The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-02-23

some of iIdiGOd'S Equivalents FL
INna.ds. IN..fI Il

Some of ChiIdi,oOd'S Equivalents for
the Words Father and NatI,er.
In our own country papa and mani
ma" have been in familiar use for some
200 years at least. They probably
reached US from Italy, where their use
was Of much older date. Dante uses
mamma" il the "Purgatcrio." Words
Of this kind are often in common and
familiar use long before they find their
way into the written language of books,
SO that it would not be easy to say when
papa" and mamma were first heard
| among MS, but one OF the earliest literary
traces of their use is to be found IN
Lyly's ''Euphues'' Ql73) an Italian story
crammed with curious verbal absurdities
for the most part copied or initiated from
the Italian fashions and affections of the
day. From that time instances of the
use of one or the other Of the words OF
Of both, are fairly common
Another familiar and childish v.:riant is
dat Or daddy" Dad or tad" as
the earlier form is, is 4 pure Welsh word
and is of great antiquity. The L~rd's
Prayer begins in Welsh with the words
Elm Tad or Elm Dad the first word
Of the phrase L caring ''Our.' Dad
with its derivaties daddy and ''dHda'
has long been familiar in the mouths of
I English children. Like 'l;ap,' it vas
! doubtless in use many years before liter
allure took note Of it; still it is found
more than two centuries ago in a bur
lesque poem attacking James IT, The
doggerel contains both dad and dada"
Dryden. too, in a translation Of the twen-
ty-seventh .dyl of Theocritus has tho
line
But nam and dad pretty names to hear
There are curious differences in the
present day pronunciation Of both dada
and ''paDa." In the country and colln-
try towns districts, for instance. Of
Northeast Ireland children Of the poorer
and less edlcated classes all say dada"
with the accent on the second syllable
This Is true also or some OF the eastern
IRISH counties, Kilkenny ana others and
he same pronunciation is common In
South Lancaster and South Wales and in
Durham. Papa, again, becomes papa"
in Cheshire, where NAMING IS also
accented OIL the first syllable II we 20
to the United States. variations in the
pronunciation OF papa may be found
In almost every state Perhaps the CON-
| nonest forms are 'popa' and MONA"
In Indiana, the ''Hoosier' State the most
! maternal correladve, however, IS not
"mopsy,'' though it is hard to say why
this has not followed as matter Of
course. ,...~-...-a -..- 60 -.
The social vicissitudes of papa and
mamma" among ourselves have been
curious. Their use was formerly entire
" restricted to the upper classes; but
they gradually filtered down until the
Of oJo xr,I,io I, Siv
! years ago, had probably never heard the
words, or, at all events, had never
dreamed Of using them, taught their chill
dren to say papa" and mamma as be-
ing more "genteeH' than father and
mother or daddy and NANNY. When the
change was effected the upper classes re-
verted to father and mother and left
/ their in1itators to the enjoyment of the
ancient baby words. George III, humid
red and forty years ago. addressed his
| mother as mamma but royalty does
not affect that mode of speech to-day.
/! Children of larger growth have other
equivalents for father and mother. Boys
who think that they are too big to use
the tender sounding names which we're
familiar to their infancy talk of the pa
ter a2d the ..nsater.'' .'GoyerI3lr" is
another eolEequial variant which has little
u recommend it.
m Wee addressed his father Nv
that uazIc,s but Sam rad quite Il varied
selection of epithets for his reverett
: parent. He addresses him as ,.cld fell
low. and "old codger,' and announces
him to Mr.. Pickwick az the ..oid 'un.',
When the old gentleman, nuff1ed in am
pie shawls, makes his appearance, Sam
is taken by surprise. why, / Wouldn't
ha' believed it, sir he cries. ..It's the
old 'un." "old one. said Mr. Pie,,ryicls-
What old one9'. my father. sir. re-
piled Mr.. Weller How; are you, my an
Gent? With which beautiful, sbullftion
Of hlial affection Mr.. Weller made room.
rsatis .ed On End l,axe.