Ok , so it's only one word I want to bring to the table this morning.
This word is constantly being abused by American TV and movie actors and it is driving me insane every time it is used.
'What word?' I hear you cry. 'Tell us, tell us!'
Aunt!
There! A harmless looking little word, isn't it.
But it seems some Americans just don't know how to say it correctly!
It should be aunt and in ant and not aunt as in awnt (as used in awning or dawn).
Got it!
The final straw came in (one of) yesterday's episodes of NCIS when DiNozzo (to whom I bear an uncanny resemblance with the exception of height, weight and looks) referred to someone as being the 'awnt' of a suspect.
This has been boiling up inside of me ever since this word was first (on TV anyway) abused by Will Smith in The Prince of Bel-air and now ... well, I've had enough (Oh, I was so close to issuing profanities via my saintly fingers).
Please, please, please say it the correct way in future.
That's it! My 'fire' has been extinguished.
Have a nice day, y'all.
Hahaha! It's regional. The Northeast tends to say "Awnt", the West coast "Ant" and the South says "Awntie".
ReplyDeleteI think we also tend to think of "Awnt" as an upper class or snobbish pronunciation and therefore can trace it's roots back to the England.
BOOM!
@Jessica
ReplyDeleteIf you want to trace American English back to the 'original' Kings English (back in the days after the Mayflower, etc.),look no further than America's very own Bostonians.
Apparently they speak the closest to it to be found.
I believe there is some truth to that. I have English friends that hear the Boston accent much differently than I do (I'm from the Pacific Northwest).
ReplyDeleteAhnt or Aaaant ... I grew up in the South (US) and then lived in NY and now South America. It is a miracle I can pronounce anything correctly anymore.
ReplyDeleteActually ... I use the word flat for apartment now and worry that visitors will think I am being "posh" :D
Sooo ANT is correct?
ReplyDeleteYou know what drives me nuts? Texted.
It's text. Past tense, present, future, TEXT.
LOL! It is a regional thing, I think. Not all of us say it that way. Here we say "ant." One of the things that drives me crazy is when someone says "axe" instead of "ask"!
ReplyDeleteMinneapolis says both "awnt" and "ant". Not sure what that's about.
ReplyDeleteAs for "text", I texted someone yesterday. HA! This is what happens when we make all words verbs.
Pearl
Please don't confuse New York and Los Angeles with the USA. It's a common error that furners make, and watching TV made in those places (and by those people) will lead you to the conclusion that that's the way Americans speak.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, they say it "ont" not "awnt." Disgusting. :)
You hate "awnt", I hate "yank." Heh.
How about "vahzz"?
Leaving now.
thanks for the nice poem & link to your other blog. it was very sweet & i appreciate it!
ReplyDelete