The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-01-26
THE PARENTAL NICKNAME.
yIcIsxItudes of Papa" Mamma p
Daddy" and Governor"

(From the London CIobe)
In our own country papa and man
ma" have been in familiar use for some
SEQ years at least. They probably reached
Us from Italy, where their use was of
much older date Dante uses mamma
in the ''PurEatorio.' Words OF this kind
are often in common and familiar use long
before they find their way into the writ
ten language OF books. so that il would not
be easy 10 say when pa pa" and man
ma we're first heard among Us, but one of
the earliest literary traces Of their use is
to be found in Lyly's 'EUphues'' $50, an
Italian story crammed with curious YER
bal aosuCdities. for the most part copied
or initiated from the Italian fashions and
Alterations Of the day. From that time
instances of the use Of one or the other
sUf the words. or Of both are fairly COM
mon in literature
Another familiar and childish variant is
dad" OF daddy" Dad" or tad as
the earlier form Is. is a pure Welsh word,
and is of great antiquity. The Lords
Prayer begins in Welsh with the words
Fin Tad" or Elm Dad" the first word
of the phrase meaning Our Dad,
with its deriva tives daddy and dada"
has long been familiar in the mouths Of
English children. Like pap il was
doubtless in use many years before liLera-
ture took note OF il; still 1t is found more
than two centuries ago in a buFleSque
poem attacking James II. The dogserel
contains both dad and dada" DRYDEN
too. III translation OF the twenry-sev-
enth IdyII Of Theocritus has the liae
But Mana and Dad are pretty names to hear
There are curious differences in
the present day pronunciation Of both
dada" and papa" In the country and
country town districts. for instance, Of
Northeast Ireland children Of the poorer
! 4. 10
with the accent on the second syllable
This IS true also Of some Of the eastern
Irish counties. Kilkenny ana others. and
the same pronunciation is common IN
South Lancashire and South Wales, and
/ in Durham Papa. again. becomes pap
pa" in Cheshire where mamma IS also
accented on the first syllable If we go 20
the United States. variations in the pro-
uunciaUOE of papa may be found IN al
most every State. Perhaps the common
est forms are "popa' and 'LaOmma- IN
Indiana. the ''Hoosier' STATE, the most
familiar is the very absurd 'pOpsy- Inc
maternal cOTTelatiVe. however, is not
-.Inopsy." though il is hard to say why
this has not followed as matter Of
course
The social viciSsitudes of papa" and
mamma among ourselves have been Gu
rious- Their use was formerly entirely
restricted to Il upper classes: but they
gradually filtered downward till people Of
q class which. sixty or seventy years ago
had probably never heard the words. or
at au events. had never dreamed Of US
ing them. taught their children to say
papa and mamma as being more
--genteel' than fathers and mother or
daddy and nanny. When the change
was effected. the upper classes reverted
10 father and mother, and left their ini-
Jators TO The enjoyment OF the ancient
baby words George III. a hundred and
forty years ago, addressed his mother as
mamma but royalty does not affect
that mode of speech today.
Children OF q larger growth have other
equivalents for father and mother. Boys
who think that they are 100 big 10 use
the tender sounding names which we're
familiar to their Infancy 5aIk Of the
.'pater" and the mater" Governor" is
another cOltoquial variant which has lit
tie 10 recommend IL
Sam Weller addressed his father by that
name. bur SaI: had quite a varied selection
Of epjJhets for his revered parent. He
addresses him as "old fellow and odd
c0Gger.' and announces him TO L1r. Pick
wick as the old IN" When the oil gen
tlenau, mufled in ample shawIs, makes
his appearance, Sam IS taken by surprise
why l wouldn't ha' believed it, sir" he
cries. 1t the old 'un." "OId one" said
Mr. Pickwick- what old one2" My
father. sir" replied Mr. Weller How
are you, my ancient2' With which beau
tiful cbuili.ion OF flial affection Mr. Wei
Ter made room on the seat beside him for
the stout man. who advanced, pipe in
mouth and pot in hand. 10 greet him.
= few shades worse Than governor is
relieving of1cer'-a phrase affected by
sons who look upon their fathers chiefly
as the source Of financial supply. There
are other similar epithets in use, but they
are neither attractive nor Gignifed When
daddy and nanny or papa and mamma
are put aside as too childish or are dis
earded for any other reason. there are no
parental names which can for a moment
compare With the simple but digniGed,
plain. bn, beautiful, AnglO-Saxon words,
father an6 mother,
For IA Cold In the Head