# Pronounciation of "aunt" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2015, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593 "2015-10-05T09:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/41 "2015-10-06T16:23:43Z")
Aunt rhymes with “can’t” and the American pronunciation sounds really _really_ stupid to my ears. It’s nearly as annoying as pronouncing puma as “pooma” and calling toilets “bathrooms”. ETA: It occurs to me that Americans also mispronounce _can’t_ to rhyme with _ant_. The A is long, like the A in _car_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/42 "2015-10-06T16:25:22Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Aunt rhymes with “can’t” and the American pronunciation sounds really _really_ stupid to my ears. That could be a bit confusing, as “aunt” rhymes with “can’t” in most American accents, too. But the vowel sound in American accents is /ae/. I think in British accents it’s closer to what we’d call an “ah” sound. ---
**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, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/43 "2015-10-07T03:26:14Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Aunt rhymes with “can’t” and the American pronunciation sounds really _really_ stupid to my ears. > > It’s nearly as annoying as pronouncing puma as “pooma” and calling toilets “bathrooms”. > > ETA: It occurs to me that Americans also mispronounce _can’t_ to rhyme with _ant_. The A is long, like the A in _car_. Ok, I’ll bite. Rhythms with ‘can’t’ (i.e. rhymes with ‘ant’) _ **is** _ the American pronunciation. And you don’t actually pronounce puma as ‘pew-mah’ do you?!? And toilet, bathroom, whatever. The actual commode itself is the ‘toilet’, but in mixed company you would always ask, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ not ‘toilet’. It’s just good manners. But among friends, toilet, shitter, can, whatever… ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/44 "2015-10-07T07:12:09Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Ok, I’ll bite. > > Rhythms with ‘can’t’ (i.e. rhymes with ‘ant’) _ **is** _ the American pronunciation. And you don’t actually pronounce puma as ‘pew-mah’ do you?!? And toilet, bathroom, whatever. The actual commode itself is the ‘toilet’, but in mixed company you would always ask, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ not ‘toilet’. It’s just good manners. But among friends, toilet, shitter, can, whatever… The first time I heard puma pronounced “pooma” was on an episode of the Simpsons, and I spent several minutes wondering WTF a “pooma” is before the showed a picture of one and I realised what they were talking about. I am definitely not a Brit, I’m Australian for quite a few generations back. The first times I ever heard anyone pronounce _aunt_ as _ant_ was in American TV & movies. And I was a fully grown adult before I encountered “pooma” for _puma_. I’ve also heard “Kooba” for _Cuba_. Seriously, any non-American using those pronunciations here would be relentlessly mocked and ridiculed for their pretentiousness. And the word “toilet” is perfectly acceptable in polite company, and it seems ridiculously infantile to insist on a euphemism, particularly one as stupid as “bathroom”, since the room with the bath in it is often a different room to the one with a toilet in it. If _toilet_ offends your delicate sensibilities so much, could you at least come up with a less stupid euphemism? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/45 "2015-10-07T12:36:00Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I’ve also heard “Kooba” for _Cuba_. In almost 40 years of being an American, I’ve never heard anyone other than Spanish speakers say “kooba”. Of course, they’re the ones who are, you know, right. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/46 "2015-10-07T12:41:55Z")
I might also point out that “puma”, being a Spanish word, is also properly pronounced “pooma”. ---
**Author:** ![brovolone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/47 "2015-10-07T12:54:42Z")
I say ONT, not ANT. I also say COO PON not CUE PON, TOOS DAY not TCHEWS DAY, and SODA not POP. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/48 "2015-10-07T13:13:26Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Anecdotally, I’ve always heard the long-a pronunciation (‘ahnt’) more from African Americans, and the short-a (‘ant’) from whites. I’ve noticed this as well. One thing I’ve noticed is the African Americans I know tend to say ANT, but AHNT-TIE (auntie). So they have a mix of the two. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/49 "2015-10-07T13:33:20Z")
