In honor of mothers around the world, we took a look at the different ways to say “Mama”.
According to Russian linguist Roman Jakobson, the easiest vocalizations for a human to make are open-mouth vowel sounds. Babies can make vowel sounds with the very first breathe they take on day one. They begin experimenting with other noises, and test some of the easier consonant sounds. Usually they start with the sounds made with closed lips, such as /m/ /p/ /b/. Babies summon their energy to push out that new consonant sound "MMMM" and then relax into an open mouth vowel, usually "ah" — which is the easiest. Combine that with a baby's natural repetition in speech, you get " ma-ma", "ba-ba" or "pa-pa".
So why do babies seem to prefer the "m" sound instead of "p" or "b"? The "m" sound is the easiest for a baby mouth to make when nursing. As we develop into adults, we maintain that association of "mmm" with something delicious and tasty. So does baby.
Jakcobson's work suggests that baby has no idea that Mama is the mother. Mama doesn't mean "I love you, sweet sleepless woman who does everything for me..." It means "food, yummers, yummies..."
Here is a list of some terms across the world to describe that beloved lady that we all first come to know, even before we were born (if you can try to say it like a baby would, you will quickly see the “mama” commonality:
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Afrikaans - Moeder, Ma |
German - Mutter |
Romanian - Mama, Maica |
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Albanian- Nënë, Mëmë |
Greek - Màna |
Russian - Mat' |
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Arabic - Ahm |
Hawaiian - Makuahine |
Serbian - Majka |
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Bosnian - Majka |
Hindi - Ma, Maji |
Slovak - Mama, Matka |
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Bulgarian - Majka |
Icelandic - Móðir |
Slovenian -Máti |
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Catalan - Mare |
Irish - Máthair |
Spanish - Madre, Mamá, Mami |
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Croatian - Mati, Majka |
Italian - Madre, Mamma |
Swahili - Mama, Mzazi, Mzaa |
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Danish - Mor |
Lithuanian - Motina |
Swedish - Mamma, Mor, Morsa |
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Dutch - Moeder, Moer |
Norwegian - Madre |
Ukrainian - Mati |
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English - Mother, Mama, Mom |
Persian - Madr, Maman |
Vietnamese - Me |
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Flemish - Moeder |
Polish - Matka, Mama |
Yiddish – Muter |
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French - Mère, Maman |
Portuguese - Mãe |
Romanian - Mama, Maica |
When is Mother’s Day? Depends on where in the world you are!
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February 10 - Norway |
May 31 (last Sunday in May) - Algeria, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia, France and French Antilles (France is the last Sunday in May except if it coincides with Pentecost day (50th day after lent), in which case it is shifted to the first Sunday in June) |
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March 3 - Georgia |
May 27 - Bolivia |
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March 8 - Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Vietnam. |
May 30 - Nicaragua |
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March 10 - Bangladesh, Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom |
June 1 - Mongolia |
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March 21 (first day of spring) - Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen |
June 14 (second Sunday in June) - Luxembourg |
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March 25 - Slovenia |
June 28 (last Sunday in June) - Kenya |
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April 7 (Mother's Day and Beauty Day) - Armenia |
August 12 - Thailand (Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara's birthday) |
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May 3 (first Sunday in May) - Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain |
August 15 - Costa Rica, Antwerp (Belgium) |
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May 8 - South Korea (Parents' Day) |
October 12 (second Monday in October) - Malawi |
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May 10 - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico |
October 14 - Belarus |
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May 10 (second Sunday in May) - Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
October 18 (third Sunday in October) - Argentina |
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May 15 - Paraguay |
December 8 - Panama |
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May 26 - Poland |
December 22 – Indonesia |
Guess what? In reality, every day is Mother’s Day...
Happy Mother’s Day!
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