What's in a name? Where are the Mammies?

Bally8 · 29-09-2008 10:05pm

I call my mother mammy but my daughter calls me Mom. I would hate it if she called me anything else.

simu · 29-09-2008 11:39pm

stovelid wrote: »

Don't these just sound the same.....

No, they are different.

gcgirl · 29-09-2008 11:54pm

I call mam the old dear, My oldest girl is really posh and calls me Mummy, The middle fella calls me mama, and the youngest calls me Mah she's real common, 2 and a half with a real wickla accent

watna · 30-09-2008 12:10am

I call my mother mum - always have. I think it's because my Welsh granny was called Mam as the Welsh word for grandmother is Mamgu (pronounced mam-gee). This was shortened to mam. My cousins are a fair bit older than me so she was mam a long time before I was born. Even my mum (her daughter in law) called her mam. It's kind of pronounced with a longer A sound though so is doesn't sound quite the same as an Irish person calling their mother mam.

The Welsh for Dad is Tad but we never called my dad that - he was always dad, or daddy if I wanted something.

I personally don't like the word mammy, as Hagar says it sounds a bit like the Irish mammy cliche and reminds me of that Al Jolson song - to my mammy. That song kind of creeps me out.

Quackles · 02-10-2008 1:24pm

I'm mammy, and I still call my mother mammy when I'm talking to or about her. If I'm talking to my son about the grandparents, they're granny and granda. Never liked mum or mummy (sounds too posh or something) and mom or mommy sounds too american

I've warned my husband (aka daddy) that if our children ever call me ma, I'm leaving him

That's what he calls his mother! Me ma! Sounds like an ambulance!

TargetWidow · 03-10-2008 9:44pm

DD 25wks old has called me Awawa since about 12wks. She calls her daddy Awoh. This week she started calling him DaDa. She only calls for him now and not me as she seems to be forgetting Awawa and only using DaDa. Very useful for the middle of the night when she wakes up going "DaDa" - its like "Hey I'd go love, but it's you she wants!":D

pickarooney · 05-10-2008 9:45am

Our son calls his mother 'dada' as he has reserved 'mama' exclusively to designate biscuits. He also calls me (and one of the cats) 'dada' but calls the other cat by name.

AnonoBoy · 08-10-2008 11:10pm

Lizzykins wrote: »

Mam or Mammy. If the word Mum or Mom comes into my house the perpetrator leaves! I CANNOT stand the word Mum. We're not living in London/Manchester/Birmingham so cut it out.

Jaysus - your poor kids! One word out of place and you'll kick them out of the house!

emma@ · 09-10-2008 4:37pm

My son is only 16 months but calls me mama, would prefer if he called me mam growing up, i call my mother mam all the time, if i tried calling her ma i'd get a clip on the ear

PurpleLily · 09-10-2008 9:27pm

My three call me Mam - although the 3yr old tends to call me Mother when she's having a strop. I've always called my own mother Mam.

noby · 10-10-2008 8:33am

PurpleLily wrote: »

although the 3yr old tends to call me Mother when she's having a strop.

Ha! That sounds familiar.

Ludo · 10-10-2008 8:44am

Is this a female thing? Does it actually matter what your child refers to you as? As long as they are happy, healthy and get on with you does it really matter what version of "mother" thay refer to you as?
I couldn't care less if my two refer to me as dad, da, dada etc etc,
Currently it is dada but they are less than a year so everything is dada as it is all they say other than mama when they are REALLY upset

Pigletlover · 10-10-2008 11:28am

I've always called mine mam, and when I have children that's what I want to be called too. I don't like mum, and I hate mummy, it sounds so snooty. A lot of kids are calling their mothers mom nowadays, I don't like that either, it's too americanised.

MrsA · 10-10-2008 4:25pm

Mammy reminds me of Daniel O'Donnell, and anything that reminds me of him cannot be good!!

M

Nevyn · 10-10-2008 4:47pm

Well I am the stay at home parent my two will by default come to me or call for me or yell out for me and frankly MA gets on my nerves and I would rather not have my teeth set on edge when they address me which is easily between 15 ot 50 times a day.

r3nu4l · 10-10-2008 4:56pm

MarchDub wrote: »

As I don't live in Ireland now I have no idea if this terrible English appellation has crept into the language. Has it? Mothers, what do your children call you?

