What is your word for your mother?

Murph_D

It used to be that everyone in Ireland said "Mammy". Then "Ma". At some point the very British word "Mum" became popular - it seemed to happen in the early 2000s, probably coming from TV. Now, increasingly, I hear the word "Mom", an obvious American affectation.

Interesting, no?

barney 20v

murphd77 wrote: »

It used to be that everyone in Ireland said "Mammy". Then "Ma". At some point the very British word "Mum" became popular - it seemed to happen in the early 2000s, probably coming from TV. Now, increasingly, I hear the word "Mom", an obvious American affectation.

Interesting, no?

no.............

Fluorescence

I use lots of them, depending on my mood. I'll refer to her as "my mam" when talking to other people. When I'm speaking to her, I'll go with Ma if I wanna wind her up (she hates it), Mom if I'm being faux-American spoiled brat, Mum if I'm being terribly pompous and Mam if I'm just speaking to her normally (rare) :pac:

I don't think she appreciates my piss-poor efforts as humour, alas.


When I was in primary school, I always called her Mum. I got teased for being "posh" so I gave that up quickly. It's quite an English thing, I think.

kneemos

murphd77 wrote: »

It used to be that everyone in Ireland said "Mammy". Then "Ma". At some point the very British word "Mum" became popular - it seemed to happen in the early 2000s, probably coming from TV. Now, increasingly, I hear the word "Mom", an obvious American affectation.

Interesting, no?

You just mentioned them all.

The Big Red Button

murphd77 wrote: »

It used to be that everyone in Ireland said "Mammy". Then "Ma". At some point the very British word "Mum" became popular - it seemed to happen in the early 2000s, probably coming from TV. Now, increasingly, I hear the word "Mom", an obvious American affectation.

Interesting, no?

If I heard an Irish person calling their mother "Mom", I'd associate it moreso with Gaelteacht areas (i.e. "a Mham") rather than America.

I call mine Mam or Mammy. Usually Mammy.

Most of the rest of my family call her Mum.

Murph_D

kneemos wrote: »

You just mentioned them all.

Actually I didn't mention "Mam" which is probably the nicest word of them all. But I don't think there are endless variations - just wondering which ones people use and why.

Wibbs

I never heard "Mom" before the mid-late 90's. Mum or mam(or ma) were about it.

Dolbert

'Mom' as said by Irish people is not an American thing. You'll find that most people who say it come from counties with Gaeltacht areas. It comes from the Irish 'A Mhaim'.

'Mam' is what we always said growing up where I'm from.

Ayla

Growing up in the States, Mom was the norm. Except my mom calls hers Mother. Mommy was generally used only by young children & was discouraged as the child grew.

My kids call me mom, momma, mommy & hey you

Yardleys Lavender

I call her Mother or Mom...always have and I am in my late thirties.

When I come to think about it, all my little school friends called their moms - Mom.

BeerSteakBirds

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The Big Red Button

Wibbs wrote: »

I never heard "Mom" before the mid-late 90's. Mum or mam(or ma) were about it.

I first heard "mom" when I went to the Gaelteacht when I was 13, and that's what the kids in the house I was staying in called their mother (the Bean an Tí!) I thought it was strange at the time, as I'd never heard it before, but I associate it with that ever since.

I love "ma", my mother would not be a bit impressed if I called her that though!!

Wibbs

Dolorous wrote: »

'Mom' as said by Irish people is not an American thing. You'll find that most people who say it come from counties with Gaeltacht areas. It comes from the Irish 'A Mhaim'.

Sure D, but the vast majority of Irish people who use "Mom" today a) pronounce it subtly different to the Irish word and b) haven't been within sniffing distance of a Gaeltacht in their lives. The weird mid Atlantic nasally twang you hear in urban areas particularly from teenage girls is defo nada to do with the Gaeltacht and the increasing use of "mom" is more a part of that than the Irish influence IMH. Like I say I never heard the "mom" American pronunciation before the mid 90's, unless they were actual American folks, with the exception of early proto "Dort" accents.

Dolbert

Wibbs wrote: »

Sure D, but the vast majority of Irish people who use "Mom" today a) pronounce it subtly different to the Irish word and b) haven't been within sniffing distance of a Gaeltacht in their lives. The weird mid Atlantic nasally twang you hear in urban areas particularly from teenage girls is defo nada to do with the Gaeltacht and the increasing use of "mom" is more a part of that than the Irish influence IMH. Like I say I never heard the "mom" American pronunciation before the mid 90's, unless they were actual American folks.

The only people I've ever heard use it were from Cork/ Kerry/ Mayo - I've never heard someone around these parts use it in the American way (perhaps I've been spared?)

Honey-ec

When referring to her "my mum". When talking to her - mam.

If any of us had called her "Ma" growing up, we'd have gotten a whack of the wooden spoon for it!