It’s pronounced like ant where I am. I think there may be too much attention placed on trying to match it to the spelling then there should be. Otherwise **great** should be pronounced the same as **greet** , unless someone out there is pronouncing it **gree-at**. But then the spelling of great has always seemed wrong to me. It should be spelt grate. I tried putting the ‘u’ back in it myself but it kind of felt like switching accents just for one word. It’s like suddenly putting a heavily accented blimey or g’day in the middle of a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/50 "2015-10-07T13:42:57Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > In almost 40 years of being an American, I’ve never heard anyone other than Spanish speakers say “kooba”. Of course, they’re the ones who are, you know, right. Well, the thing about Americans is that most of them aren’t Spanish. And since they talk a dialect of English, not mangling English pronunciation would be nice. Though admittedly unlikely at this late stage. But I have most certainly heard non-Hispanic Americans say _Kooba_ for _Cuba_, though I have also heard them pronounce it correctly. Aside from the country, I’ve heard Cuba Gooding Jr called _Kooba_ on US TV. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to mispronouncing U because I live in place where it’s rarely done outside of the TV. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/51 "2015-10-07T13:55:33Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > And since they talk a dialect of English, not mangling English pronunciation would be nice. This is literally nonsensical. Differing pronunciations is what a dialect _is_. “Different from you” is not “mangling”. It’s just different. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/52 "2015-10-07T15:04:14Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > This is literally nonsensical. Differing pronunciations is what a dialect _is_. “Different from you” is not “mangling”. It’s just different. See, even in a dumbass thread about aunts we get a life-lesson. ---
**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, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/53 "2015-10-07T15:24:06Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > The first time I heard puma pronounced “pooma” was on an episode of the Simpsons, and I spent several minutes wondering WTF a “pooma” is before the showed a picture of one and I realised what they were talking about. > > I am definitely not a Brit, I’m Australian for quite a few generations back. The first times I ever heard anyone pronounce _aunt_ as _ant_ was in American TV & movies. And I was a fully grown adult before I encountered “pooma” for _puma_. I’ve also heard “Kooba” for _Cuba_. Seriously, any non-American using those pronunciations here would be relentlessly mocked and ridiculed for their pretentiousness. > > And the word “toilet” is perfectly acceptable in polite company, and it seems ridiculously infantile to insist on a euphemism, particularly one as stupid as “bathroom”, since the room with the bath in it is often a different room to the one with a toilet in it. If _toilet_ offends your delicate sensibilities so much, could you at least come up with a less stupid euphemism? Well, ‘bathroom’ whether it literally contains a bathtub or not is just the word Americans use. And pretty much 100% of all bathrooms in American houses contain a toilet, sink and a tub/shower. If it only contains a toilet and sink it’s still called a bathroom (or ‘half-bath’ if you’re a real estate agent) because the phrase ‘going to the bathroom’ means whizzing and/or crapping, not bathing. And the only time I’ve ever heard puma pronounced ‘pew-mah’ was in a Smothers Brothers’ sketch (so I assumed it was a joke pronunciation). 😃 > [@Shakester](#): > > Well, the thing about Americans is that most of them aren’t Spanish. And since they talk a dialect of English, not mangling English pronunciation would be nice. Though admittedly unlikely at this late stage. > > But I have most certainly heard non-Hispanic Americans say _Kooba_ for _Cuba_, though I have also heard them pronounce it correctly. Aside from the country, I’ve heard Cuba Gooding Jr called _Kooba_ on US TV. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to mispronouncing U because I live in place where it’s rarely done outside of the TV. I’ve nearly always heard the actor Cuba Gooding Jr’s name pronounced ‘koo-bah’. But the correct way for an English-speaking individual to pronounce the country Cuba is ‘Q-bah’, same as we don’t call Japan Nippon or Germany Deutschland. However certain politically correct individuals feel it’s ‘offensive’ to not put on a fake Hispanic accent and try and pronounce Spanish words like that. :rolleyes: This nonsense actually started in TV network news like 25 years ago. There was an SNL skit with Jimmy Smits working in a newsroom and all the white reporters keep pronouncing words like San-do-NEES-sta and CON-tra and Ni-cah-RAH-GWAh with ridiculously over-exaggerated and bad Hispanic accents. Jimmy Smits’ character, bewildered, finally just says, _“Gee, you guys are really, into your pronunciations aren’t you…”_ ---
**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, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/54 "2015-10-07T15:37:00Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > This nonsense actually started in TV network news like 25 years ago. There was an SNL skit with Jimmy Smits working in a newsroom and all the white reporters keep pronouncing words like San-do-NEES-sta and CON-tra and Ni-cah-RAH-GWAh with ridiculously over-exaggerated and bad Hispanic accents. Jimmy Smits’ character, bewildered, finally just says, _“Gee, you guys are really, into your pronunciations aren’t you…”_ Actually found [the sketch on YouTube (for now)…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGjty394oyw) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/55 "2015-10-07T15:48:02Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > But I have most certainly heard non-Hispanic Americans say _Kooba_ for _Cuba_, though I have also heard them pronounce it correctly. Aside from the country, I’ve heard Cuba Gooding Jr called _Kooba_ on US TV. