Mom [OT]

in article , jmcquown at
wrote on 3/27/04 10:40 AM:

Kreisleriana wrote:
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

True enough, Theresa... I never run into this when I go up North I guess
this is what is left from the "old South" (pre-Civil War days)... M'ornin Mz
Scarlett ma'am ROFL

Jill


Well, I guess it is better than "Hey, Lady!"

Karen

Karen Chuplis wrote:
in article , jmcquown at
wrote on 3/27/04 10:40 AM:

Kreisleriana wrote:
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

True enough, Theresa... I never run into this when I go up North
I guess this is what is left from the "old South" (pre-Civil War
days)... M'ornin Mz Scarlett ma'am ROFL

Jill


Well, I guess it is better than "Hey, Lady!"

Karen

No, beats the hell out of "Hey mama, come on over here" LOL I run into some
real Southern redneck yokels at the store down the street! ;-)

Jill

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

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On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 12:07:32 GMT, "Jette Goldie"
wrote:

Actually, no. Jamie's a good Upper Middle Class boy, extremely
well raised - he's just taken to using a ..... "Estuary English"
accent because he and his peer group find it more "cred".

If the other chef you are referring to is Keith Floyd...... well
he started life on the very bottom end of the ladder - he's a
Working Class Lad Made Good.

So, no, accents tell you nothing about "class" in the UK - .....

Except that, as you point out, it's sometimes hip or cool to talk
"down", and some who start out in what might be considered a "lower
class" work hard to lose the accent and talk "up". But, IMHO, that is
universal, not a British thing.

Course, as we've already heard in this thread, a lot of times the
accent doesn't mean much as you get farther away from "home". Lots of
us 'Merikans can't distinguish accents within GB, heck some can't tell
the difference between someone from NZ, Australia or GB. Don't feel
too bad, some New Yorkers can pinpoint what neighborhood another New
Yorker is from by their accent, while most West Coasters are clueless.
--
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

Except that, as you point out, it's sometimes hip or cool to talk
"down", and some who start out in what might be considered a "lower
class" work hard to lose the accent and talk "up". But, IMHO, that is
universal, not a British thing.

Cue memory dragged from subconcious of a young Nigel Kennedy being in a TV
interview when he was at the err... Yehudi Menhuin Music School? A very posh
young man indeed. You'd never think it these days with his "working class"
accent ;-)

Cheers, helen s




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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.


Where I grew up in the north-east of England, accents could vary from one
village/small town to another. You caould tell which part of Northumberland
someone came from by the way they pronounced some words and the strength of the
accent.

Cheers, helen s


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Like who? Who doesn't love the Geordie accent?

There must be some poor deluded soul somewhere, bonnie lass! ;-)
It's one of my favourites!

Whey thank you pet. Thaat's verry kind like.

Porrs, I mean haawaay the laads, helen s




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You bet. Have a feeling grandchild Havana has a "spoiled" upbringing ahead
of her. Talk about slaves.


"Sherry " wrote in message
...
: My Dad's parents were Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was not the nicest
: person in the world, to put it politely. When my first baby was due
: (I'm older than my siblings), my mother decided she and my Dad would be
: Gammy and Gampy. That's how my kids still refer to them.
:
: Joy
:
: LOL! That's cute. Keep in mind, I don't have any grandchildren yet. When I
do,
: I'm sure *whatever* they call me I'll consider the most clever and
brilliant
: words ever spoken. Right, Granny Hopitus?
: Sherry

I call every female above high-school age "Ma'am" just to be polite.
Here in California I still get these shocked responses when I address a
group of people as "Y'all."

jmcquown wrote:

snip

True enough, Theresa... I never run into this when I go up North I guess
this is what is left from the "old South" (pre-Civil War days)... M'ornin Mz
Scarlett ma'am ROFL

Jill

When my mother became a grandmother, she was no longer so young. But she
said about the same thing, that she'd wring the boy's neck if he called
her "Granny." So I taught him to call her "Nanaw." :-) Drove her nuts.
To her that was worse.

JBHajos wrote:

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 11:33:58 +1100, "Yowie"
wrote:


I always thought it was weird to call your granfather, who was always
"Grandad" to me, "Pops", and grandmothers, who were I always thought should
be called "Nana", a bit off-putting to be called "Gran".


When my older daughter had her first child at age 17, it made me a
rather youngish grandmother. I told her if I was called "Grandma" I'd
wring her neck!! Ah, vanity!! So we settled on "Nana." My other set
of grandchildren call me "Omi", their take on the German "Omah."

Jeanne