AUNT OR ANT

Po-taa-to, poo-tot-oo, tomato... let's call the whole thing off. If you are old enough to remember Fred Astaire, you will get this. If not, listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOILZ_D3aRg

I get feedback from ESL students who say I don't correct them enough. Well, in American English we are not as particular as Brits or other Europeans when we speak.

I will say my grandmother had a sister who was very particular, Aunt Alice. I better not refer to her as my

ant

Also, for agreement or disagreement, we sometimes say yeah or nah. When I was a child that was not allowed. I better say yes, or no. Better still: yes, mam or no sir. We were a southern military family and we had rules to show respect for elders. We also either** called them Aunt or Uncle, Mr. or Mrs. Never was it permitted to call them by first names. Of course we did have special nick names for close relatives such as grandparents. The young ones in my family call me "Gram."

To my ESL's I say unless your pronunication is egregious* and no one can understand you, I won't be too critical. I do remind one person when you say foreigner: it is not for-n-ger. The g is silent. It is for-n-er.

As always in English there are exceptions. Bow (long o sound) refers to a tied ribbon or a weapon as in bow and arrow. Then there is bow, pronounced like bough (part of a tree), meaning to bend the knee or the front of a boat. Also, as in the dog said "bow wow." Sounds similar to owl or ouch.

*What does "egregious" mean?

egregious

/ɪˈɡriːdʒəs/

extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar. Synonyms: shocking, notorious, outrageous, gross.

**either with a long e at the beginning is my preference, but a long i sould will work as well. :)