Word Ma'am

The word ma'am is short for madam.

yeah, that would sound crazy if someone called someone ma'am in England because it would sound like they were saying mom, And the response would be, I'm not your mom. but, in England they say mum instead of mom, the answer would be, I'm not your mum. It sounds crazy when people call their mother ''mummy'' in England, because, it sounds like they're calling their mother ''a dead body that has been mummified''. They don't use ''mom'' in Britain, they say mum.

"Mum" /m^m/ and "ma'am" /ma:m/ sound very different in Britain and hence, no one would reply "I'm not your mum".

I call my mother "mum". I used to say "mummy" when I was little but I stopped saying that as soon as I learnt about Ancient Egyptian mummies. However, I call my father "daddy" instead of "dad". "Dad" sounds too close to "dead", even though I pronounce the two words differently.

I call my mother ''mom and my father ''Dad'', It sounds really crazy to think that ''Dad'' sounds too close to ''dead'', I do not say ''Daddy that sounds too babyish. You can't say ''Dad'' because it sounds too close to dead. I do not think ''dad'' sounds at all close to ''dead'' and even if I did, Why say ''Daddy'' instead. ''Dad'' and ''dead have two different vowel sounds. Dad and dead are two totally different words, I do not think they sound too close. And even if I did, why say ''daddy'' instead, Why not just say ''Pop, Pa or Father, if you think ''Dad'' sounds too close to dead. I don't say ''Daddy'' I say ''dad'', and it seems crazy for someone to think ''dad'' sounds like dead.

Hello, Richard:

Goodness, old chap, what an overly repititious post. Anyway, I agree that the vowel sound in "dad" and "dead" are different. Still, they're quite close and my father agrees with me on this point. As for why I don't call him "pop, pa or father", I simply don't fancy "pop" and "pa" and "father" sounds too distant.

Nevertheless, I admit that I am somewhat of a chou-chou.

Actually, "chouchou" is supposed to be written as one word. The hyphenation was incorrect.

I still call my mother and father "mummy" and "daddy", perhaps because I find them more endearing than "mum" and "dad".

Rugger how old are you ?

A.S.C.M.
could you please tell us what "chouchou" mean ?

A 'chouchou' is a schizophrenic cabbage.

Zi, I'm 23 years old. You probably think that it's babyish for someone my age to be calling their parents "mummy" and "daddy", but in my family the children just never converted to using the terms "mum" and "dad" inside our home (although when among nonfamily we do tend to use "mum" and "dad"). My sisters, one 21 years old and the other 17 years old, also call our parents "mummy" and "daddy". Even my father will say "go ask mummy ...". Perhaps it is because my siblings and I are female. I find that I say "mummy" and "daddy" because to me they are more affectionate/endearing terms, just as "granny" is a more affectionate term than "granma" (to me anyway).

Interesting - I'd always said this but had to change to "mum" and "dad" in the face of peer pressure.

I think mummy and daddy are lovely words! When you see them on a birthday card '..with love from mummy and daddy' it just sounds so wonderful! I agree that they're really affectionate :-) They just have that sort of 'ring' to them..lovely words!
I remember watching a programme with the Queen on it and she referred to her mum as 'mummy' when speaking to her, even though at the time she was around 75. It's something you can never grow out of!

mommy and daddy are baby-talk. It just sounds weird for a 21-year-old to call their mother ''mommy'' or they're father ''Daddy''.

Each to his own, Richard. Frankly, I find it more weird hearing people call their parents by their first names. Other than that, I don't care what other people call their parents, whether it be "mum/dad", "mummy/daddy", "ma/pa", "mamma/pappa", etc., because in the end they are just titles for ones parents.