "aunt". Unfortunately, neither does your list (which isn't pronounced like ANY version of aunt, anyway).

How do you pronounce the following:
august
author
automobile
auxilary
austin
austere
autonomy

See a pattern here? I simply don't see why the 'ant' pronunciation of aunt is the more widely accepted. In fact, I can't think of any other words with the 'au' beginning that are pronounced like 'ant'...can anyone? The 'ont' way to say it seems much more logical. (Then again, when did logic ever rule with American English?...)

Response to Anonymous (previous post): vowels are always ambiguous. Consonants vary minimally from one dialect to the next but mainly it's vowels that distinguish speech forms. The vowels in the words John gives, along with that in the word "aunt," can be rendered in a staggering variety of ways depending on where youre from So maybe, for some people, o and aw are the same.

I was so amazed to learn that the word "aunt" has caused such controversy in our world. I was really bothered about the pronunciation, so I decided to look up the word on the internet and clicked on this site. I am glad to find out that I am not alone. My family says "ant" and "ont." I think "ont" sounds better.

My wife, from the Midwest says 'ant'. I am from New England, and I say 'aunt'. I'd like to think because of my higher SAT scores, I am smarter. However, as I did my research (loser) on this issue, I realized what a dope I am. Does it really matter? Certainly not. I have always however, taken great pride in pronouncing words correctly, and typically words frequently used in America but more foreign in their origins pose the greatest challenge. Filet Mignon for example, is pronounced Fill-et min yone (rhyming with moan and accented at the end of the word.) However, when an American tries to sound too French pronouncing it, he/she sounds snooty. Aunt/Ant doesn't have the same implications I think at least, because it's a much more commonly used expression, and therefore local dialect is acceptable...and by the way, I was therefore, wrong in my disagreement with my wife. I'll tell her on our 70th anniversary which is still half a century away...

regardless of how you pronounce anything, it's just retarded to think that being black has anything to do with how you speak. dialect and pronunciation are regional traits. so, yes, it often happens that a lot of people from an area are of the same race and speak the same way, but the connection between race and speech is superificial; it's proximity that matters.

on another note, i have always associated "ont" with the new england accent. my mom's family, who are all from Boston say "ont" and used to yell at me for saying "ant." on the other hand, my dad (who's black!) is from the west coast and is the one who taught me to say "ant."

finally, people speak in different registers depending on the situation they are in...i, for example, call my mom's sisters "onts" and my dad's sisters "ants." it's impossible to talk to people without subtly adopting the vernacular of the group you're in!

Mr. Pickwick -

You poor SOB, must be miserable in your neck of the woods.

Regards,
Michael Morris