Murph_D

Dolorous wrote: »

'Mom' as said by Irish people is not an American thing. You'll find that most people who say it come from counties with Gaeltacht areas. It comes from the Irish 'A Mhaim'.

Interesting theory, but I don't think it holds up. In particular when people are Irish, are speaking English, and especially in the written sense: Here, for instance.

chatterpillar wrote: »

I love "ma", my mother would not be a bit impressed if I called her that though!!

Why not?

Honey-ec wrote: »

When referring to her "my mum". When talking to her - mam.

If any of us had called her "Ma" growing up, we'd have gotten a whack of the wooden spoon for it!

Why would you use different words for when speaking to her and talking to her. And what's wrong with "Ma"?

The Big Red Button

murphd77 wrote: »

Why not?

I'm not from Dublin, and "ma" would never have been used in the part of the country that I'm from!

The Big Red Button

murphd77 wrote: »

Why would you use different words for when speaking to her and talking to her. And what's wrong with "Ma"?

Lots of people use different words when speaking to their mother than when they're talking about them!

I have a friend who calls her mother "mummy" - nothing wrong with that - but she's hardly going to go around saying "I went to dinner at my mummy's at the weekend"!

Personally, while I usually call my mother "mammy" when speaking to her, I'd often refer to her as my mum or my mother if I'm talking to someone who doesn't know me/my mother very well. Even though I never call her "mum" or "mother" when I'm speaking to her directly.

SEPT 23 1989

Too posh for Ma

Too poor for Mum/Mom

so its Mam

Malari

When I was little it was Mum. Now it's usually Momma, cause I like the sound of it.

Acoshla

murphd77 wrote: »

Interesting theory, but I don't think it holds up

Hmm, my entire family's use of the word mustn't hold up so, my 90 year old grandmother must be thinking of American sitcoms when she refers to herself, her mother and anyone else's mother as Mom, despite the fact that she never owned a tv...I must tell her you said she's wrong :rolleyes:

Lia_lia

I called her Mum until I was about 8 years old. Lived in London for the first few years of my life. Then when we moved to Kerry I started calling her "Mom". A lot of people use Mom in Kerry. I don't really know why

gcgirl

The old dear or ma and I'm teaching my kids a to address me as She who must be obeyed

Lia_lia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkp4QF3we8

:P

Murph_D

Acoshla wrote: »

Hmm, my entire family's use of the word mustn't hold up so, my 90 year old grandmother must be thinking of American sitcoms when she refers to herself, her mother and anyone else's mother as Mom, despite the fact that she never owned a tv...I must tell her you said she's wrong :rolleyes:

I didn't say she was wrong - just that I don't buy that "Mom" is from the Irish. How would you write it?

I'm talking about the word, not its pronunciation (for instance in Donegal the word "mammy" is pronounced the way a Dubliner would say "mommy").

I've never seen or heard the word "mom" being used in Ireland until very recently. And I read a lot, and listen a lot!

Acoshla

Lia_lia wrote: »

I called her Mum until I was about 8 years old. Lived in London for the first few years of my life. Then when we moved to Kerry I started calling her "Mom". A lot of people use Mom in Kerry. I don't really know why

Because that's what they say in Dún Chaoin in the Gaeltacht, before anyone else says this isn't true this topic annoys me so much I asked my friend's mother and grandmother who live there and they said when they are speaking English they say Mom because it's basically the same as "A Mhaim", which is already mentioned but not believed :mad: I grew up right by Dingle as did generations of my family, I never heard Mam or Mum til I moved outside Kerry for college.

Edit: murphd77 as I just mentioned above it's Mam, A Mhaim, pronounced "A Vom" or "A Wom", Mamaí, a Mhamaí, "A Vommy".

Where else would my grandmother - who has never left West Kerry - pick it up??

Murph_D

Lia_lia wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkp4QF3we8

:P

Love it!

Murph_D

Acoshla wrote: »

as I just mentioned above it's Mam, A Mhaim, pronounced "A Vom" or "A Wom", Mamaí, a Mhamaí, "A Vommy".

Where else would my grandmother - who has never left West Kerry - pick it up??

Ok - so it's Mam then, not Mom.

Acoshla

murphd77 wrote: »

Ok - so it's Mam then, not Mom.

Spelling wise yes, but with the h in it's pronounced slightly differently, leading to the O sound. We always always said Mom, and like I said anyone I know from Kerry, between 1 and 100 years old, say Mom, never Mam. Different dialects pronounce things differently, but that is where it comes from in areas near the Gaeltacht anyway. We write it how we spell it, because we are not writing in Irish.

Honey-ec

murphd77 wrote: »

And what's wrong with "Ma"?

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Too posh for Ma

Too poor for Mum/Mom

so its Mam

This, pretty much. "Ma" would have been considered quite common where I'm from.

Gongoozler

I think that I could understand the 'from Irish' explanation for Mom, if you actually pronounced it 'Wom'. But then I don't know enough Irish to know if you would actually use it like 'Maim' and not just 'A Mhaim'.

