How do you pronounce "Aunt"?

Here in the part of England in which I live we say aunt such that it rhymes with 'can't' but in Liverpool they say it more like 'anc' and I have heard some Londers say it 'aan' all the best urban

hi rrw, fortunately, my user name ends with the word aunt. in my country, it is usually ant (as in the insect ant). but i will quote it from the dictionary on how it should be pronounced. i guess it is more reliable, right? "Pronunciation note "The usual vowel of aunt in the United States is the /æ/ Show Spelled[a] Show IPA of rant except in New England and eastern Virginia, where it is commonly the “New England broad a, ” a vowel similar to French /a/[a] and having a quality between the /æ/[a] of hat and the /?/[ah] of car. The vowel /?/[ah] itself is also used. In New England and eastern Virginia /?/[ah] or the /a/[a]-like sound occur in aunt in the speech of all social groups, even where a “broad a ” is not used in words like dance and laugh. Elsewhere, the “broader” a is chiefly an educated pronunciation, fostered by the schools with only partial success (“Your relative isn't an insect, is she?”), and is sometimes regarded as an affectation. Aunt with the vowel of paint is chiefly South Midland United States and is limited to folk speech. "The /æ/[a] pronunciation of aunt was brought to America before British English developed the /?/[ah] in such words as aunt, dance, and laugh. In American English, /?/[ah] is most common in the areas that maintained the closest cultural ties with England after the /?/[ah] pronunciation developed there in these words." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aunt so there you have the answer. i say, it is best to pronounce it the way others do if you are upset getting teased. but honestly, you pronounce it the way you like. its still correct. have a nice day. ann

I'm from the UK, so I say "ahnt", but even over here in Britain, there are different ways of pronouncing aunt. For example in the Liverpool/Merseyside area, they would pronounce it "uhnt"; in the West Country, "arnt", and so on. I say...pronounce it how you feel most comfortable: it's pretty obvious that we are each going to be influenced by the accents of our parents.

Hi, rrw410. I have always pronounced it as "ahnt." My cousins from NY have always pronounced it as "ant".

My mom is from Kentucky and my dad is from Maine. I grew up with both ways. When I was younger I used "ant". I assume it was because it was easier for a little kid to pronounce. As I got older I converted to "aunt" just because I prefer it. I find myself going back & forth on the whole thing. Sometimes "aunt" sounds a little pretentious. It's like "tomahto" instead of "tomato", or "vahs" rather than "vase". In certain southern company it may seem like you're, "puttin' on airs." Happy Mylotting!

I never say Aunt. I always say Aunty. But even I have noticed that many people having the American accent call an Aunt as Ant. Wonder what they call the actual Ants then!!

I just wonder why they can't standardize the english pronunciations .Especially UK and US.

Tomayto tomahto. It's the same thing. Both are correct, but vowels seem to be the first to be butchered when you get a local dialect. I say ahnt but have been known to say the other ant. I live in Canada and have not noticed which way the locals say the word. I will keep my ears open and figure it out. I think I will get a 50-50 split as there is both a British and American traditional influence on one of Canada's official languages.

oh many that's so annoying. ahnt. snobs say ahnt. Its prounounced ant. The u is silent. haha you say ahnt!

English is not my mother language, so I am not too sure how should that word be pronounced. I usually pronounce it like "oont". I don't know, whether it's right or not, so I could a little suggestions.

Everyone in my family and extended family says the word aunt like "ant".

I call it aunt and I'm in MN. Nobody teases me and I think it's a good pronouncement. I think it's better English to say ahnt

I would think you're too old to worry about being teased, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. How old are you?