[Pronunciation] aunt

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Saki6

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How do AmE speakers pronounce the word "aunt"?
/ænt/ or /ɑnt/ ?
 

andrewg927

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I pronounce it like awnt
 

probus

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My apologies for not being proficient in phonetic notation.

For the great majority or us, the insect and the sister of our mother are are the same: ANTs. But we have a minority who insist that our biological relatives are not ANTs but AWNTs. I am not quite sure who they are: New Englanders or United Empire Loyalists perhaps?
 

Amigos4

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The word “aunt” has two correct pronunciations in AmE: ANT (like the insect) and AHNT.
Both pronunciations are given, in that order, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.) and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).
The first (ANT) is by far the predominant American pronunciation. The second (AHNT) is common in the Northeast, some Southern dialects, and among African Americans.
 
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