# How do you pronounce "aunt" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 18, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077 "2010-07-18T01:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/21 "2010-07-18T05:49:02Z")
I’m not in the US, but since I’m from there, I chose the first option, that I AM there and say “ant.” I assume that’s what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/22 "2010-07-18T06:29:49Z")
In Southern California “rhymes with rant” is the most common among everyone except for African Americans where “rhymes with haunt” is more typical. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/23 "2010-07-18T07:05:39Z")
> [@Rala](#): > > I’m Australian, and I pronounce it to rhyme with “can’t”. Just in case it isn’t clear, “can” and “can’t” have a different vowel sound in British and Australian (and NZ etc) English. So when saying “aunt” and “can’t”, almost all Australians use the “a” from the[IPA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet), not the “æ”. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/24 "2010-07-18T07:19:42Z")
My family is from central Massachusetts, and they say “aaahnt.” It’s nowhere near “ant” but is not quite as closed as “ont.” It’s also how they say “half.” I didn’t grow up there, but I think I probably say “aunt” much as they do. It’s not at all an affectation. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/25 "2010-07-18T10:57:22Z")
I pronounce it exactly like “aren’t” and “can’t”. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/26 "2010-07-18T11:29:48Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I’m confused. Do you have an unusual accent for your area or something? ‘Aren’t’ and ‘aunt’ are the same in my RP accent, and aaahnt is a reasonable way of writing that sound out without phonetic symbols - it is a long a sound, though obviously not as long as the aaaaa you’d say if you’re in a dentist’s chair. ‘Awnt’ and ‘haunt’ rhyme. > > If you have an ordinary SE England accent, how can you say aunt to rhyme with aren’t but then think it’s pronounced awnt and doesn’t rhyme with haunt? No, I do not believe I have an usual accent (or dialect, which is what we are really talking about) for SE England, and I doubt that I have one much different from yours. Rather, you and I seem to be interpreting the OP’s attempts at phonetic spelling a bit differently. I agree that “ahnt” captures my pronunciation better than “awnt,” but the 3 **a** ’s that the OP put at the beginning just made that alternative look absurd to me. I certainly do not drag out the initial **a** , in the way that that very strongly suggests - maybe one could imagine Bertie Wooster doing that, but not any ordinary English person - so I plumped for “awnt” as the only non-insectoid, non-absurd alternative on offer. I assumed that it was the OP’s attempt to capture my sort of pronunciation, and that “aaahnt” was some sort of joke attempt to render what would indeed be a very affected pronunciation.. I agree (and said) that I pronounce “aunt” pretty much indistinguishably from “are’nt,” and that “awnt” does look as though it might rhyme with “haunt,” in which case it would not rhyme with “aunt” for me. But I do not think I have ever actually heard anyone, in Britain or America, refer to a parent’s sister (or brother’s wife) by rhyming “aunt” with “haunt,” so I did not take that interpretation seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/27 "2010-07-18T11:50:09Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I agree (and said) that I pronounce “aunt” pretty much indistinguishably from “are’nt,” Similarly, except I harden the R in the latter. ---
**Author:** ![JoseArcadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@JoseArcadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseArcadio)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/28 "2010-07-18T13:02:07Z")
Scotland - “ant” is closest but I rarely pronounce the ‘t’ so it’s more “an” then “ant.” My family always use “auntie” which is pronounced “ahn’ee.” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/29 "2010-07-18T13:12:07Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I pronounce it exactly like “aren’t” and “can’t”. I love these threads, always interesting. Can you clarify? (Or anyone who offered “aren’t” as a rhyming word). I’m from Philly, and I say “ant,” though I hear black people say (I think) “ahnt.” But I’ve never heard an “r” in there, and I can’t picture how “aren’t” and “can’t” can rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/30 "2010-07-18T13:57:57Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I love these threads, always interesting. Can you clarify? (Or anyone who offered “aren’t” as a rhyming word). I’m from Philly, and I say “ant,” though I hear black people say (I think) “ahnt.” But I’ve never heard an “r” in there, and I can’t picture how “aren’t” and “can’t” can rhyme. That’s interesting. I recall at least some blacks in West Texas saying “ahnt,” while the whites all said “ant.” Some sort of cultural mannerism? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/31 "2010-07-18T14:08:54Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Of course not. Ont rhymes with font. Awnt rhymes with haunt. To clarify, there are lots of English lects that will pronounce these two vowels the same, and others that pronounce them differently. For those of us who speak a lect that doesn’t (Canadian English doesn’t, for one), it can be helpful to imagine a heavy New York accent. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/32 "2010-07-18T14:10:16Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I love these threads, always interesting. Can you clarify? (Or anyone who offered “aren’t” as a rhyming word). I’m from Philly, and I say “ant,” though I hear black people say (I think) “ahnt.” But I’ve never heard an “r” in there, and I can’t picture how “aren’t” and “can’t” can rhyme. You answered your own question: for lects (like English RP) that have silent r’s in that position. Imagine Patrick Stewart saying “aren’t” and “can’t.” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/33 "2010-07-18T14:29:13Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > You answered your own question: for lects (like English RP) that have silent r’s in that position. Imagine Patrick Stewart saying “aren’t” and “can’t.” Now I can picture it. Thanks. > [@Siam Sam](#): > > That’s interesting. I recall at least some blacks in West Texas saying “ahnt,” while the whites all said “ant.” Some sort of cultural mannerism? That’s the way I always took it. In my circles, I don’t know any white person who doesn’t pronounce it “ant” or any black person who doesn’t say “ahnt.” (I think, anyway–I’m going to have to listen again to make sure it’s not “awnt,” but I know it isn’t “ant.”) ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/34 "2010-07-18T14:37:47Z")
My wife and I grew up in Michigan, but she pronounces it awnt while I pronounce it ant. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/35 "2010-07-18T15:36:03Z")
I said “ahnt” but I realized that it depends on the name following it. If I’m just talking roughly about that relation, it’s ahnt. But my Aunt Ann, Aunt Betty and Aunt Elizabeth are “ants” while all the other aunts are “ahnts” and I’m not sure why. Now I’m going to puzzle on this all daggone day. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/36 "2010-07-18T15:44:43Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > In my circles, I don’t know any white person who doesn’t pronounce it “ant” or any black person who doesn’t say “ahnt.” Same here, or pretty close to it. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/37 "2010-07-18T15:55:31Z")
Ahnt, definitely. Not black, but African 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/38 "2010-07-18T15:59:44Z")
I say “ant”, one syllable. Here in Buffalo, natives pronounce it as “eeyant”, with two syllables. African-Americans in the area universally say “awnt”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/39 "2010-07-18T16:41:06Z")
Grew up saying ‘ant’, now I say ‘ont’. But I’m a pretentious git. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077/40 "2010-07-18T16:49:44Z")
Most usually Ant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/547077.md?page=3)