The Irish Language - Grammar, Pronunciation, Games, Myths, Poetry and more

Re: Names for Grandma

NewGram — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 02:32:09 GMT

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this!

Re: Names for Grandma

otuathail — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 11:02:15 GMT

Hi NewGram,

The formal Irish words for grandmother are seanmháthair, máthair mhór or máthair chríonna.

But Irish speaking children would usually use mamó as an informal and affectionate way of referring to their grandmothers.

Mamó would be along the same lines as granny in English.

If directly addressing their grandmother, they'd say a mhamó.

The reason for this is when we address someone in Irish, words change slightly. For example, a boy named Seán would be addressed as a Sheáin, or a girl named Bríd would be addressed as a Bhríd. So when talking to your granny, you'd use a Mhamó. When talking about her, you'd use Mamó.

But maybe I'm overly complicating things. As your future grandchild won't be speaking to you in Irish, he or she could probably just address you as mamó and keep it simple... :)

You can hear the pronounciation for mamó here... http://www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/mam%C3%B3

(For the pronounciation of a mhamó, the a sound is a bit like uh and the mh sounds like a w. So you have something like uh wahm-OH).

English speaking Irish kids usually use Nana when referring to their grandmother.

These terms of affection, Mamó and Nana, are not just for kids though. Many Irish adults continue to refer to their grandparents as Mamó or Nana.

Hope this helps.

Names for Grandma

NewGram — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 13:15:42 GMT

I will soon be a new first-time grandmother and my daughter has asked me to decide what I want the baby to call me. He/She already has 2 "Grandma's" and 1 "Grammie" (paternal grandmother and 2 great-grandmothers). Nana and MeMe seem to be very popular right now in the US, but I was hoping to find something unique. My father was Irish and my mother is French/English/Scottish so I've been looking for ideas from those nationalities. I'd be interested to know what Irish and Scottish children call their grandmothers. I also welcome any input and ideas. Thank you.