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to mispronouncing U because I live in place where it’s rarely done outside of the TV. Cuba Gooding, Jr., can ask his name be pronounced any way he wants - even “leftenant jon jay williamsburg the twentyseventh”. Whether or not people comply is up to them, but differing over the vowel is … I can’t find the right dismissive word. It’s a friggin’ vowel. Those things get mangled up and down. “U” is a letter that represents any number of vowel sounds. That’s why we had to invent a phonetic alphabet - because English sure as hell isn’t consistent. You don’t pronounce “tub” the same was as “tube”, but both clearly have the same “u” in them. “Book” and “boot” have one consonant difference, but the vowel is different even though the letters are the same. Do you say “tyewb” or “toob”? Certain regionalisms may or may not use the “oo” or the “yu” vowel in Cuba for the country. I’m not aware of any, but I can’t discount there being some. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/56 "2015-10-07T15:54:24Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I’ve nearly always heard the actor Cuba Gooding Jr’s name pronounced ‘koo-bah’. But the correct way for an English-speaking individual to pronounce the country Cuba is ‘Q-bah’, same as we don’t call Japan Nippon or Germany Deutschland. However certain politically correct individuals feel it’s ‘offensive’ to not put on a fake Hispanic accent and try and pronounce Spanish words like that. :rolleyes: > > This nonsense actually started in TV network news like 25 years ago. There was an SNL skit with Jimmy Smits working in a newsroom and all the white reporters keep pronouncing words like San-do-NEES-sta and CON-tra and Ni-cah-RAH-GWAh with ridiculously over-exaggerated and bad Hispanic accents. Jimmy Smits’ character, bewildered, finally just says, _“Gee, you guys are really, into your pronunciations aren’t you…”_ And that would be what we call an “affectation” not a “mispronunciation”. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/57 "2015-10-07T16:43:28Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > My anecdotal experience is in line with some of the above. Mostly you year "ont’ from Blacks and ‘ant’ from Whites, but in some rural Southern places it sounds more like “ain’t.” > [@Hedda\_Rosa](#): > > My black side of the family says ‘ahnt’ and the white side says ‘ant’ so your anecdote is confirmed by a data point of 1. Where I grew up in West Texas, the whites would always say “ant.” But I noticed the black community would usually use “ahnt.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/58 "2015-10-07T17:42:59Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Well, the thing about Americans is that most of them aren’t Spanish. And since they talk a dialect of English, not mangling English pronunciation would be nice. Though admittedly unlikely at this late stage. American English, though, has more Spanish-influenced pronunciations versus British or antipodean English, as we are close to Mexico, of course. It’s really odd to me when I hear “taco” pronounced like “taeko” vs “tahko” or the way “jaguar” is pronounced. To me, if I were judgmental, I’d say that sounds “stupid,” but it’s just a regional/dialect pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/59 "2015-10-07T17:52:34Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > And the word “toilet” is perfectly acceptable in polite company, and it seems ridiculously infantile to insist on a euphemism, particularly one as stupid as “bathroom”, since the room with the bath in it is often a different room to the one with a toilet in it. If _toilet_ offends your delicate sensibilities so much, could you at least come up with a less stupid euphemism? Washroom, or lavatory. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593/60 "2015-10-07T18:11:49Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Washroom, or lavatory. Or simply “restroom” or “men’s/women’s room.” To my US ears, “toilet” sounds a bit vulgar, too. I’ve gotten used to it having spent a lot of time around non-US English speakers, but it still sounds a bit odd to me. A “bathroom” in the US does not imply the presence of an actual bath. It usually is a toilet and a sink at the very least. We don’t generally have separate WCs/toilet rooms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-aunt/733593.md?page=4)