Mother, mum и mummy: в чём различие этих слов?
Английское «mother» — это то слово, с которым знаком чуть ли не каждый человек, начинающий изучать язык. В этой статье преподаватель английского Сэм расскажет, чем различаются слова «mother», «mum» и «mummy» между собой и в какой ситуации уместнее использовать каждое из них.
One of the most important persons in the world is your mum. For many children «mama» is the first real word that they say, but what is the difference between mother, mum, and mummy.
Mother is very formal. Although some students tend to use mother when they speak to me, and it’s not wrong to do so, it’s more natural to use the word mum when speaking, except in a strictly formal context. In fact, I almost never use mother when speaking about my mum.
Mum is used most often, and especially when you are speaking to others about your family. In American English, this word is mom. Some Irish people say «mam».
Mummy is an affectionate form. As a boy, I used this word a lot, I called my mummy whenever I was stuck and she was always there to help. As an adult, I don’t use this form as often, and I don’t use it when talking to others. Adults who use this form to speak to others about their mum can seem childish.
I hope this helps you use this very important word more naturally.
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Mom or Mum – What’s the Difference?
Home » Mom or Mum – What’s the Difference?
Our mothers have made many sacrifices for us, so it is important that we always speak to them with respect. The words you use to do so might be different in American and British English, though.
Depending on where you live in the world, you might call your mother mom or mum for short. Continue reading to learn more about the differences between these words.
What is the Difference Between Mom and Mum?
In this post, I will compare mom vs. mum and outline which language community uses which word. These examples will allow you to see each word in context. Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that you can use to choose either mum or mom next time you need one of these words.
When to Use Mom
What does mom mean? Mom is a noun. It is a shortened form of mother, which means a female parent or matriarch. Mom is very common in spoken American English, but in most written contexts, mother is more likely to appear.
When to Use Mum
What does mum mean? Mum can be a noun or an adjective.
As an adjective, mum is a synonym of silent, like in the phrase mum’s the word.
As a noun, mum has two meanings. A mum is a type of flower often grown for decorative purposes. It is also an alternative spelling of mom, where it means mother.
Mom is more common in American English, while mum is more common in British English. The charts below show the relative usage of mum vs. mom in both language communities. I have isolated the mother sense of mum by charting the phrases my mom and my mum.
American English:
British English:
These charts aren’t scientifically accurate or completely exhaustive, however, since they only graph these words in books published in English since 1800, to the exclusion of spoken English and even other print sources. Still, they are a useful proxy for long-term usage trends that involve these words.
Here are some example sentences for mum.
Trick to Remember the Difference
Since these words have the same meanings, it can be difficult to remember when to use mum or mom. Only mum is an adjective, so that is an easy choice.
Since mum and United Kingdom both contain the letter U, you can use that letter as a reminder the mum is the British version of this word.
Summary
Is it mom or mum? Mom and mum are two spelling variants of a noun that means a female parent.
Оба варианта правильные. Можно использовать любой.
В словосочетании «мама с папой», например, чаще используется mum: ‘mum and dad’.
My favorite lesson is Mathematics. I like to solve various tasks. Previously I did not understand mathematics at all, but my mother helped me. And now I can solve examples, equations and tasks myself. Mostly I like solving the equation, there is more logic here.
My favorite lesson is physical education. I like to do sports and exercise. If you do sports, then you will be healthy and always in the form. My favorite sport is volleyball and football.
Every day I Wake up and go to Breakfast. After a light Breakfast I go to do exercises and wash my face. Then I go to watch TV. After that, I go outside. After the walk I eat lunch. After lunch I lay down to rest. After a rest I go again to walk. After a walk I love to watch TV until the evening. Then I have dinner. After dinner go take a shower and go to bed.
Как пишется mom или mum правильно
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Mom, Mum, Mam: Different words?
I’m reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women right now. Throughout the book, the March sisters refer to their mother as “marmee.” This looks like an odd term of endearment until you remember that Alcott grew up (and set her book in) Eastern Massachusetts. Given that her accent was probably non-rhotic (i.e. she dropped her r’s), “marmee” is essentially a different way of writing modern-day mommy.
This got me thinking. We have several informal words for “mother” in English: mum (heard in much of England), mom (heard in much of America), and mam (heard in Ireland and Northern England). But are these actually different words, or are they just, in some sense, the same word?
