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#1
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Mom [OT]
I find it most annoying when little brats in American TV series refer to "My Mom" or say something sick-making like "I love my Mom". What I am curious about is the word 'Mom'. Is that what children actually say? for that matter do they say that yucky word in England nowadays? If anyone wonders what my problem is then I learnt 'Mum' and 'Mummy' and never heard this word 'Mom' until a few years ago. -- David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome Nanki Poo: SI Bp+W B 10 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P B+ PA+ PL+ SC Minke: SI W+Cp B 1 Y++ L-- W- C+ |
#2
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Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my
siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen "David Stevenson" wrote in message ... I find it most annoying when little brats in American TV series refer to "My Mom" or say something sick-making like "I love my Mom". What I am curious about is the word 'Mom'. Is that what children actually say? for that matter do they say that yucky word in England nowadays? If anyone wonders what my problem is then I learnt 'Mum' and 'Mummy' and never heard this word 'Mom' until a few years ago. -- David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome Nanki Poo: SI Bp+W B 10 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P B+ PA+ PL+ SC Minke: SI W+Cp B 1 Y++ L-- W- C+ |
#3
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On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen"
yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Theresa alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ Single-mindedness is all very well in cows or baboons; in an animal claiming to belong to the same species as Shakespeare it is simply disgraceful. (Aldous Huxley) |
#4
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"Kreisleriana" wrote in message ... On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen" yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen |
#5
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"Karen" wrote in message
... "Kreisleriana" wrote in message ... On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen" yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen Greetings... It's not to make you feel ancient, it's to show respect. As a proper GRITS (Girl Raised In The South), I will use ma'am to women I ~know~ are younger than me when they're in charge and I'm asking them to do something for me (IE: at the DMV getting my licence renewed, in a store asking for help). Remember, it's not always what happens to you. It's how you choose to react. lal |
#6
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"LAL" had some very interesting things
to say about Mom [OT]: It's not to make you feel ancient, it's to show respect. As a proper GRITS (Girl Raised In The South), I will use ma'am to women I ~know~ are younger than me when they're in charge and I'm asking them to do something for me (IE: at the DMV getting my licence renewed, in a store asking for help). Remember, it's not always what happens to you. It's how you choose to react. When I was working in tech support [and I suspect this'll happen on my new job too], I'd very frequently have Southern-sounding callers who sounded old enough to have children or even grandchildren my age calling me Ma'am. :-) -- "Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing (or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL |
#7
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Karen wrote:
"Kreisleriana" wrote in message ... On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen" yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen You're not the only one, Karen! "Yes ma'am" in the U.S. is considered polite but it makes me feel like someone's grandmother. Granted, I'm almost old enough to *be* someone's grandmother, but point in fact, I'm not. Still, I suppose it's intended to be polite. Jill |
#8
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On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 04:23:43 -0600, "jmcquown"
yodeled: Karen wrote: "Kreisleriana" wrote in message ... On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen" yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen You're not the only one, Karen! "Yes ma'am" in the U.S. is considered polite but it makes me feel like someone's grandmother. Granted, I'm almost old enough to *be* someone's grandmother, but point in fact, I'm not. Still, I suppose it's intended to be polite. Jill Another regional difference. It's pretty standard in the south, almost non-existent in the north. So it can be a jolt to a northern woman to be "ma'amed" when it's nowhere in her experience. Theresa alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ Single-mindedness is all very well in cows or baboons; in an animal claiming to belong to the same species as Shakespeare it is simply disgraceful. (Aldous Huxley) |
#9
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"jmcquown" wrote in message . .. Karen wrote: "Kreisleriana" wrote in message ... On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:15:58 -0600, "Karen" yodeled: Yup. We call our "Mums" "Mom" or sometimes when younger "Mama" (though my siblings and I held on to that one for a long time actually.) "Mother" is generally held for referral use only OR when aggravated by said parent. Karen And Mommy. My brother and I called our mother Mommy when I was little (which is an increasingly long time ago ), and all the children I knew growing up said Mommy. My mother called her mother Mommy when she was little. I know English people say "Mum" or "Mummy," but I never found it irritating. It's what they do. So what? Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen You're not the only one, Karen! "Yes ma'am" in the U.S. is considered polite but it makes me feel like someone's grandmother. Granted, I'm almost old enough to *be* someone's grandmother, but point in fact, I'm not. Still, I suppose it's intended to be polite. Jill When I was a kid, here in the US, I always called my mother Mom. My children called me Mom, Mommy, Mum, Mummy, but never Ma. Don't know why, but Ma, drove me nuts! Charleen |
#10
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On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 04:23:43 -0600, "jmcquown"
wrote: Karen wrote: Oh, some things are just like that. I dislike "Ma'am". And I know a lot of women who do and yet people use it all the time. I swear, it makes me feel ancient! Karen You're not the only one, Karen! "Yes ma'am" in the U.S. is considered polite but it makes me feel like someone's grandmother. Granted, I'm almost old enough to *be* someone's grandmother, but point in fact, I'm not. Still, I suppose it's intended to be polite. Jill Well, like others have said, I think it's pretty much a regional/cultural thing. California's a pretty big state, and there are, at least in my opinion, definite differences depending where you are. I grew up in the Central Valley surrounded by Okies who had come out during the Depression. BTW, Okie is one of those labels that can be either an insult or perfectly alright depending on the situation. Authority figures were always Sir or Ma'am; all adults, Mr, Mrs, or Miss (don't think we had even heard of Ms back then). Kids in my circle who didn't use the proper address were apt to be spanked, and not just by Mom and Dad. I'll never forget that Miss Smith, my 5th grade teacher (also taught two brothers and one sister), kept a wood paddle, though I don't think she ever used it. Parents in my circle were normally called Mom and Dad, or Mommy and Daddy. The exception being when you were upset with them - then they became Mother and Father. Ma and Pa were out, at least in our house, too much like Ma and Pa Kettle. Grandparents were Grandma/pa, or Nana and Popie. Even today when I visit, I use Mr and Mrs when referring to the adults of my childhood. I still use Sir and Ma'am for authority figures, no doubt influenced by 20 years as a soldier. -- Steve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html |
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