What do you call your mother?

maisiedaisy · 04-03-2016 01:28PM

Both my parents, who are in their 60s, refer to their mothers as Mom, and always have done as far as I know. And yes, we're from Cork

my father's mother had a woman who used help her in the house, and she was knows as Mom 'insert her surname here' by my father and his brothers as well.

Myself and sibling refer to mom as mom, my cousins on one side used to always call her mom and I've noticed two of them have now switched to mum, while cousins on the other side refered to theirs as mam when we were younger, but have now also up scaled to mum!

Toto Wolfcastle · 04-03-2016 01:32PM

Wibbs wrote: »

If you or anyone else can show me any Irish person referring to their mother as "mom" before say 1990 you can colour me beyond shocked. I certainly never heard it before then and if you hear it as Gaelige it's more of an ahh sound than the American Ohh.

Now let's say that it is a Cork and Kerry thing(though two older folks I know of that region, both native Irish speakers don't use it, though to be fair that may be a long term Dublin influence) there can be no denying that the wider usage is most certainly down to the spread of the mid atlantic drawl since the late 90's, particularly among younger women. Watch any box pops on Irish TV and said accent will be along shortly(even with that awful upward question inflection that is nowhere close to native). An accent that would have been laughed at, or at least commented upon before that time. I remember peers noting the accent with a woman we knew who was American and Billy Connelly joking about American "mom" was like "wow" upside down, a very different feel to the Scottish "mam" vibe(and something about getting an M tattooed on each arse cheek and bending over). It was a "foreign word" for us at the time.

And if anyone can find me a recording of any Irish person saying "mommy" before the mid 90's I'll buy a hat and eat it. They'd have been looked upon as daft as someone saying "bartender" after a weeks holiday in Florida.

As for older people using it? I know a woman in her early 80's, Dublin born and bred and far from "mom" was she raised that started using mom over mam(among other mid atlantisms), because her daughters and particularly her granddaughters were, so she picked it up from them.

Words and accents change and shift and that's great, but it's when reinvention of the past comes into it I do think "ah c'way outa that".

I was born in 1985 and I definitely started talking before 1990.

Your Face · 04-03-2016 01:33PM

Call me Daddy

Speedwell · 04-03-2016 01:34PM

Your Face wrote: »

Call me Daddy

Sure, Mom, whatever makes you happy. Does Dad know?

Your Face · 04-03-2016 01:36PM

Speedwell wrote: »

Sure, Mom, whatever makes you happy. Does Dad know?

Maybe its two Daddies.

Lavinia · 04-03-2016 01:39PM

Mamma
or mammy

She died 6 ears ago but I know she is still with me...

Crunchienut · 04-03-2016 01:44PM

drake70 wrote: »

Mam, although for the life of me I can't get a Mother's Day card with "Mam" on it.

Dunnes Stores had some Irish made ones last week

take everything · 04-03-2016 01:50PM

Mater

Turtle_ · 04-03-2016 01:50PM

Mum. Mum refers to her mum as Mam, or mammy when talking to her brother before he died. Dunno what my dad calls his mum.. Usually the only time she's referenced is my mum asking my dad "Did you phone your mother?"

Actually it was my mum who insisted that we call her "Mommy" or "mummy" when we were little and we got the heads bitten off us if "Ma" or "Mam" or "Mammy" was used. She reckons it sounds either common (in Dublin) or like a culchie. She's not wrong!

beach_walker · 04-03-2016 01:55PM

Wibbs wrote: »

if you hear it as Gaelige it's more of an ahh sound than the American Ohh.

I wouldn't agree with this. Plenty of friends from Conamara, whenever I'm visiting them it's most definitely closer to "Mom" sound than "Mam". Ditto for the pronunciation of "mhaimeo".

Jimoslimos · 04-03-2016 02:00PM

Some of those poll options need to be separated.

Mum and Mummy would be used by completely different social classes.

beach_walker · 04-03-2016 02:01PM

I can't imagine ever calling either of my parents by their given names.

Ruu · 04-03-2016 02:01PM

Mhamaí.

04-03-2016 02:01PM

I call them by their names, as do my siblings.

I refer to them as Mum and Dad.

When I'm looking for something, they're Mummy and Daddy.

JustShon · 04-03-2016 02:02PM

beach_walker wrote: »

I can't imagine ever calling either of my parents by their given names.

I call my dad by his given name occasionally, mostly because he used to call his dad by his given name and said he saw it as a sign of respect. So in a strange twist, I call my dad by his given name in order to show respect.

jobbridge4life · 04-03-2016 02:04PM

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I was born in 88, and that's our mother was mom from then.

88 as well.

Grew up calling her Mommy, when I was trying to be grown up in my teen years I switched to Mom but I couldn't hack it so it went back to Mommy. Since then its sort devolved in to Maw-thi or Maw-ee.

I'd refer to her as my Mother to others.

Estrellita · 04-03-2016 02:08PM

Wibbs wrote: »

If you or anyone else can show me any Irish person referring to their mother as "mom" before say 1990 you can colour me beyond shocked.