Although “mum,” “mam,” and “mom” read differently, they’re often pronounced in a very similar way. Here’s a comparison of three different dialects, and their “mom” pronunciations (don’t worry if you aren’t proficient in IPA — I’ll explain after):
London: “mum” — [mɐm]
General American: “mom” — [mɑm]
Manchester, UK: “mam” — [mam]
Whether you understand the IPA symbols above or not, the point is that in these three dialects, the words are quite close in pronunciation. To be fair, there are some regions where this is not the case. In the Western US, for example, mom is often more clearly “mawm.” Still, is it possible that mom and mum and mam began as different spellings rather than different words?
I suspect this may be the case because written usage of them seems fairly recent. Mom and mum appear to only date back to the 19th Century in written form. I’m curious if perhaps mam is the earliest of these, and mom and mum were just different ways of rendering this.
But that’s all I can say for now. I’ve been able to find little information as to whether these words have some common derivation. Google searches of “mom vs. mum” or “mom mum mam” don’t yield anything substantial. I haven’t found much info about their etymologies either. Any thoughts?
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69 Responses to Mom, Mum, Mam: Different words?
I have always assumed that mom and mum both derive from mother – mum because of the ‘mu’ sound at the start of mother and ‘mom’ because of the initial ‘mo’ in mother. But mam is much more likely to be derived from mama, surely? And in my experience ‘mam’ is pronounced quite differently from ‘mum’ and ‘mom’.
Given that the South Africans also say Mom I suspect the use of it in the US is sourced in Dutch immigrants. This can be pronounced as ‘mum’ but as often as not is now said as ‘morm.’
Mama is the first word many babies will use, like Dada, and so no doubt Mam or Mammee or Mama comes from this.
Mum is the English spelling, and used in Australia and New Zealand. The Canadians did say mum but the overwhelming American influence now has pulled them into Mom.
It’s funny; I saw a very similar point made here, if you go down to “14 Feb”, click on “TRAP-LOT-STRUT” and open it up in PowerPoint. That’s the web page of some linguist who is originally from England, but now lives in Iceland. You can go through some of his other courses too.
It probably depends on the dialect. Western Ireland, for example, would probably pronounce it so it sounds like “ma’am.” But the difference between how a Londoner says “mum” and someone from Northern England says “mam” is much more minimal.
Thanks, that’s pretty much exactly what I was looking for! He very much suggests that they are all the same word.
OK, I dipped my toe in the water on Twitter (I’m @ruchbah out of disguise). My colleague Jonnie (who is accents and dialects king) is originally from outer Birmingham and calls his mother ‘mom’. I have heard other UK West Midlanders pronounce [mɒm] and spell it too. I suspect it’s a separate but connected phenomenon to the US ‘mom’. I can’t find any proper academic sources on it (yet — I will be studying this region in about 2 months) but there must be some ?
Interesting … what you MAY be hearing is “mum” pronounced with a Brummie accent. A common pronunciation for “strut” words (i.e. words like “mum” or “cut” or “bud”), as per the Handbook of Varieties of English, is [ɒ]. Which would suggest the “mum” is very much a separate word from “mam” or “mom” in Birmingham!
No they are NOT hearing Mum with a Brummie accent- we in the West Midlands do actually say and spell Mom with an “0”
Interesting post from Jon. Like his friend I am also from outer Birmingham and have always pronounced and written the word in question as “mom”. Most working-class Brummies I know pronounce the word as “mom”.
There is no doubt that the spelling of the English language has changed dramatically over time. The ‘o’ and ‘u’ like many letters can be interchangeable depending upon how the word is pronounced.
Let’s remember that it is only say 100 years since the UK had universal literacy. Anyone who does ancestry research knows that looking for a name is likely to bring dividends if you take into account the same word in all its phonetic manifestations.
Just to back up Jon on the West Midlands “mom” as [mɒm] thing – this is a well-known phenomenon in that region, and this spelling is used by many speakers there – some of whom apparently feel quite passionately about this, cf http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/blog/2006/04/mum-and-mom.html
Academic sources are hard to come by, but here’s a nice sample of a West Midlands dialect with a couple of “moms” clearly audible : http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/text-only/england/danesford/
trawicks, “mom” pronounced with a Brummie accent would be closer to [mʊm] so I think we can discount this explanation. As to what this tells us etymologically, I have no idea.
I’ve usually assumed it to be [mʊm] as well, although it definitely ranges lower, to something more along the lines of [ɔ], which is why I could see somebody hearing [mɔm] and assuming it to be “mom.” Great clip! We don’t hear midlands dialects much at all in the States, so this is my first time hearing Brummie “mom!”
