We pronounce aunt as "ant" in the Philippines where we use the American English standard. Report Abuse. In southern Britain one says 'arnt' ~ long 'a' ~ 'ont' rhymes with 'want' and is therefore wrong. I simply don't see why the 'ant' pronunciation of aunt is the more widely accepted. How to Pronounce Aunt? (CORRECTLY) - YouTube Permalink More specifically, New England (including Boston). And "Merry Mary" happens to be commonly used in the formal study of accents and dialects to exemplify Anonymouses point exactly. I'm an African American, and yes, I pronounce the word in question as "Ont." The Brits use autumn rather than fall, but our term fall originated with a Brit phrase "the fall of the leaves" which disappeared there. Here in In the northeastern US / New England area I have never heard them pronounced the same either. :). 9 votes Did UK hospital tell the police that a patient was not raped because the alleged attacker was transgender? I was just discussing this with a friend of mine who is black. Again, pronounced like ant. So they ran out of spuds a few years ago, but surely they could have found something else to eat rather than starving to death or scrounging off us, the fuckin peasants, perhaps this gives some insight into the weak character as well as the illiteracy of the average Irish person 0 vote finally, people speak in different registers depending on the situation they are ini, for example, call my mom's sisters "onts" and my dad's sisters "ants." Aunt Mary. They are all pronounced "-aw"nt. Permalink plural. Slang. It most definitely is a regional/accent variation. The English talk like they're from Boston or something ("pahk ya cah in hahvahd yahd"). That's because this is the way it was pronounced by their slaveholding proper English owners (circa 1700's) in the south and then by their descendants. All my relatives gather every year for a family reunion. She is a distant relation of his, though I don't quite remember how. Report Abuse. Using that logic, Arfon, shouln't you say "awnt", rhyming with haunt or taunt? Comparing you the them is an insult to primates everywhere. This US dialect splatter chart shows that just over 75% of Americans pronounce aunt and ant (the bug) the same. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. aunt - pronunciation of aunt by Macmillan Dictionary Continue with Recommended Cookies, Please All of those family members spoke French. I was really bothered about the pronunciation, so I decided to look up the word on the internet and clicked on this site. My children have two kinds of female relatives of their parents, "ants" and "onts." 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). Does "with a view" mean "with a beautiful view"? I loved visiting my aunt and uncle. AHNT! Permalink The same can be said for daughter, which is Dawter, not Dwater or Dotter. There's no wrong or right way. Up here in New England (for geographic illiterates like you, we're also Americans), we pronounce it "ahnt", ok? It's my understanding that most black Americans descended from slaves that worked in the owner's home say ont instead of the more commonly acceptable ant for aunt. I did not expect to even find an answer to my question I typed in Google which was as follows: " why do black people pronounce aunt different than white people?" If you look at the breakdown by state in the survey you cite, around 82% of the people pronounce "ant" and "aunt" the same in New York and New Jersey, while only 14% do in Massachusetts. 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. "Ont" is thought to be a northern thing. You've got the pronunciation of aunt right. She more closely resembles her aunt than her mother. Using a small minority's inability to distinguish between two commonly recognized differences in vowel sounds ah- and aw- (just look at every single dictionary) surely cannot be used to justify rejecting the more common pronunciation. aunts. You have earned {{app.voicePoint}} points. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English, British and American pronunciations with audio. Consonants vary minimally from one dialect to the next but mainly it's vowels that distinguish speech forms. There are racial differences, culturally, linguistically, physiologically, etc. Moderate. As with practically ALL vowels, it depends on where you are from. Search; Pronounce; aunt - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. Permalink However, if I was to visit the place and found myself switching on a TV, i place extreme doubt upon the likelihood of me being faced with an English human, which all seems a little unfair. P.S. The overwhelming majority of black people pronounce the word 'Ask' as 'Axe', and as this phenomenon seems to exist on both sounds of the atlantic, i would surmise that this is indeed a 'black ting', much in the same way as the Irish cannot pronounce words that include the letters 'OW' or 'OU'. We all went up there, we had dinner together, her aunts were there. Unfortunately, neither does your list (which isn't pronounced like ANY version of aunt, anyway). Permalink Hear the pronunciation of the word on its own and in example sentences. The (a) USA pronunciation pronunciation of aunt was brought to America before British English developed the () USA pronunciation in such words as aunt, dance, and laugh. I am very curious. Well if that is the case then why don't we pronounce the word little with no "t" sound in the word the way they do? AUNT | Pronunciation in English - Cambridge Dictionary Or, even worse, no one wants to think that they sound uneducated. Regardless, comparing similarly spelled words in English is almost meaningless. Permalink {{view.translationsData[trans_lang][0].vote_count}}, {{app.userTrophy[app.userTrophyNo].hints}}, {{view.translationsData[trans_lang][0].word}}, {{view.translationsData[trans_lang][0].username}}. Log in or That is slightly at contretemps with etymonline's line of reasoning. Irish people can mis-pronounce words as much as they like in their own cesspit of a country, why do they have to come and do it in mine?, that is the question. This may not be the answer; however, I just wanted to add this. I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah, and I say "ant. The white population(influnced by Dutch settlers and English colanisation) say ont. How to pronounce aunt | British English and American English pronunciation How to pronounce aunt UK /nt/ US /nt/ More about phonetic symbols Sound-by-sound pronunciation UK /nt/ aunt // as in father /n/ as in name /t/ as in town US /nt/ aunt // as in hat /n/ as in name /t/ as in town When 'thingamajig' and 'thingamabob' just won't do, A simple way to keep them apart. Welcome to ELY, Danny! All my relatives gather every year for a family reunion. 45 votes aunt n. (uncle's or aunt's wife) ta nf. You poor SOB, must be miserable in your neck of the woods. R-N-T. The 'ont' way to say it seems much more logical. In my research on the origins of the word "aunt", many sources say that the "ant" pronunciation is the original one, but "ont" has and is becoming a more widely accepted pronunciation. What is Chris on about (Oct 29)? they're not appreciated here. Thankfully, we are all nerds and nerds do not wield guns. 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. There are so many different word origins that the same spelling can have many different pronunciations. Accessed 28 Jun. Imagine trying to figure out which characters and tones the foreign words will conjure (e.g., 'Hamburger' is pronounced as 'HAN BAO BAO', and unless you know chinese, you'll have a hard time ploughing through more than a few hundred different combinations of charactes with the same phonetic symbols). It only takes a minute to sign up. Her mother's family lived east of New Orleans and have gone back in their family history about four generations to an ancestor who was a slave from Martinique. What are these planes and what are they doing. 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. Which words are pronounced with an // or // depending on dialect? I dont have the exact page number since I have a kindle ebook. 'pa pdd chac-sb tc-bd bw hbr-20 hbss lpt-25' : 'hdn'">, Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes, Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. She projects, from the start, an alternative lesson, and at the end she pronounces her pride in being like her. Ok, I'm really going to throw a wrench in the works. 4 votes Note also, "L," and semivocalic glides "w," "y"). 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". 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). Permalink 16 votes Learn a new word every day. Permalink I would hope that you would re-examine your theories and find true and factual hypotheses based on research and not hearsay! On major holidays, we invited our neighbors (we used to call my mother's friends ". My wife, from the Midwest says 'ant'. Listen free audio with natural accents. "Faux" sounds like "oh". AU is pronounced as R. English is English, not American. No registration required. I live in Kentucky and everyone I know with the exception of one aquaintence from Philadelphia says "ant." Both are considered correct. Learn more. NOT ONE!!! Definition and synonyms of aunt from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. We may be generally reticent as to our uncles and aunts, and may drop even our brothers and sisters in our ordinary conversation. I've been amused until now with how very distressed and even holier-than-thou people can be about mere regionalistic pronunciations! "Laugh" uses the short "a" sound like "ant". I hear both on the West Coast of the United States. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Permalink Check pronunciation: aunt. He immediately wakes in horror, realising that he has dreamed the tale of the count's. it's impossible to talk to people without subtly adopting the vernacular of the group you're in! 1. the sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle. Permalink noun countable /nt/ Click to listen to the pronunciation of aunt Use our interactive phonemic chart to hear each symbol spoken, followed by an example of the sound in a word. Middle English, from Old French ante, from Latin amita; akin to Old High German amma mother, nurse, Greek amma nurse, 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1. Well, I'd like to know the correct way to pronounce "aunt," whether it's closer to "ant" or "ont." When you answer, please say where you're from. the wife of one's uncle. In my personal opinion, I am more likely to accept "aunt" ("au" pronounced like the "au" in "flaunt") as the correct pronunciation of the word for the sole purpose that it follows the unvarying, uniform pattern of every other word in the English language that contains the string of letters "aunt". When I've been in the north of England I've heard 'ant'. Also in response to IDgaf - I think Londoners pronounce it to rhyme with 'aren't' because they are trying to sound a little posh!!! (Definition of aunt from the Webster's Essential Mini Dictionary Cambridge University Press) Translations of aunt in Chinese (Traditional) , , See more in Chinese (Simplified) , , Oops! Report Abuse, Neilbert, you make an interesting observation, but the debate is between "a"nt and "ah"nt. I mean how comes that english seems to be the only language in the world (OK I dont know about chinese) where you dont have simple rules to link signs on paper and sounds ?Thanks in advance. 