# Are your parents' sisters "ants" or "onts"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532 "2003-10-30T22:32:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Empress\_Jolrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@Empress\_Jolrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Empress_Jolrael)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/21 "2003-10-31T06:16:26Z")
Ahnt. I’m Australian. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/22 "2003-10-31T06:28:49Z")
Aunt, ont, ahnt, whatever. That’s what they are. I’m from California. I remember in grade school doing a “read aloud” bit in the classroom, and pronouncing it “ahnt.” One little bitchy girl (who didn’t like me) promptly raised her hand and told the teacher that I had pronounced it “wrong.” The teacher told her that no, I used a perfectly appropriate pronunciation. I have been told that I pronounce the word “funny” many times. One friend supposes that it’s because my family on my dad’s side is from England (and we have had a lot of English relatives visit us) but I’m not so sure. It is true, however–my dad did like to cling to some “English ways” that he picked up from his dad. (Who was born in England.) So I suppose that this pronunciation could be one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/23 "2003-10-31T06:45:34Z")
Been in Oklahoma most all of my life, and i pronounce it “ant”. Although I’ve heard some black people pronounce it “ont”. Don’t know if that’s a black culture thing or what. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/24 "2003-10-31T13:07:48Z")
Growing up in West Virginia, everyone thought we were weird when we said we had an ahnt. But my parents were Australian and our ahnt (we only had one) was Australian, so it made sense to us. Now my kids have ahnts on my side of the family and ants on my husband’s side of the family. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/25 "2003-10-31T13:22:27Z")
I’ll second **SuperLorie** here, I live in the 'burbs of Detroit and 'round here most white folks have ants and black folk have onts. ---
**Author:** ![Kyann22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a4c791/32.png) [@Kyann22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyann22)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/26 "2003-10-31T13:30:06Z")
Kentucky checking in… We have ants. Never had even heard of “onts” until visiting family in Virginia and found out my mom was one! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/27 "2003-10-31T13:31:05Z")
I agree with Queen Tonya. Most of the Awnts are black and most of the Ants are white. Must be cultural, huh? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/28 "2003-10-31T14:10:09Z")
Awnt ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/29 "2003-10-31T14:24:14Z")
‘ant’. Southern Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/30 "2003-10-31T14:26:06Z")
I has ahnts. ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/31 "2003-10-31T14:38:57Z")
In Little Rock I get the same experience as **Queen Tonya** and **Kalhoun**. We even get the occasional “ontee”. ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/32 "2003-10-31T14:56:50Z")
They’re a pain in the … I mean aaant… ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/33 "2003-10-31T15:20:26Z")
Go to [http://www.m-w.com/home.htm](http://www.m-w.com/home.htm) and do a search for “aunt”, then click on the little red audio link. What the hell is an “ont”? It isn’t pronouced “ahnt”. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/34 "2003-10-31T16:13:09Z")
I’m from North Florida, and I’ve always pronounced it like “ant.” But I’ve heard many local African-Americans pronounce it “ahnt” or “ahntie.” I also have a white friend from New England who pronounces it “ahnt” (and who makes fun of the “ant” pronunciation). ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/35 "2003-10-31T16:34:20Z")
Ant. Singular. (in more ways than one) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/36 "2003-10-31T17:40:02Z")
“Ants” for me. And I imagine Tolkein fans call their parents’ sisters “ents.” ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kaitlin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/37 "2003-10-31T17:48:47Z")
I pronounce it to rhyme with “taunt” because if I don’t, it comes out like “ay-unt”–and I hate that. No matter how hard I try, it’s “ay-unt.” Reminds me too much of [The Blue Screen of Day-Uth](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=182454). ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/38 "2003-10-31T17:51:26Z")
Neither, they’re all ain’ts. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/39 "2003-10-31T17:59:39Z")
Ant. Spent my formative years in Baltimore County. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532/40 "2003-10-31T20:54:34Z")
I say awnt in my head, but ant when I’m talking to my family. Sometimes I slip and say awnt and they look at me funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-your-parents-sisters-ants-or-onts/210532.md?page=3)