PS I meant for their to be a centralized diacritic on the ɔ above. Alas, WordPress and unicode have a tempestuous relationship …
Here’s a lovely linguistic description that goes with that sample: http://sounds.bl.uk/File.aspx?item=021T-C0900X15068X-0100A1.pdf. As you can see, it says he uses mom.
Just to muddy the waters, here in B. C. I hear mostly ‘mum’, but most people spell it ‘mom’. I knew one fella who said ‘mawm’, but his father was American.
There is a Newfie nurse who works in our village hospital; she says ‘mam’. The rest of her speech sounds pretty Irish, too.
what is the difference between mom or mum people In Australia say mum.
I’m from London and would say the pronunciation here is mʌm (with the STRUT vowel).
That is the way it’s broadly transcribed, but this vowel is usually noted to be a bit lower and fronter in London English. Then again, this vowel is a bit “all over the place” in most accents of English.
ma ma (first words)
mammy, mam
mommy, mom
mummy, mum
Mam also heard in much of Wales, where it doubles up as the Welsh word for ‘mother’.
The equivalent Irish Gaelic word is spelt “mamaí”, and the vowel can map to the Irish English TRAP, LOT, or CLOTH depending on the speaker’s accents (in both languages). My mammy is a native speaker of Munster Irish; when she says “mVmmy” (in English) it rhymes with “Commie”.
Irish English “Ma” has PALM, whereas Little-House-on-the-Prairie English “Ma” seems to me to have THOUGHT.
The Canadian “mom” vs. “mum” question has always puzzled me. The “cot-caught merger” definitely doesn’t help, since the vowels in “strut,” “lot” and “caught” all seem to hover around in a similar vowel space.
Interesting point about the Irish informal “mom” word! I’m assuming the more cumbersome “máthair” isn’t used as much?
The “butt” vs. “bum” question is interesting too. I think they say “bum” more than Americans (think of Tom Green). In fact when I’ve heard Americans say bum, they were usually imitating Tom Green.
…since the vowels in “strut,” “lot” and “caught” all seem to hover around in a similar vowel space.
There isn’t a merger of those vowels in any North American accent as far as I know. But I think in some cases Canadian STRUT can be more open than it is in my accent (I don’t know about yours or anyone else’s). This is because “cot” and “caught” merge in a low and far back position and this leaves the low central area open. So STRUT can move in that direction. It’s something like [ɐ] in some Canadian accents I’ve heard. But of course I can’t say every Canadian pronounces it the same way.
The OED seems to share your guess, but without substatiating it:
Good cite! I would not be surprised if “mam” was the prototype, and the variations were mostly a product of orthography or vowel shifts.
Don’t mean to suggest all three are merged. But the lowering of STRUT and the backing of TRAP in many Canadian accents makes things a little crowded.
Yeah, I don’t know how widespread those things actually are in Canada though.
Having lived in the States, after being educated in England, then marrying a Texan I have come to the following conclusion: Americans speak American, English speak English. The similarities and the history of the languages makes some believe one is right and one is wrong. There are two different languages that happen to have a close connection. Mr Webster (of American dictionary fame) decided to compile his dictionary with the specific objective of distinguishing his inherited language from its origins. Hence different words, different spellings and different accentuation of syllables. Then, of course, there are all the regional variations and the influences of languages from all over the world. Latin died (OK, mortally wounded then) because the Romans would not let it evolve.
My wife pointed out that the English language taken west across the Atlantic was that of the seventeenth century. For those who wish to do so making a comparison of today’s English language and spelling to that used by voyagers on the Mayflower yields words, syntax and grammar differences that, at times, may begin to explain why we speak different languages on the two sides of the ocean. As soon as English was floated over the sea and landed on another continent it began to evolve in a different direction from the evolution path of its origin.
By the way, my English mother used to delight in receiving two Mother’s Day cards every year… one addressed to Mum (in March), and another addressed to Mom (in May).
Not really. Americans speak English. The language is English it is not American and neither is it French, Russian or any other language. Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, and the British all speak English as do a few other countries which have taken it on as their national language as ex colonials, including India where it is still a major language and the language of most higher education. You could be forgiven for thinking, hearing Indians speak that the language is English but it is. Just as you could be forgiven hearing some Americans speak, that it is English, but it is.
They are most definitely not two different languages anymore than French Canadians are speaking a different language to the French. They may be speaking an older version of French but it remains French. Americans may speak in what equates to regional colloquial English at times but it remains English.
