# How do you pronounce aunt? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819 "2011-11-23T00:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/1 "2011-11-23T00:26:54Z")
[ant](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/File:en-us-aunt.ogg) or [ahnt](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/File:en-us-aunt-2.ogg) For example: “Hey kids, aunty coming for a visit.” ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/2 "2011-11-23T00:36:27Z")
Stupid stubby fingers! PS. Your location would also be interesting (I’m in Eastern Canada). PPS. “How do you aunt” is kinda zen… ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/3 "2011-11-23T00:43:04Z")
“Ahnt”; I grew up in New England. I’m in Ontario, and my wife and everyone else here says “ant”. It will be interesting to see if our 3-year old picks up my pronunciation or his mother’s. You’d probably be interested in the Dialect Survey: [http://dialect.redlog.net/index.html](http://dialect.redlog.net/index.html). Specifically, this map: [Dialect Survey Results](http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_1.html) ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/4 "2011-11-23T00:44:39Z")
Here is a [previous poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=571229) I started on the same question. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/5 "2011-11-23T00:46:36Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Here is a [previous poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=571229) I started on the same question. Darn. I did a search for thread titles with the word “aunt”, but that didn’t come up. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Obvious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Obvious)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/6 "2011-11-23T01:21:11Z")
Sometimes it’s ant, sometimes it’s aunty. Depends on my mood, how I feel about the person, and their preference. I’m from middle GA if it makes any difference. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/7 "2011-11-23T01:28:40Z")
Ant, or rather Anty. Western Canada ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/8 "2011-11-23T01:33:57Z")
Ant, but growing up in Florida, we used Tia. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/9 "2011-11-23T01:39:31Z")
Ant or Antie. Only pronounce it Ont if I’m being pseudo-posh for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/10 "2011-11-23T01:50:15Z")
TV people say aunt. Regular people say ant (most of them). ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/11 "2011-11-23T04:18:12Z")
For both my aunts I pronounce it “ain’t”. (I’m a Southern girl.) For any other instance I pronounce it “ant”. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/12 "2011-11-23T04:19:15Z")
Ant. But I don’t vote in public polls. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/13 "2011-11-23T04:37:45Z")
It varies depending on usage. I use the ‘ahnt’ pronunciation when it’s immediately followed by the woman’s name, but the ‘ant’ pronunciation otherwise. So I have three aunts (pronounced ‘ants’), but my Aunt (pronounced ‘ahnt’) Camille lives the closest. Admittedly I pronounce them with very little difference between the two, my ‘ahnt’ could easily be heard as an ‘ant’. But it’s different in my head, which is what really counts, right? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/14 "2011-11-23T04:40:22Z")
I pronounce it as ant. Ahnt sounds pretentious, to me. I live and was raised in Texas. And I generally start aunting by knitting a baby blanket. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/15 "2011-11-23T05:12:08Z")
I say ahnt. I was raised by Yankees, living all over the world. Some of my relatives go so far as to say arnt. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/16 "2011-11-23T15:40:27Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Stupid stubby fingers! > > PS. Your location would also be interesting (I’m in Eastern Canada). > PPS. “How do you aunt” is kinda zen… I changed the thread title to include the word “pronounce.” ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/17 "2011-11-23T15:43:54Z")
Ahnt, born and raised in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/18 "2011-11-23T15:50:53Z")
Depends. When there’s a name attached, it’s “ant.” _Ant Jane’s coming for a visit._ Sans name, it’s “ahnt.” _My ahnt is coming for a visit._ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/19 "2011-11-23T16:01:45Z")
Ant, as in “Ohhh, I hate my uncle but I love my ant-lers, because antlers are a moose’s best friend. Het Rocky…” Born in the midwest, raised in upstate NY, now living in New England. I’m a fish out of water here. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819/20 "2011-11-23T16:11:19Z")
Something like **ahnt** ; actually, much more like **aren’t**. I grew up in south east England. This pronunciation difference is mainly a regional rather than a class thing, I think. Certainly there are British people who say **ant** , mainly, I think, from the north of England and Scotland, but you seem to get both forms, varying by region, in America too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-aunt/603819.md?page=2)