Why is Mummy/Daddy considered posh? + Other cultural differences

[NwaNaija]

I'll break this down into 2 posts so the OP isn't too long.

1. Personally, I've noticed many times on here that people see the use of 'Mummy/Daddy' as posh. It's made me laugh because growing up, Mummy/Daddy is the general way of addressing parents in Nigeria (where I was born and raised), regardless of economic status. The pronounciation can be different though (MU-mee, mu-MEE, Mummy).

It isn't really used when speaking about your parents unless you're a child. In that case, 'mother/father' would be used.

Other terms used are Mama/Papa or Baba and other different ones from the many ethnic groups we have. Saying 'Mum/Dad' sounds quite formal and a bit strange, although it's become a bit more common (see next post) nowadays.

I'm not sure how saying mummy/daddy started though, perhaps we got it from the 'posh' colonisers? 🤷🏽‍♀️

Why is it considered posh in the UK?

Question: What are some of the words, phrases or terms used in your country/culture that you've seen used differently in other cultures?

@Pelleas

Mama and Papa are the poshest forms of address.

Are you from England?

My son calls me Baba when its just us, its essentially Daddy in Urdu (there are a few variations) when other people are around he calls me Daddy.

I used to call my parents Dad and my mum went by her first name but I would refer to her as Ammu when talking to other people.

There are a wide range of words for mum and dad in Urdu, there are also different variarions in India and Pakistan.

Surely the poshest version is Mater and Pater

Not considered posh everywhere in the UK. In Northern Ireland it would be the norm in many working class communities to call your parents 'Mummy and Daddy'. Or maybe Mammy . . .

It was Mum and Dad for us but my Dad called his Dad Pop and we knew him as Grandad but sometimes called him Pop too although he died when I was only 8

@Celtic1hair

I'm Welsh, and everyone I know calls their parents mammy and daddy, regardless of their age. Would seem odd not too! Unless talking about them rather than to them if you see what I mean?

shows how regional it is - I'm in Cardiff and have never, ever heard anyone refer to mammy/daddy past the age of five or so. Not when I was in school, not in any of the places I've worked or any of the clubs I've been involved in or friends I know. Very occasionally heard mam from some one from slightly further north or west but otherwise 99.9% mum and dad.

I don't think it is posh, lots of people say, "Mummy and Daddy". It all depends what you like and what you are used to.

I only know one adult who calls her parents mummy/daddy when referring to them to other people and she’s very pretentious. She probably read it on here and is pleased it makes her sound posh.

I had a friend from NI who always said 'Mummy and Daddy', and one aunt on my father's side. He and his other sister alway said, 'Mum and Dad'. I always said 'Mum & Dad' once I got past a certain age but my mother would have loved to have been called 'Mummy' forever, and said so. Nothing to do with being posh.

DH studied at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), and my north American friends almost keel over at the use of word Oriental, which is seen as racist

I don't think adults calling their parents mummy and daddy is posh, I think it makes them sound a bit simple TBH.

What an interesting thread!
I am foreign myself (Italian) and my toddler calls me either mama or mummy.
Mama comes from mispronouncing 'mamma' in Italian.
Mummy comes from Peppa Pig.

I called my parents mummy and daddy (not posh)

My dad stayed daddy til relatively recently...probably last 5 years cos everyone started calling him Pa (i blame my brother) and now he doesn’t respond to daddy if we are out

I started calling my mum Mater in my mid teens, by my late teens it was Matey and stayed that way til her death

Oh

My children are 22, 19 and 17

The 19 year old calls me mummy

The other two only call me mummy when they want something

I default to calling my parents Mummy and Daddy and TBF I am a little bit posh. They definitely frowned on the use of Mum/Dad. But I’m aware that it is quite twee to most British ears. It’s definitely a bit of a class indicator - the Royals all do it (Beatrice and Eugenie’s exaggerated pronunciation of “Mummmmeh” is one of the great running jokes in The Windsors).

Any time you hear a middle class man talk about visiting “the ‘rents”, “the parental unit” or similar, he’s trying to hide the fact that his instinct is to call them Mummy and Daddy but he realises it will open him to ridicule.

I love the revelation that “local” is a term of mild abuse in Nigeria. Very funny. It’s not normally used like that here, but there is a Frank Skinner routine where he claims that in any story in any local newspaper the word “local” can be substituted for “shit” as in “local band”, “local attraction”.

Celtic1hair
I'm Welsh, and everyone I know calls their parents mammy and daddy, regardless of their age. Would seem odd not too! Unless talking about them rather than to them if you see what I mean?
shows how regional it is - I'm in Cardiff and have never, ever heard anyone refer to mammy/daddy past the age of five or so. Not when I was in school, not in any of the places I've worked or any of the clubs I've been involved in or friends I know. Very occasionally heard mam from some one from slightly further north or west but otherwise 99.9% mum and dad.

DH is from South Wales (roughly in between Cardiff and Swansea). His mum is ‘mam’, unless he’s talking to one of his brothers, in which case it’s always, always ‘mammy’. His dad is ‘dad’, unless it’s his mum who’s talking about him, in which case it’s ‘daddy’. I’ve never heard him call his dad ‘daddy’ though. It’s the same among his family and friends.

South east England here, common as muck. I don’t ever remember using mummy, always been mum, and the same for everyone in our area.

Never heard anyone say Mater/Pater but I'm sure I'll start hearing it everywhere from now

Mammy is short for 'Mammy-water'/'Mami-wata' in Nigeria (Water Spirit or water goddess or sea goddess or water demon).

It’s definitely a bit of a class indicator - the Royals all do it (Beatrice and Eugenie’s exaggerated pronunciation of “Mummmmeh” is one of the great running jokes in The Windsors).

I love The Windsors. Hilarious!

@Pigtailsandall

DH studied at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), and my north American friends almost keel over at the use of word Oriental, which is seen as racist

I love the revelation that “local” is a term of mild abuse in Nigeria. Very funny. It’s not normally used like that here, but there is a Frank Skinner routine where he claims that in any story in any local newspaper the word “local” can be substituted for “shit” as in “local band”, “local attraction”

It's been a while so I may have missed some posts but these two quotes seem to be the only ones with a response to my second post on this thread. Hahaha. I think it's lost under the whole mummy/daddy first post. Should have made it a different thread.

Yes I didn't realise Oriental was racist too although I've only ever heard it used to describe things in Nigeria, not people. Oriental rug, oriental vase, etc.

I'm 27 and I'll admit to still calling my parents mummy and daddy and refer to them that way too I just can't see how a change would have come naturally...once a mummy and daddy, always a mummy and daddy or something?

I think Mummy and Daddy sounds babyish rather than posh, most children seem to switch to Mum and Dad in the early primary school age group here (SE England). You occasionally hear teens or adults saying Mummy or Daddy but it does stand out a bit.

It's very normal in NI!

Mummy and Daddy when young and Mum and Dad from early teens onwards. I had no idea that 'Mom' was from the Midlands! I thought that it was just from the USA.

In Ireland, Mummy and Daddy would be looked on as posh imo yet in Northern Ireland the use of Mummy wouldn't be considered posh.
In the Republic the norm would be Mammy and Daddy though Mam / Mom and Dad are used too.

In the UK it is generally posh to say mummy and daddy as an adult, but in Ireland it is common - I think more for working class than middle class, but not certain on that one.

Anyway, words have different connotations in different cultures...