# How do YOU say '&'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543 "2014-10-06T13:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/21 "2014-10-07T02:15:50Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > The & is an abbreviation for “et” and depending on the font it can look that way. It is an ampersand. The “et” is Latin for “and.” When reading aloud it would be normal to say “and” unless you were talking about the ampersand or “and sign” itself. > > I have heard it mispronounced as “andpersand” by those who ought to know better, but they were talking about the character and not the word it’s a stand-in for. I believe the word “ampersand” is just a contraction of the phrase “and per se and.” ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/22 "2014-10-07T02:26:42Z")
I’d never heard of TG&Y until today, but I would have assumed it would be pronounced “T G and Y”, but I guess I would’ve been wrong. I found two of their commercials on Youtube and their jingle pretty clearly says “T G N Y”. I wonder why on earth they changed “and” to “N”. [TG&Y ad 1984--Back to School - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SywlohlWLuc) [TG&Y ad Christmas 1984 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfRhVREfJyc) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/23 "2014-10-07T02:35:13Z")
[This guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY60CpSXlog) also says TG(n)Y at the 10 second mark. Doesn’t sound Oklahoman or Texan either. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/24 "2014-10-07T02:46:39Z")
I pronounce it “n” with the accent on the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/25 "2014-10-07T02:50:47Z")
I think the OP was using the “&” to show the symbol of what word he/she was referring to and wasn’t asking how to pronounce ampersand. By showing the symbol, the OP may have been trying not to make it a leading question. But of course, I could be wrong. Anyway, in a list of things, especially things that “go together” like peanut butter and jelly, and in a casual setting, I definitely slide through the “and” and say “peanut butter n jelly.” “Joe, Pete n Sue are going to the fair.” But if I’m using “and” to combine two longer phrases, I pronounce it fully. “I was thinking about him and remembering the good times.” ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/26 "2014-10-07T05:54:36Z")
I pronounce it “And”. Australia if you’re looking at regional differences. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/27 "2014-10-07T06:06:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I pronounce it ampersand period That apostrophe s the way I pronounce all punctuation comma doesn apostrophe t everyone question mark That reminds me of [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bpIbdZhrzA) (Victor Borge youtube link). To answer the OPs question: I just say “and” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/28 "2014-10-07T06:48:31Z")
I pronounce it exactly the same as the word ‘and’, unless for some reason I want to emphasise a literal ampersand (dictating a fragment of code, for example), in which case I say ‘ampersand’, or, if I think the person I am speaking to won’t understand that, I say ‘and-sign’. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/29 "2014-10-07T21:42:13Z")
In terms of reading it when written (either aloud or to myself) I always simply say ‘and’. Never thought to say anything else. But am I the only one who constantly mispronounces the name of the symbol itself (&) as an ampers **t** and? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543/30 "2014-10-07T21:47:07Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > In terms of reading it when written (either aloud or to myself) I always simply say ‘and’. Never thought to say anything else. > > But am I the only one who constantly mispronounces the name of the symbol itself (&) as an ampers **t** and? That’s almost as good as “amber lamps.” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/700543.md?page=1)