Capital M

[UnaCorda]

Just wanted to share that the word "mum", when used as a noun, does not have a capital 'm'.

It particularly doesn't have a capital 'm' when used after the words, "as a"...

(Yes, I'm bored.)

Yes I guess you're right. Do you feel strongly about it?

@MajesticWhine

Yes I guess you're right. Do you feel strongly about it?

Yes, I do feel quite strongly about it because as a person who is not a mother it's just another way that we can be made to feel "other" or "less-than". Of course people aren't consciously intending to convey that every time they use the phrase, "as a mother," or spell it "Mum", but it's (imo) a manifestation of what has been called "pronatalism".

My Mum is capital

Always Capital as it's a noun /name

@reflectivesunglasses

My Mum is capital

No it's not. It's the same as my brother, my neighbour, my dog.

@Orchidsindoors

Always Capital as it's a noun /name

When it's a name it has a capital - "What does Mum want for her birthday?"

When it's just a noun, it's lower case (as is "capital") - "What did you buy your mum for her birthday?"

But brother and neighbour aren't names the way Mum and Dad are (not in this area, anyway). But you can have a dog or my pet called Dog.

as a person who is not a mother it's just another way that we can be made to feel "other" or "less-than". Of course people aren't consciously intending to convey that every time they use the phrase, "as a mother," or spell it "Mum", but it's (imo) a manifestation of what has been called "pronatalism".

None of us would be here without a mother. None of us. And so regardless of whether you personally are one or will ever be one, being a mother is pretty important. Objecting grammatically is one thing. Objecting politically seems churlish, and a little misogynist.

reflectivesunglasses
My Mum is capital 
No it's not. It's the same as my brother, my neighbour, my dog.

Capital has more than one meaning.

Mum and Dad are used as names

Therefore i capitalise them

brother and dog are not names so are not

Also your comment about why you're bothered about it, is very strange

But you can have a dog or my pet called Dog.

Exactly. You can have a mum or a relative called Mum.

Capital has more than one meaning.

Well you can have a capital city, but I don't think that's relevant.

@dwiz8

Mum and Dad are used as names

Therefore i capitalise them

brother and dog are not names so are not

Also your comment about why you're bothered about it, is very strange

And when they're used as names they should be capitalised. But not when they're not.

I was taught that if you could replace it in a sentence with a name, it's capitalized, and if not, it isn't.

"Did Jane go to the store" would be "Did Mom go to the store."

But if you said, "Did your mom go to the store," it would be lower case, because you wouldn't say, "Did your Jane go to the store."

Ffs what is the obsession with trying to control other people's use of language in order to avoid "offending" someone's identity? Honestly if you have time to be offended by a capital letter on Mum it sounds like you don't have much else to worry about in life.

And so regardless of whether you personally are one or will ever be one, being a mother is pretty important.

Being a mother is important to that particular woman's offspring. However the status of your reproductive organs doesn't - or shouldn't - mean that you have more value as a human being.

None of us would be here without a mother.

I would like to state that I come from a long line of mothers.

@steff13

I was taught that if you could replace it in a sentence with a name, it's capitalized, and if not, it isn't.

"Did Jane go to the store" would be "Did Mom go to the store."

But if you said, "Did your mom go to the store," it would be lower case, because you wouldn't say, "Did your Jane go to the store."

I agree entirely.

@DGRossetti

None of us would be here without a mother.

I would like to state that I come from a long line of mothers.

Will nobody think of the fathers?

@UnaCorda

And so regardless of whether you personally are one or will ever be one, being a mother is pretty important.

Being a mother is important to that particular woman's offspring. However the status of your reproductive organs doesn't - or shouldn't - mean that you have more value as a human being.

You may want to look up 'patriarchy'.

Also, not everyone with the title Mum has got that through giving birth.

@UnaCorda

Capital has more than one meaning.

Well you can have a capital city, but I don't think that's relevant.

It also means good, great, excellent etc., as in "That cup of tea was capital". Did you really not know or were you being funny?

Do the people who think I'm being unreasonable:

a) Think I'm wrong about the grammar? (I'm not.)
b) Think mothers are more important than non-mothers and should therefore always have a capital letter?
c) Think it's not worth worrying about? (Fair enough, but I did say I'm bored.)

Will nobody think of the fathers?

You didn't. You came on Mumsnet to object to Mums getting a capital letter. Not Dads.

It also means good, great, excellent etc., as in "That cup of tea was capital". Did you really not know or were you being funny?

I knew that, but that meaning didn't occur to me. It's a while since I've read any Enid Blyton.

@MrsTerryPratchett

Will nobody think of the fathers?

You didn't. You came on Mumsnet to object to Mums getting a capital letter. Not Dads.

That was a response to DGRossetti who said she came from a long line of mothers. I'm assuing there was a similarly long line of fathers...