@Zagorath by the way you say graph, I’ll know where you’re *not* from. I love Alan Kohler but every time he says graph, I flinch
If you say aunts the same way so say pants, then it’s both.
As far as I’m aware, that pronunciation of aunts is never used by Australians.
France rhymes with pants.
It’s not a true rhyme with either of them.
If you say “France” or “dance” in a way that rhymes with “aunts”, you will open yourself up to merciless ribbing, with people affecting a posh English “oh I say old chap” accent every time you’re around. Far better to play up the Aussie drawl (and if in doubt, shorten a few words by replacing the last vowel with “-o”) to leave no doubt that you’re a true-blue dinky-di Aussie whose ancestors were transported for stealing a loaf of bread rather than someone who’d rather be wearing a top hat and sipping a Pimm’s.
