Do Canadians say mum or mom? (2023)

What do they call mothers in Canada?

In Canada we have "mums" (or at least we used to have them.) Americans have "moms."

Language evolution: The Great Vowel Shift

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.

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.

In Australia, most people call their mothers 'mum'. But you have probably heard 'mom' used on American television. And some people prefer the spelling 'mam'.

Like Birmingham, 'Mom' is what is generally used in the US, with 'Mum' more popular in most of England. But it's popularity in the West Midlands shows it may be a regional pronunciation, maybe influenced by the Brummie accent.

Mom and Mommy are old-English words, words that are stilled used in Birmingham and most parts of the West Midlands. It is said that when people from the West Midlands went to America many years ago they took the spelling with them, hence Americans use Mom and Mommy.

"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".

Canadian spelling of the English language combines British and American rules. Most notably, French-derived words that in American English end with -or and -er, such as colour or centre, usually retain British spellings (colour and centre), although American spellings are not uncommon.

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.

Why do British people say bloody?

Bloody. Don't worry, it's not a violent word… it has nothing to do with “blood”.”Bloody” is a common word to give more emphasis to the sentence, mostly used as an exclamation of surprise. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful“. Having said that, British people do sometimes use it when expressing anger…

"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.

The UK generally goes with "mum" and "dad", the Irish with "mam" (mammie). Down south (towards London) it's pronounced "m-uh-m", whereas up north (towards Scotland, Manchester) they pronounce it "m-ooh-m".

Mi vieja / Mi viejita

In Latin American countries, vieja or viejita are two affectionate terms for mothers.

Buddy/ Bud. On the east coast predominantly (but also heard nationwide), buddy is a way to talk about a person without using a name. For example, it could be 'buddy over there' or 'buddy in the beer store'.

In other words, where many US speakers will pronounce "sorry" like "sari", (i.e. in the lot Lexical Set), Canadians make the first syllable like "sore." In fact, when Canadian actors learn that US speakers say "sorry/sari" in the same manner, they often remark "where's the pain in that?" For us, "sorry," the word many ...

Canadians use Canuck as an affectionate or merely descriptive term for their nationality. If familiar with the term, most citizens of other nations, including the United States, also use it affectionately, though there are individuals who may use it as derogatory term.

Mother, Mom, or Mum? What Americans call their mothers.

It is all to do with pronunciation and accent: both 'mum' and 'mom' (and indeed a third form, 'mam') all come from the same original word, 'mother.

How do you say mom in South Africa?

In Afrikaans the word for mother is just 'ma' and in Swahili it's 'mama'.

The primary exception, of course, is in the United States where “z” is pronounced “zee”. 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.

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!

Answer: The Americans have picked this up from Norman- French. "Herb" is a word that would have been very commonly used by the French, so that is why it would have stuck, as oppose to other words in the American dialect such as "helicopter."

It's all about the vowels

So as a summary, Canadian and American English are very similar in pronunciation. So similar, in fact, that they are often grouped together as North American English.

You may have noticed that the way Canadians speak is changing and the reason why words sound different these days is because linguists have confirmed we're going through the Canadian Vowel Shift. "Milk" is being pronounced more like "melk." The word "dress" is starting to sound like "drass."

Canadians do something called 'Canadian Raising', meaning that they pronounce some two-part vowels (known as dipthongs) with a higher part of their mouths than people from other English-speaking regions – this is what causes the 'ou' sounds in words like 'out' and 'about' to be pronounced something like 'oot' and ' ...

What do Scots call a baby?

What does bairn mean? Bairn is a Scottish or Northern English word for child.

Mom is the American English version. Mum is the British English version.

In terms of recorded usage of related words in English, mama is from 1707, mum is from 1823, mummy in this sense from 1839, mommy 1844, momma 1852, and mom 1867. So in fact both 'mom' and 'mum' are words derived from the word 'mamma' with early recorded usage back in the 1570s in England.

Fart, as it turns out, is one of the oldest rude words we have in the language: Its first record pops up in roughly 1250, meaning that if you were to travel 800 years back in time just to let one rip, everyone would at least be able to agree upon what that should be called.

The f-word has overtaken “bloody” as the UK's favourite swear word, according to new research which suggests the British people have actually become less foul-mouthed.

The shortened form Yank is used as a derogatory, pejorative, playful, or colloquial term for Americans in Britain, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, and New Zealand. The full Yankee may be considered mildly derogatory, depending on the country.

Starter slang

'Hiya' or 'Hey up' – these informal greetings both mean 'hello' and are especially popular in the north of England. 'What about ye?' is popular in Northern Ireland and is another way of saying 'How are you?' 'Howay' is popular in the north east of England and means 'let's go' or 'come on'.

Americans and British people both say “cheers” when they are out drinking and clink their glasses together. The difference is that people from the UK also use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.

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.

But when the country received the nickname of the Great White North, people were telling the truth. Here's why Canada is sometimes referred to as the Great White North.

What was Canada's name before Canada?

Prior to 1870, it was known as the North-Western Territory. The name has always been a description of the location of the territory.

Dominion of Canada is the country's formal title, though it is rarely used. It was first applied to Canada at Confederation in 1867. It was also used in the formal titles of other countries in the British Commonwealth.

Aboriginal roots

The name “Canada” likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata,” meaning “village” or “settlement.” In 1535, two Aboriginal youths told French explorer Jacques Cartier about the route to kanata; they were actually referring to the village of Stadacona, the site of the present-day City of Québec.

Canadians use Canuck as an affectionate or merely descriptive term for their nationality. If familiar with the term, most citizens of other nations, including the United States, also use it affectionately, though there are individuals who may use it as derogatory term.

Toronto is called the 6 thanks to Forest Hill 'hood rapper Drake, who refers to his hometown as the 6 when he named his album, Views from the 6. FYI, you can actually rent out the luxury condo he used to live in. At first, people were confused.

English- and French-speaking colonists struggled to get along, and England itself found that governing and financing its far-flung colonies was expensive and burdensome. For those reasons, England united three of its colonies, Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, into the Dominion of Canada in 1867.

The beaver was given official status as an emblem of Canada when “An Act to provide for the recognition of the Beaver (Castor canadensis) as a symbol of the sovereignty of Canada” received royal assent on March 24, 1975.

The colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France. It was claimed by France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory until 1763, when it became a British colony known as the Province of Quebec.

Canada has a larger land mass than the United States. The land area of Canada is 3, 855, 103 square miles compared to America's 3, 794, 083, making Canada 1.6% larger that the States.

Why is it called British Columbia?

Origin of the name

The central region was given the name of “New Caledonia” by explorer Simon Fraser. To avoid confusion with Colombia in South America and the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, Queen Victoria named the area British Columbia when it became a colony in 1858.

'Aborigine' is generally perceived as insensitive, because it has racist connotations from Australia's colonial past, and lumps people with diverse backgrounds into a single group. You're more likely to make friends by saying 'Aboriginal person', 'Aboriginal' or 'Torres Strait Islander'.

"Aboriginal" is a general term that collectively refers to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada, and is found in the Canadian constitution. This distinction legalized in 1982 when the Constitution Act came into being.

First Nations peoples were the original inhabitants of the land that is now Canada, often occupying territories south of the Arctic.