A certain type of person/family insists on use of the word 'Mum'. These same people believe that M&S is the pinnacle of shopping and somehow a superior department store. Generally a very middle-class thing. I'm not having a dig at anyone by saying that, it's just an observation that has so far held true...a bit like the Pythagerous theorem. :pac:

I always called my Mam, 'Mam' and still do

When I was in University I had friends who used the word 'Mum' and they were generally those who were not from working-class backgrounds. I live in England and 'Mum' is ubiquitous across all classes (and the vulgar idea of class distinction is very much in evidence all over daily life in England).

Oryx · 10-10-2008 4:57pm

Mam...Mam...MAM...MAAAAAM... MAMMY!... MAMMY!... MAMMMMEEEEE!!

..is kinda what it sounds like in my house. Sometimes x2.

dodgyme · 10-10-2008 5:13pm

I think it is broadly along these lines

Mam

> working class culchies
Mammy

> working class Jackeens
Ma ----> working class Jackeens
Mother ---> working class corkonians pretending to be middleclass
Mum ---> Shower of ejjits who cant make up their mind what class they are
auld lady ---> thick hard men or thicker harder wimmin
mamma mia ---> Italians

seamus · 10-10-2008 5:19pm

"Ma". All the way.

Or sometimes, "Here you".

Ludo · 10-10-2008 7:26pm

dodgyme wrote: »

I think it is broadly along these lines

Mam
> working class culchies
Mammy
> working class Jackeens
Ma ----> working class Jackeens
Mother ---> working class corkonians pretending to be middleclass
Mum ---> Shower of ejjits who cant make up their mind what class they are
auld lady ---> thick hard men or thicker harder wimmin
mamma mia ---> Italians

What about Mom?

Dizzyblonde · 10-10-2008 8:56pm

Mine called me Mammy when they were little and they call me Mam now. Never Ma and NEVER Mum.

what2do · 10-10-2008 9:11pm

dodgyme wrote: »

I think it is broadly along these lines

Mam
> working class culchies
Mammy
> working class Jackeens

I remember disucssing this with my friends and think its the other way, the ones from Dublin all seemed to say Mam and the ones from the "country" (ie outside Dublin) used Mammy when they were young but now had graduated to Mam! As a Dub I've always said Mam....

Quackles · 11-10-2008 2:31pm

what2do wrote: »

I remember disucssing this with my friends and think its the other way, the ones from Dublin all seemed to say Mam and the ones from the "country" (ie outside Dublin) used Mammy when they were young but now had graduated to Mam! As a Dub I've always said Mam....

I agree, as a culchie

Everyone I know said mammy as a child at the very least. Some of us still do

I also hate the phrase "the oul wan", which seems to be quite popular amongst the grown ups when talking about their mammys. My jackeen husband always says ma or mam, but if he's talking about me to our kiddo, he calls me mammy.

seahorse · 11-10-2008 2:37pm

Mam or Ma, interchangeably. I couldn’t give a toss which he calls me; I'm just glad he's healthy and capable of addressing me at all.

dodgyme · 13-10-2008 11:06am

what2do wrote: »

I remember disucssing this with my friends and think its the other way, the ones from Dublin all seemed to say Mam and the ones from the "country" (ie outside Dublin) used Mammy when they were young but now had graduated to Mam! As a Dub I've always said Mam....

As a country born bloke we only used mam on our street.

stovelid · 13-10-2008 1:10pm

r3nu4l wrote: »

I live in England and 'Mum' is ubiquitous across all classes (and the vulgar idea of class distinction is very much in evidence all over daily life in England).

Yup. I always said Mum as I was brought up in England until I was 11. Mum is used right across the spectrum over there.

I'd rather call her by her first name than say Mammy or Mummy. Makes you sound like a ponce.

Lizzykins · 13-10-2008 3:57pm

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Jaysus - your poor kids! One word out of place and you'll kick them out of the house!

Well all except the 5 year old are bigger than me so I guess throwing them out is out of the question! I'll just have to disinherit them!

Malari · 13-10-2008 4:04pm

I'm surprised how popular "mam" or "mammy" is. I always thought it sounded baby-ish or a bit culchie. I always used to call her Mum when I was a kid. Now it's momma. Started as a joke and stuck.

allgirlz · 14-10-2008 7:50pm

Mammy all the way! I call my own mam and my daughter calls me mammy and my heart melts every time she says it

I hate mummy and mommy bloody new money!!

MementoMori · 24-10-2008 8:17pm

I'm from the country and always used Mom growing up - I know one person/female who calls her mother mammy all the time and I find it freaky -She's in her thirties ffs

Now I generally use mothership and popstar or pop idol when referring to my rents - Drives them nuts

What's in a name? Where are the Mammies?

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