Sir, – I fully agree with Alan Fairbrother (September 6th) on the question of our dropping the Irish “mam” or “ma” in favour of first the Anglo “mum” and now the American “mom”.
I suppose it has to do with our obsession with sounding posh, and fear of, God forbid, sounding Irish ! – Yours, etc,Raymond Kennedy
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
Your ma.
Mammy vs mummy (Irish Times letters page)
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I hate ‘Ma’ but like ‘Mammy’.
Most people I know mum or mom would be the last thing they use.
It was inevitable since Ireland has adopted virtually everything else from America.
Yer mom doesn’t have the cut and thrust of Yer MA!
Sounding posh me eye.
It has more to do with the media consumed by the generations growing up after Ireland (not just Dublin) got access to more than just GoToBedEarly 1 and GoToBedEarly 2 on the telebox back in the 80s.
I still use ‘Mam’ and ‘Mammy’ :)
I still use her too!
Fupp off Mani :)
lol!
Ahh Ma! (for when you’re not allowed do something).
Mam? (for when you want something).
The Mom/Mum thing is annoying. I find it contrived.
Judge off. It’s not “contrived”.
I’m talking about Mum, btw. Mom sounds ridiculous, though I guess the people who use it have ridiculous accents anyway.
Mum is absolutely not an affectation as I’ve been using it since I was three and no three year old is that precocious. Almost everyone I know from Cork says mum. It’s just regional dialect.
However, I’m almost certain there’s no regional dialect in ireland that says “Mom”.
Any Cork people I know say “Mam”
Wannabe posh Cork people mispronounce the “a” in father but they can’t say the “th” so it sounds like “My fawder”
Matt Cooper for example
Being from Cork, born and raised there by other Cork people, I assure you, lots and lots of Cork people say Mum. Rural areas say Mam more I’d say.
In Connemara Gaeilge, the pronunciation of “mam” is “mom”, so they say mom even when thy’re speaking in English
I can vouch for that as I’m surrounded by Southsiders with twatty accents calling their mothers mom.
Sometimes when Kerry people say Mam it sounds like Mom to me. Though they could be saying something entirely different. Who knows with those hoors.
same with some of my friends from Galway – I think it’s gaeltacht influence , closer to Irish pronunciation
This
this is why. For many people anyway
replying to
>same with some of my friends from Galway – I think it’s gaeltacht influence , closer to Irish pronunciation
Our poor orphaned comments floating around out of context cos the one I replied to has been deleted by the higher powers at BS
So I’m a c**t and a hoor. Since we’re all apparently making sweeping statements today I think Continuity Jay-Z and andyourpointisexactly are probably closeted homosexuals still living at home with mammy.
So yeah, I started calling my mother ‘mom’ simply to annoy her, and it caught on with me and my sister. And it just sort of stuck. It’s not the word that matters, it’s the person it’s attached to. A rose by any other name and all that. Or in other words, get over it.
Your first sentence summed everything up nicely and then you went and ruined it.
ha
my kids call me hey auld one
coughs
Lol
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Dear Raymond Kennedy,
I believe you are our new authority on what individuals should call their mothers.
Any other important advice for us unguided souls?
I’d like to ask him why he doesn’t bring any attention to the use of ‘Mudder’… as in…
“Me Mudder’s not in, try Fitzwilliam Sq, ask for Mani”
I use mother because I’m properly educated.
I like to use Mater and Pater.
because you were educated properly?
No.
My father and his brothers have always referred to their mother as Mum so I doubt that’s purely down to the influence of American TV but the whole “Mom” situation is absolutely ridiculous.
True Gaels would know that Mom is much closer in pronunciation to the Irish.
Ignorant, revisionist Jackeens
What about the rest of us Jackeens? Are we allowed use Mum still too, with your approval obviously?
Fair point, I wasn’t being definitive mind :)
Your mom goes to college.
Big effin deal.
Tis all in the vowels you.
Mum – Anglicised
Mam – Salutationised
Mom – Americanised
Mim – Australianised
Since we can’t use E (as Mem would be too confusing with existing terms – meme, memory), our only option is to keep using Mammy or pick another letter of the alphabet. A random generator draw came up with F so from now on, Irish people will refer to their mothers as “Mfm” (it is pronounced exactly like it’s spelled so no confusion there thankfully).
Motherfuppinmammy!
nobody over the age of 6 should address their mother as Ma or Mam and certainly not Mammy. It’s childish and makes you sound like you never went to school.
because Mum or Mom are different? that’s completely arbitrary.
Kerry people do use Mom more than anything else. Certainly in North Kerry. Not drawn out in pronunciation like the Americans, a more curt sound, if that makes sense!
sense is the one thing it doesn’t make.
Exactly. South Kerry too. Everyone said “mom” before we were ever exposed to American TV etc.
Langers say Mam or by name like “Rittttteeee can I go t’d’ pictures with Frill n’dem”
Even Dagenham langers use Mam
RCYC langers love the Muumm or the Muummie