14 votes Report Abuse. Many of the black population say ant, since they have learnt alot of the english language from American movies. And it does not seem to matter what city or area they are filmed or where the litigants are from, black people pronounce aunt "awnt" or "awnty". Our equivalents in government, unfortunately, do. In England 'Aunt' is generally pronounced as 'Ant'. Therefore I have no love of the Irish race as a whole. I have aunts and uncles on my mother's side of the family. On one side was the English pronunciation like taunt and on the other side was the ant pronunciation and she wasn't sure why there was that difference. But according to me, she and the dictionary are wrong. A majority usage does not make it a grammatical rule. It's your parent's sister, not an insect. American Pronunciation of aunt by Macmillan Dictionary ", I have never heard a Westerner say "ont." I insisted that it wasn't a matter of education but a matter of geography. Most of them are of Fr Origin. I am from Connecticut originally and moved to the Midwest. English is filled with many words of different origins where the same spelling has many different pronunciations. I'm from Massachusetts. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. ", 21 votes I will continue to say ahnt forever and nothing will stop me. I am a medical transcriptionist so I hear lots of pronunciations and most everyone says "ant," except me and my extended family. agony aunt noun; Aunt Sally . How to pronounce AUNTIE in English - Cambridge Dictionary 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 had given the word "aunt"a picnic pests name "ant" If I pronounce it aunt, giving recognitianto the "u", I would sound like a goose.."auunt-auunt auunt"Or I could give it a Opie translation and call it "Aint". His cookbooks make subtle reference to the canned foods and unhappy aunts and grief of his childhood. Can I correct ungrounded circuits with GFCI breakers or do I need to run a ground wire? Difficult. announcers are supposed to sound "generic", which one could also call boring or even robotic. 30 votes Also, not just African Americans pronounce it "ont". "Ant" is actually how Northerners say it. The same pronunciation can also have a dozen different spellings. It was a nice change of pace from the mundane, repetitive, and often meaningless arguments that everyone else is trying to make. It belongs to the southern plantations and the English speaking slaveowners.If I were black, I would surely not say it that way. I stand by what I said before. What usually goes through my head is "is this person from around the area I live originally?" How to pronounce the aunt | HowToPronounce.com In Australia we tend to have more of an Ah-nt; almost halfway between ant and ohnt. I do live very close to Canada, though. Short story in which a scout on a colony ship learns there are no habitable worlds. NEITHER one rhymes with any of the -aunt words you list. I say 'ant' and 'Aw -di' as in Claude, or audio. If it is truth, why are you so weak and insecure that you would scream racism? I am American. This function takes 2 arguments but 1 argument was supplied, Similar quotes to "Eat the fish, spit the bones". Does it really matter? An Aunt | 54 pronunciations of An Aunt in British English Seems like your pronunciation of aunt is not correct. Learn how to pronounce \"aunt\" in British English and American English. This is the British English pronunciation of aunt. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aunt.' It's pretty much irrelevant to what I said. On another noteI've travelled all over our country and have heard many accents. Thank you. I have never been to Ireland, and doubt I ever will, My mother was injured by an IRA bomb in '96, my city was blown to smithereens, Irish tinkers move into my local park once a year and leave three months later with no turf, toilet blocks or swings still in existence, not to mention the three month local crime spree which usually results in the theft of every lawn mower and bicycle within a ten mile radius. Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. In the South, such as Victoria, it is a soft sound, and further north, towards the Top End, it becomes stronger, like 'Arnt', Growing up in New England,everyone pronounced aunt "ahnt". Stack Exchange network consists of 182 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. I spell colour, favour, and neighbour with the 'U'. Yankee Fackers, United United United prem Champs 07 United, 1 vote aunt = (au)nt sounding like the "au" sound not (an) sound, Yes, I'm from New England which was settled by the English. Report Abuse. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. DEFINITIONS 1. For myself, sometimes I say ahnt and sometimes I say ant. Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. He says he's always learned that it;s proper to say Ant, while I being from Canada prounce it Aunt. BUT I LIKE IT WHEN I HEAR BLACK PEOPLE ANT (AND SOME DO:). Sunday translate: \ . Permalink According to the dictionary, ant may be preferred, or perhaps more common. Record the pronunciation of this word in your own voice and play it to listen to how you have pronounced it. or post as a guest. What was particularly interesting is, not only did she say them the same, she also could not hear the difference when someone else said them differently! ", 94 votes However, as I did my research (loser) on this issue, I realized what a dope I am. Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.