The Americans, partly in a bid to distance themselves from Mother England, and partly to simplify, one would say, dumb down the language, have done a lot of work on changing spelling, but it remains English although not correctly spelled English if one is to study the core language. American spelling may make it easier for the less bright to learn to spell but it rather subtracts from the substance and depth of the words which have been tinkered with.
If you were correct that the language Americans speak and the language other English speakers use were different languages, then they would not be in essence, spelling aside, exactly the same language with the same rules, structure and vocabulary. There is no doubt that Americans have their own colloquialisms, which are sometimes home-grown, but so do all English speakers around the world and for that matter, around Britain. But a few colloquialisms does not another language make. It is not even dialect.
What is perhaps interesting is how little English has evolved as you suggest in those other nations which use it as their mother tongue. But that no doubt is because of the vastly and ever-increasing capacity for connection and communication which kept people in touch so that language had neither need or opportunity to wander off on its own merry way.
One demonstration of the impact of communication on language is Australia, and I would add Canada, (Quebec aside), where with the same sorts of size in terms of country, accent and pronunciation remain pretty consistent from one side to the other. Perhaps the fact that both nations are marginally younger from the US has made the difference because there are regional accents in the US. Although no doubt higher population in the US is a factor. But nowhere has English developed in such variety of form as the United Kingdom. Then again that happened over thousands of years and has decreased in recent centuries in the age of communication.
In one of those lovely ironies, talking language, those who study accent have decided that the ‘modern’ English accent is actually very like the Australian accent – a development which has come about through the addiction British children and teenagers have had to Australian television programmes in the past 40 years. A ‘win for the ex-colonials perhaps. Then again, the Australian accent is an amalgam of various English regional accents, various regional Scottish accents, various regional Irish accents and no doubt a good pinch of German as these were our main early settler groups.
Language as ever is a living, evolving entity and always fascinating.
hello,I am from Wales, and we call our mother “Mam or Mammy”.We have different names for our grandparents. ie.”Bampi” for Grandad or Grampa and “Mamgi ” for Grandma or Nana.Its all just a regional thing when you add it all up.Its what makes people around the world interesting.Nos ta “Good night “.
I grew up around Boston, USA. While I always spell it “Mom”, I, along with many others with a Boston accent, pronounce it “Mum”. When I travel outside of New England, other Americans seem to think I sound English in my pronunciation of “Mom”. The rest of America undoubtedly says Mom and does not pronounce the “O” with a “U” sound like I do. Although, I only say “Mum” when I’m talking to my mother directly. If I was talking about her, I would say “Mother” (pronounced “Muthah”).
I also have the same issue pronouncing the word “Hot”, where it almost sounds like I’m saying, “Hut”. I’m not sure if it’s a regional thing, or just me though.
I’m from NYC where people pronounce ER quite like people in Boston do. If I talk with my parents, I always say MAH. Mom is pronounced as MAHM.
I always distinguish COT from CAUGHT. However, my pronunciation of AW sounds like wuh to some friends of mine coming from outside NYC. So it’s kinda impossible for me to pronounce Mom as MAWM, for if so, it would sound like MWUHM. A tad weird, huh?
I also add R to some schwa’s while constantly dropping R after some schwa’s
2, Selena=Selener, quoted as saying from Nicki Minaj ft. Justin Bieber “But I gotta keep an eye on SelenER”
My mom’s from Chicago where people speak more refined. She’s kinda pissed off when hearing me speaking vulgarly.
Interesting. Now that you mention it, I do know plenty of people that also say “MAH” when talking directly to their mother. As you noted, there are plenty of similarities between NY and Boston dialects.
I’m from Manitoba Canada myself. I would say that “Mom” is the most common with “Mum” being less common but in free variation and “Mam” almost unheard of. The rural western accent tends to pronounce LOT/THOUGHT as a rounded back vowel, while more urban accents tend to be unrounded. Most rurally influenced people also tend to have very back TRAP vowels even before nasals, so the word ma’am sounds like an eastern American Mom or northern English Mam. Personally I say Mom in a way an American might hear as Mawm, and this seems to be quite common, although more urban/general Canadian accents might sound more like the General American variety. I do catch myself saying Mum now and then though. As for the STRUT vowel it’s my opinion that rural westerners tend toward a more back sound especially when being emphatic, while urban accents are more centralised but not necessarily lowered.
note: the Canadian accent especially from Ontario west to BC is probably the most homogenous dialect in the world of any language, and the subtle differences between local/rural accents and urban/general accents, as well as what little regional variation there is, go unnoticed by most people, Canadian or foreign alike.
