One possible reason for the difference between the ‘o’ and ‘u’ of the more common ‘mom’ and ‘mum’ may be the Great Vowel Shift (GVS). The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in pronunciation in England and is the reason many of our words have irregular spellings.
Why do British say mum instead of ma am?
In British English, it is mostly used as a sign of repect for a woman of superior rank, say, in the military or police. In the film clip, Keeley Hawes appears to be playing the Prime Minister, whose bodyguard addresses her as ‘ma’am’ with the reduced vowel.
What does mom mean in British slang?
In the U.K. and other places, mum is used as a word for mom or madam. It’s also commonly used as a short way of saying chrysanthemum, a type of flower. Example: Mum’s keeping mum—I can’t get a word out of her!
Do they say mum in UK?
Mum is common throughout Britain, but particularly in the south. Mam is used in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and parts of northern England. Mom is most associated with American English.
Why do Brits say Zed?
The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, the Greek letter “Zeta”. This gave rise to the Old French “zede”, which resulted in the English “zed” around the 15th century.
Why do the British say oy?
“Oi” has been particularly associated with working class and Cockney speech. It is effectively a local pronunciation of “hoy” (see H-dropping), an older expression. A study of the Cockney dialect in the 1950s found that whether it was being used to call attention or as a challenge depended on its tone and abruptness.
What is Mom in old-English?
Old English Kinterms
| Modern English | Kin Type | Old English |
|---|---|---|
| Father | F | Faeder |
| Mother | M | Modor |
| Uncle | FB | Faedera |
| MB | Eam |
What do they call Mom in Scotland?
Mam
Forget Mum or Mom, in northern England they usually like calling their mothers Mam. The pronunciation, of course, will vary for Mam whether you’re a Northumbrian or Geordie. This term of endearment for mother is also very common in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland Ma is also frequently used instead of Mam.
How do British people say dad?
British people call their mothers and fathers Mum (Mummy) and Dad (Daddy). Americans, who have a chequered history with being able to spell, adopted Mom and Mommy as the diminutive for Mother, presumably based on listening to it’s pronunciation.
What do Brits call their mother in law?
There is no explicit ‘call-name’ for mother/father-in-law in English. It is mostly a personal choice, either ‘Mrs./Mr. X‘, the first name, the same call-name the spouse calls them, etc.
What do you call your mother in England?
Adults in England call their mother “mum” until you get up to North Yorkshire and Tyneside, where it might be “mam” (with a very short and clipped “a”). Small children may call their mother “mummy”; doing so beyond the age of about ten would invite ridicule.
Why do people in BirmingHAM say mom?
The Birmingham and West Midland area has retained vowel sounds from old English, where other areas lost them in a period called the great vowel shift from middle English to modern English. You can hear it in words like ‘you’ pronounced ‘yow’. The rest of England say BirmingHAM but people from that city say BirmingUM.
Why do Australians say mum?
Because that is how it is spelt in English, of which American-English dialects (those that tend to use “mom”) is merely a divergent set of.
Why do British say US instead of me?
It’s just an old English way of speaking. Many people say “us” but if they are writing will use the word “me”. I was born in Sunderland and I use it some times, depends who I am talking to. “us” meaning you and me sounds like “uss”.
Why do British say Nought instead of zero?
This distinction is that “nought” is primarily used in a literal arithmetic sense, where the number 0 is straightforwardly meant, whereas “naught” is used in poetical and rhetorical senses, where “nothing” could equally well be substituted…
Why do the British pronounce lieutenant with an F?
It’s believed that at some time before the 19th century, the British read and pronounced the “U” at the end of “lieu” as a “V” and the “V” later became an “F”. This may explain why we in Singapore and most other Commonwealth countries pronounce “Lieutenant” as “lef-tenant”, while Americans pronounce it as it is spelt.
Why do the Brits say cheers?
‘Cheers’ is simply a way to celebrate good health and wish further good health and happiness on your companions. A ‘cheers’ was traditionally done at the end of a toast. No we are not talking about the piece of bread you have for breakfast but the speech made at events such as weddings and birthdays.
Do British people say mate?
So, ‘mate’ is British slang for a friend. But, like a lot of British slang, mate is a word that is used as much sarcastically as it is sincerely. You’re just as likely to call someone ‘mate’ when they’re your friend as when they’re annoying you.
What does knackered mean in British slang?
tired, exhausted
knack·ered ˈna-kərd. British. : tired, exhausted.
What do they call mom in Ireland?
“Mam” is the most popular form of address for mothers in Ireland. Some 31 per cent of adults call their mother “Mam” when speaking to her, 23 per cent prefer “Mum”, 12 per cent say “Mom” and a further 12 per cent use “Mammy”. Another 4 per cent of respondents call their mothers by their first name.
What do Americans call their mother?
Since Mother’s Day was proclaimed an American holiday 100 years ago, we’ve called our maternal parent by many names: mother, momma, mama, ma, mumsy, and so on.