To ask if you're British why would you spell 'Mum' as 'Mom'

[MoonStar07]

#firstworldproblem! Does my head in it's Mum! Mummy etc not Mom. Point made. Thanks

Leicestershire East Midlands though. More of a West Midlands thing.

I think at times, american pronunciation can avoid nailing one's colours to the mast. Britain longs to pigeon-hole people. The John Cleese sketch is true.

Within a decade nobody will feel the need to repeat after an American, ''oh, until Friday''. There'll be a brief window where we're aware that we could choose to say it 'our' way or the American way and an awareness that the American way is winning. Then bam. It's too late. One day you feel like an eejit wandering in to Starbucks saying ''can I have a cup of coffee and that biscuit - to go take away''.

Meanwhile your kids learnt their English from Spell check and have no idea that traveller has two Ls, Jewellery is a long word and organise looks wrong to their parents with a z, but by the middle of next year I'll have rolled over and it will look wrong with an s.

My own son said to me what's a leever? He has only ever heard the word lever on Cars films movies and on Jillian Michael's work outs where she talks about lever crunches. He heard an Irish person say leever not lever and didn't recognise the word.

Roll over folks. Don't fight it.

I use Mam like I'm sure a lot of people do. Over the years it has pissed me off that I could only get cards with Mother, Mum or Mummy on. I now make my own cards.

Oh dear, you've made a bit of a tit of yourself here, OP. Maybe do your research before you start ranty threads.

I think the evolution of linguistics should be discussed more often.

There'll be a brief window where we're aware that we could choose to say it 'our' way or the American way and an awareness that the American way is winning.

To be fair, in this instance it's 'cos it's betterer.

Black country here, it is always MOM/ MOMMY - both written and spoken. Even if I see MUM written I pronounce it MOM. So to me, this is MOMSNET.

You don't have to have heard something directly to understand that other people might use it surely?

But if you don't know something exists how can you understand that other people use it? Or if your point of reference is that this word is used in a particular place, it's not difficult to understand how someone's assumption is that it 'belongs' in that place.

Like I understand that some people in West Yorkshire don't use it. Hence me using the words "specific little part"

Because you know that other people don't use that word.

You don't know what you don't know, it doesn't make you hard of thinking. The hard of thinking bit comes if you do know about something but refuse to engage with it or deny it. I don't understand how you don't get that when faced with something you have never experienced directly before but that has an association for you based on the media it is perfectly normal to comment on that association until it is challenged - and the OP has said fair enough a few times now.

Language can be so localised and strongly connected with identity, I think it's hard sometimes to be aware that what you take for granted isn't universal. My DH is still surprised when I point out the phrases or words which aren't used in other areas of the country because it's so ingrained here. It's really interesting but definitely not an indicator of cognitive ability unless someone does not learn when educated.

Birmingham and other northern cities are still very connected to Irish culture hence it being used there

Birmingham is in the Midlands not in the north!

(From Birmingham and say and spell it as 'mom' and never heard anyone locally to say it any different.)

Okay accepted, hard of thinking was harsh. Have limited knowledge is probably more apt.

Yes agree it's a Black Country (part of West Midlands) thing. My husband is from there and has always used 'Mom'. I had to ask him to not teach the DCs to write it as we live elsewhere and DC1 got it marked wrong in his homework one time

"Birmingham and other northern cities are still very connected to Irish culture hence it being used there"

I can't think of a northern city more connected to Irish culture than Liverpool, where people say, err... "Mum".

"I had to ask him to not teach the DCs to write it as we live elsewhere and DC1 got it marked wrong in his homework one time"

I'd have pulled the teacher up on that. As an informal, colloquial term with numerous regional variations, no version can be deemed "incorrect".

I'm from Birmingham and I can't stand mom! DH spells it that way so all my Xmas cards etc from toddler DD are addressed "To Mommy". Aaarrgghhh!!!!

Another Brummie checking in to defend the use of Mom! I actually spell it mum but definitely pronounce it mom.

I'm from Birmingham and say mum, as does my mum who is a brummy.

Dp says mom I say mum

We are both from West Yorkshire but about 45 mins apart! Odd. I hate 'mom'

I will be teaching my baby 'mum'

I know what you mean liz but it didn't seem big enough to make a thing about. DS1 and I discussed it, I explained, he thought it was funny and decided to write 'Mum' in future as it is more usual round here and ran off to play football.

I grew up in the midlands and we said mom but were taught to spell it mum - perhaps because school teachers were a bit posher than the rest of us

We pronounce it with a short o, to rhyme with bomb. Not like the American 'maaaahm'.

My grandmother grew up near Liverpool and said 'mam'.

Could someone please explain the "through" / "until" thing?

"I'm working overtime until the holidays" obviously means that they're not working overtime during the holiday. "I'm working overtime this week through the holidays" would be someone picking up extra shifts and working overtime on Christmas day or something.

So if you say "I'm here until Saturday" I assume that you're here all week, until it is Saturday because you are going home Saturday.

I'm Mammy or Mommy. But I really don't care what anyone else chooses to call themselves.

What I am concerned about, though, is that since having dc, I have suddenly started referring to myself in the third person; "Don't kick mammy in the boobs", "Don't pull Mammy's hair", "Stop eating mammy's finger". WTF is all that about?

Orangeisthenewblack - I know, I know! (proud)

Babydubs - I agree. Although this is Mumsnet in my head it's Momsnet. Mum as a word just sounds wrong to me, because I've grown up with Mom.

My DB married an American - when they say Mom it sounds long and a bit drawly, when I say it. it's short.

My lovely US relatives had said before how they think it's amazing how in the UK you can drive just a few miles and people speak differently.

.....I feel lucky to live in such a diverse, interesting country.

As my DGM use to say, "It wouldn't do for us all to be the same".

OP - surely you're not saying that you'd like everyone to speak/be exactly the same as you, hmmm? (Head tilt)

It is not mom in the midlands, it is mum or even ma.