But yes I would agree with Wibbs, that the majority of those who use it do so because of Americanisms making their way into our culture.

silvervixen84

I call my mother Mam, or Eileen

Murph_D

Honey-ec wrote: »

"Ma" would have been considered quite common where I'm from.

Where are you from? As far as I know we're all "commoners" here in Ireland! Unless you are visiting royalty?

eviltwin

Mother or her first name. Most of my peers use "mam".

MissFlitworth

murphd77 wrote: »

Ok - so it's Mam then, not Mom.

No, because the Irish pronunciation of 'aim' in 'Maim' is 'awm' and not 'am' so it's closer to an om sound than am. Lots of my Galway friends with Gaelgoir parents call their Mothers 'mom' and have done since they were tiny, highly doubt it's an American affectation.

Murph_D

See above re "word, not pronunciation" :rolleyes:

Interesting idea though. Maybe the Yanks got the pronunciation from our native speaking emigrant ancestors!

MissFlitworth

Not sure why you're breaking out the rolleyes? What's wrong with spelling the word how they pronounce it?

Sunnyisland

Ma, Mother or her first name.

LittleBook

My mother is "Mam", always.

murphd77 wrote: »

It used to be that everyone in Ireland said "Mammy".

chatterpillar wrote: »

I call mine Mam or Mammy. Usually Mammy.

chatterpillar wrote: »

I usually call my mother "mammy"

I remember an American friend asking the same question as the OP and she was shocked when she heard we use the word "Mammy" ... that's a bit of a no-no in the US!

My daughter calls me "Momma".

When she was younger she called me Mammy but then we moved to France where "Mamie" (pronounced exactly the same way) is the word for Grandmother ... which caused some confusion when she told people in school that her Mammy was coming to collect her and I showed up. :pac:

"Momma" was (for us) an anglicisation of "Maman".

Lollers

Have always called her Mum

Das Kitty

Mam.

But I'm called Mama by my kid.

christmas2012

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom

g'em

When I email her: "Momma" [Hey Momma....]

When I burst through the door on a weekend visit: "Mamacita" [Hola Mamacita, stick on the kettle, I have gossip!!]

When we're having proper conversation: "Mum"

When I want to get on her nerves: "Ma"

Honey-ec

murphd77 wrote: »

Where are you from? As far as I know we're all "commoners" here in Ireland! Unless you are visiting royalty?

I never said anyone was common, I said the word "Ma" would have been considered common in my area and that's why my mother didn't encourage its use. We weren't allowed say "Wha?" or "Yeah" either, do you have a problem with that too? You asked a question and I answered it. I don't think where I'm from really matters.

Or would you prefer if I used the word "uncouth"?

T.C.O.B

Mam

Scarinae

Mine has always been Mum, I didn’t realise that was considered posh

Giselle

I call them by their first names, as do my siblings. Unless I REALLY want something, then its Mummy or Daddy.

When I'm referring to them I call them my parents or my mother/father.

I've never felt it odd to call them by their names because it was normal for us, but when I was younger and I'd have a friend home I avoided it because it often seems to be a huge deal to other people, on those occasions it was Mum or Dad.

lilmissprincess

To her, its Mam or Mammy, about her its Mam, or if I'm talking about her dinners its a "Mammy dinner" - started using mom because a lot of my college friends do and I caught that bit, til a friend from home gave me a stern "LMP, you're from Wexford, you have a mammy not a mom".

Hermione*

Gongoozler wrote: »

I think that I could understand the 'from Irish' explanation for Mom, if you actually pronounced it 'Wom'. But then I don't know enough Irish to know if you would actually use it like 'Maim' and not just 'A Mhaim'.

But yes I would agree with Wibbs, that the majority of those who use it do so because of Americanisms making their way into our culture.

This. This is exactly what I was thinking reading the thread. I knew Gaelgóir children growing up, who would’ve said “A Mhaim”, but because it was missing the strong m sound at the start (due to the simhiú/”h”), it did not sound like Mom. It might have rhymed with Mom, but it didn’t sound like Mom. I never heard anybody pronounce it in such a way that you would have thought it was either an English word and/or Mom. We spoke Munster Irish, fwiw.

I would never have called my parents Ma or Da. Wouldn’t occur to me and they’d hate it if I did it. It would have been considered common. Like honey-ec, we weren’t allowed say “yeah” or “wha”, either.

I call her Mum/Mother/Mummy, depending on context. Always did. Never called her Mam. It was only in school that I realised it was considered posh, but it’s what my Mum called her Mum, so it didn’t seem that way to me. It’s just the way it was.

McChubbin

I call her Mam, or if I'm feeling cheeky, I call her Maa. She hates it.
Incidently, I also call my gran Meemaw...

OakeyDokey

Ma, Mam, Mother, Mammy.. I say them all it's just whatever comes out of my mouth at the time.