I was born in the 70's and I called my Mother 'Mom' my whole life. A natural progression of speech, which my parents didn't try to 'correct'. It was not an attempt to introduce Americanisms to my vocabulary. We are all Irish, no American connection whatsoever, or any aspirations to be Americans.

My siblings are the same except one, I think he called her Mam. So regardless of whether we are good, or nice people, we are **** apparently. Seems like a rational assumption.

JustShon · 04-03-2016 02:09PM

Estrellita wrote: »

Seems like a rational assumption.

Welcome to boards.ie

it's full of rational assumptions!

storker · 04-03-2016 02:13PM

Her first name. It's not a trendy thing, just the toddler next door had a funny way of pronouncing it which we started to use too as a joke. That that morphed into her real name, and it was impossible to go back to mam or mammy.

My daughters call her by her first name too, instead of a granny name, but their other grandmother is "nana".

They call my wife "mamma" or "mam" or "mom", though.

Wibbs · 04-03-2016 02:15PM

Estrellita wrote: »

So regardless of whether we are good, or nice people, we are **** apparently.

Huh? Where did I call anyone a wanker for using mom? Maybe I said wonkers.

Paz-CCFC · 04-03-2016 02:17PM

Wibbs wrote: »

If you or anyone else can show me any Irish person referring to their mother as "mom" before say 1990 you can colour me beyond shocked. I certainly never heard it before then and if you hear it as Gaelige it's more of an ahh sound than the American Ohh.

In Cork and Kerry Irish, the A definitely sounds like O when used in the middle of a word. "Cat" (the Irish one) sounds more like "cot", "bata" sounds like "botta" (they'd all have broad Ts, though it's difficult to convey its pronunciation in written form), "gafa" sounds like "goffa". So, "mam" would follow the same pronunciation rules and be like "mom". I don't ever recall speaking to a native Gaeilgeoir from Cork or Kerry who'd pronounce these words with an "ahh" sound.

I would think that both "mom" and "mam" come from the Irish. Mom from the Munster pronunciation, "mam" from either a harsher "ahh" sound in other dialects or just an outright anglicisation. Not saying that there isn't an American effect in other parts of the country, but the south does have a Gaelic influence.

Estrellita · 04-03-2016 02:17PM

Wibbs wrote: »

Huh? Where did I call anyone a wanker for using mom? Maybe I said wonkers.

I noticed you thanked the wanker post, so I thought it was likely you felt the same about it.

I just think it's a daft thing to be offended by

drake70 · 04-03-2016 02:21PM

Crunchienut wrote: »

Dunnes Stores had some Irish made ones last week

Thanks, but already got one in Easons with "Mother" on it.

It's a running joke between us that I will never get my Mam a card with "Mum" on it as she hate that.

JustShon · 04-03-2016 02:22PM

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

In Cork and Kerry Irish, the A definitely sounds like O when used in the middle of a word.

Had a lady from Kerry teach me Irish in secondary (I'm a dub) and as a result I tend to pronounce mhaimi like "wommy" so by extension without the seabhu it'd be mommy.

That said in English I'm a mam, mammy person.

whatismyname · 04-03-2016 02:25PM

Depends. Usually either 'the woman who gave birth to me' or 'that old negligent witch'

Wibbs · 04-03-2016 02:28PM

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

I would think that both "mom" and "mam" come from the Irish. Mom from the Munster pronunciation, "mam" from either a harsher "ahh" sound in other dialects or just an outright anglicisation. Not saying that there isn't an American effect in other parts of the country, but the south does have a Gaelic influence.

Gotcha, but I'd still hold the wider usage is most definitely a new thing and coming from the American.

Estrellita wrote:

I just think it's a daft thing to be offended by

Oh I'm not, but when some try to suggest that it's because of the Irish language when the rest of their speech sounds like a bad 70's radio DJ trying to do Californian I think "ah here". I will admit that accent does grate on me. Funny enough I like a few actual American accents, but that mid atlantic one coming via an Irish mouth is for some reason an instant "eeeugh" and "da fuq?". Sounds really whiny and irritating and it's every bloody where of late. I much prefer our many "natural" accents.

Mousewar · 04-03-2016 02:30PM

Millser

No idea why.

Darkglasses · 04-03-2016 02:32PM

As a child (1990 onwards) it was always Mom. As an adult, first name or semi-ironically "Dear".

Paramite Pie · 04-03-2016 02:44PM

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Some of those poll options need to be separated.

Mum and Mummy would be used by completely different social classes.

I'm working class and I say 'mum'. It seems to be common enough in Galway whereas my mum (from Mayo) calls her mother 'mam'.

When I talk to other people, I say "me mam" as that's what most people still say especially county galway but I'll always address her as directly"mum".

Estrellita · 04-03-2016 02:59PM

Wibbs wrote: »

but that mid atlantic one coming via an Irish mouth is for some reason an instant "eeeugh" and "da fuq?". Sounds really whiny and irritating and it's every bloody where of late. I much prefer our many "natural" accents.

Okay, I get where you are coming from. 'Mom' + thrown American accent, I have heard. My own accent is a simple, neutral Irish accent. I expect the former you mention have been watching too many episodes of The Hills or these Kardashians. Those shows have a lot to answer for..

What do you call your mother?

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