Why do American women call themselves "mums."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope, we're moms. Mums are for Brits, Canadians, and Downunders, or the garden.

and for the Irish!

[Anonymous]

Agree with the Boston thing. Everyone I know from Boston says it, but they're also all of Irish descent.

[Anonymous]

I am going to start calling myself "mum" just in the hopes that I might come across one of you snooty judgemental people who have nothing better to do than worry about what other people choose to call themselves.

I can't wait to irritate you!

Cheers,

An American Mum

[Anonymous]

JFC, OP. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

To the previous poster: I don't know what JFC means but then I'm from a Commonwealth Country which still respects vowels. Words even. Sometimes we go all the way and make a real sentence with verbs and nouns and other silly old anachronistic things from the old country. Fortunately you've evolved further than us even if no one can understand what you say. Which might possibly be a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do this, OP. I'm Canadian. It's a British Commonwealth thing, not an attempt to fake a higher class status.

Perhaps your friends who use "mum" are infiltrators from the Great White North, covertly passing as Americans because they don't sound British. Test them -- ask for an "about," or accidentally-on-purpose call a Canadian entertainer American.

+1 - Fellow infiltrator here

[Anonymous]

I use it because my mom used it and that's what I grew up with (in Canada). No one else I know does.

[Anonymous]

I have never heard an American mother refer to herself as this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's better than "mama"

Really, my 4 year old still calls me this once in a while. I've never encouraged it one way or the other. I think it's sweet.

It's fine if your 4-year old calls you that. It's annoying when women call themselves "mama." Has a man ever called himself a "dada"?

Is it more annoying than when women call themselves "mom" or "mommy"? (Or "mum")?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. It's not something I lose sleep over. I'm curious. Deal. I had no idea that this is a common term in the Pittsburgh area.

OP - if you were just curious, why the condescension in your post?

FYI, I go by "Mum" when I sign. I don't have the accent to back it up (Oz), but many in my household do. If you met me in a playground, you might think I was pretentious and stupid. Would you still be nice to me? Doesn't sound it.

[Anonymous]

I use memmu.

[Anonymous]

I say "mum" but in my defense my mother (ie my mum) is Australian and I spent my teenage and college years there. I mostly speak American English nowadays but certain words are hard to excise from my vocabulary, particular as I call my own mum "mum". I've had people judge me as being pretentious because of my slightly "British" (actually Australian but Americans can never tell) accent. I swear, I'm not trying to be like Madonna when she lived in the UK - I spent 14 of my formative years Downunder so I picked up a slightly Aussie accent as well as some Aussie-isms like mum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's better than "mama"

Really, my 4 year old still calls me this once in a while. I've never encouraged it one way or the other. I think it's sweet.

It's fine if your 4-year old calls you that. It's annoying when women call themselves "mama." Has a man ever called himself a "dada"?

Just FYI, the male equivalent to mama is papa, not dada.

We use those words in our family because I am German and those are the customary terms there. I haven't encountered a purely American family who uses them. And I only refer to myself as "mama" when speaking to my kids, not to other parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It cracks me up when a whole country can bugger around with a perfectly good language and then get peeved when people use it properly. PP - a bit back - William and Harry always called Diana 'mummy.' What's weird about that? It was their dead parent, surely they could choose what to call her via a note on her coffin? She may have been a frightful head-case but she was still their mummy. Other PP - A mobile phone was just that until it was differently branded by Nokia for brand recognition. Just as a vacuum cleaner is sometimes a hoover. Not losing sleep there either and nor should you. I think you need to chill. I don't care if it's a money machine or an ATM or a cash-flow machine as long as it gives me money. I'll catch a lift or an elevator as long as it gets me to the floor I want. You don't see many English people grimacing when someone says "I'll write you" (doesn't make sense) or "I could care less" (when it means precisely the opposite of what it purports to say) but then they'd probably be too polite to comment and might also be aware that it's all part of the rich global tapestry of lnguage that allows us to watch and enjoy Downton Abbey and Two and a Half Men in one easy sitting. Both excellent and enjoyable examples of their respective genres.

Just a little on the critical side, can I just add a special nurturing shout-out people around the world who are required to put up with the needless inane repetitive "likes" which litter the sentences of most young Americans like cigarette butts at a bus stop. That really is desperately tiresome. If any of your children are interviewing for a job with me (lucky blighters they'd be) then do be aware I play hang-man with the word 'like' which is most excellent for making many an interview a great deal shorter.

Best Wishes
Mummy of three who frequently write to people and couldn't care less about overly sensitive moms

Ha ha ... you sound like you're on crack!!

Signed a fellow Brit.

On the Princess Di thing ... I guess it would be a strange sight to Americans - a casket with "mummy" (i.e. the other kind)!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It cracks me up when a whole country can bugger around with a perfectly good language and then get peeved when people use it properly. PP - a bit back - William and Harry always called Diana 'mummy.' What's weird about that? It was their dead parent, surely they could choose what to call her via a note on her coffin? She may have been a frightful head-case but she was still their mummy. Other PP - A mobile phone was just that until it was differently branded by Nokia for brand recognition. Just as a vacuum cleaner is sometimes a hoover. Not losing sleep there either and nor should you. I think you need to chill. I don't care if it's a money machine or an ATM or a cash-flow machine as long as it gives me money. I'll catch a lift or an elevator as long as it gets me to the floor I want. You don't see many English people grimacing when someone says "I'll write you" (doesn't make sense) or "I could care less" (when it means precisely the opposite of what it purports to say) but then they'd probably be too polite to comment and might also be aware that it's all part of the rich global tapestry of lnguage that allows us to watch and enjoy Downton Abbey and Two and a Half Men in one easy sitting. Both excellent and enjoyable examples of their respective genres.

Just a little on the critical side, can I just add a special nurturing shout-out people around the world who are required to put up with the needless inane repetitive "likes" which litter the sentences of most young Americans like cigarette butts at a bus stop. That really is desperately tiresome. If any of your children are interviewing for a job with me (lucky blighters they'd be) then do be aware I play hang-man with the word 'like' which is most excellent for making many an interview a great deal shorter.

Best Wishes
Mummy of three who frequently write to people and couldn't care less about overly sensitive moms

If you were in England, would you play hang-man with the word "innit"?