I did not see your comment before I replied above but I made a similar point. However, Canada is not alone for the Australian accent is the same across the continent, a land mass the same size as the continental US.
Perhaps the biggest influence on Canada though has been the American accent. I first visited Canada in the early 70’s – Vancouver, Alberta, Montreal, Quebec City and Calgary and would agree with your comment then. However, I lived in Vancouver about five years ago and it was very, very clear then that the BC accent, particularly in Vancouver, was different and very, very American.
The homogenous nature of the Australian accent has been easier to maintain because we don’t share any close borders with anyone, let alone another English speaking nation. New Zealand is an interesting example because that accent has changed dramatically in the past decade or two. It would be interesting to know why. If you look at NZ television news and programmes prior to say the 90’s the Australian and NZ accents were quite similar. No longer. The NZ accent has in fact become extremely pronounced and distinctive and utterly unlike anything spoken in Australia or probably anywhere else in the English speaking world. Although there are similarities to the South Africans and some English dialects.
But modern communications have gone a long way toward diminishing accent differences and therefore helping all of us English speakers to understand each other. And with threads like this, American changes to their spelling aside, we all talk the same language and we all understand each other pretty much.
I won’t dispute your observation that the Vancouver accent is “very, very American”, since that was your experience. It’s not my experience though, as someone born in Vancouver and having lived here most of my 65-year life. I would agree with rya about the homogeneity of English from Ontario (except maybe the Ottawa valley, which I’m not familiar with) westward to BC. I do detect something distinctive in the speech of many Albertans, but it’s subtle.
Btw it’s common for Canadians of my generation to say “mum”, but the younger ones say “mom”, I’m sure from the American influence.
If you were born and brought up in Vancouver I am sure you ‘hear’ the accent differently. Having lived in nearly a dozen countries around the world and travelled constantly for nearly 30 years there is something of which I became aware long ago – you don’t ‘hear’ your own accent.
In an airport I know who is Australian because they do not have an accent! Of course they do, but I don’t hear it. Just as you would not hear the Vancouver accent in particular.
I think Canada is a lot like Australia when it comes to accent – fairly homogenous – with slight differences sometimes. Having spent time in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto I could not perceive too much difference between them and a Vancouver accent but then someone visiting Australia would not pick up the very slight differences between Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide…and they are slight.
The Canadian accent is very American, and one presumes it did not happen the other way. The major difference, so as not to be in error, Canadians don’t like being taken for Americans just as New Zealanders don’t like being taken for Australians – although the ‘bigger’ country doesn’t care – is the ‘out’ sound, which is clearly Scottish in origin, but which has remained in the Canadian accent. Wait until they say ‘about’ and catch the ‘out’ sound and you generally know if you have a Canadian. Although even this distinction has been diluted in the past 20 years and with the American accent so pervasive through radio and television, may well disappear anyway.
Accents, like language evolve. I always find it interesting listening to old – 30’s, 40’s – radio and television programmes where the American accent is much less pronounced and quite English. Ditto for Australia, Canada and New Zealand. And then it all began to change.
Given the number of Kiwis in Australia however, should they return, the accent may well change back to a variation of Australian.
One of the more interesting ‘accent’ impacts, and for Australians as ‘ex-colonials’ satisfying, has been the Australianisation of the general English accent which, the experts deduce, comes from two generations of British school-children brought up on Australian television soaps!
Ironic really. The British fear was the Americanisation of the English accent and that did not happen. Instead it was the Australian accent which prevailed. My guess is that is the case because of the connections for the Australian accent must in origin be a combination of Scottish, Irish and the numerous English dialects given that was our original immigrant base for the nation.
The introduction, like Canada and the US, of dozens of different nationalities from the mid 1800’s has no doubt done the rest of the work although the Australian accent of today is different, as I said earlier, to that of forty years ago.
The only constant in life is change.
Hello. In my part of America, ‘mom’ is most common. My mum is Australian, so I switch between calling her mum and mom. I’ve never heard mam, however, I was reading a book last week and two of the characters were brother and sister from Wales. They used mam.
(the book was Clockwork Princess, the third book in The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. It’s fantastic: you should go check it out. I suggest you start with the first book, though.)
Oh no! This post is super duper old. Whoopsies.