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> The “Peppa effect” had them speaking like the show’s cartoon pig, saying “Mummy” instead of “Mommy” I've thought "mommy" vs "mummy" was a spelling difference

> The “Peppa effect” had them speaking like the show’s cartoon pig, saying “Mummy” instead of “Mommy” I've thought "mommy" vs "mummy" was a spelling difference. The words sound the same to me, /'mɐmɪ/.

worldblue 3y ago
I've always thought the difference is more pronounced with the short forms, "mum" vs "mom" (and the red underlining of the latter reminds me of my biases!). I don't think I've heard an American pronounce "mommy" though, so I can't say for certain.
Symbiote 3y ago
I think the audio sample here sounds completely American, as it claims to be: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mommy https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mommy But either pronunciation of "mummy" (embalmed corpse) is how I would address my mother as a child: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mummy https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mummy
doublerabbit 3y ago
I'm from the south of England, it varies across the country but "mummy" is more "humm-e" but with an M. "Mom" always sounded like "Nom" with an M.
OJFord 3y ago
Like a lot of American 'o's, 'mommy' often sounds (I don't know the IPA for it) more like 'mahmmy' to me (my British ear) - but it's presumably regional. I mean mainly from TV/film, 'valley girl' sort of accent for example: 'oh my gahd he's so haht'.
- mnw21cam 3y ago
  I'm struggling to think of a single word in an American accent (from American people I have listened to) that has a letter "o" pronounced correctly, as IPA "ɒ". If that's true, and Americans never learn to make that sound until they try to mimic another accent, then shouldn't this be described more as a speech impediment, rather than an accent? But yes, it's "mahmmy", which is only very subtly different from a British "mummy" - in the American version, there's almost a hint of an "r" at the end of the vowel, whereas the British version has a straight (and short) "u".

worldblue 3y ago

I've always thought the difference is more pronounced with the short forms, "mum" vs "mom" (and the red underlining of the latter reminds me of my biases!). I don't think I've heard an American pronounce "mommy" though, so I can't say for certain.

Symbiote 3y ago

I think the audio sample here sounds completely American, as it claims to be: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mommy https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mommy But either pronunciation of "mummy" (embalmed corpse) is how I would address my mother as a child: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mummy https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mummy

doublerabbit 3y ago

I'm from the south of England, it varies across the country but "mummy" is more "humm-e" but with an M. "Mom" always sounded like "Nom" with an M.

OJFord 3y ago

Like a lot of American 'o's, 'mommy' often sounds (I don't know the IPA for it) more like 'mahmmy' to me (my British ear) - but it's presumably regional. I mean mainly from TV/film, 'valley girl' sort of accent for example: 'oh my gahd he's so haht'.

mnw21cam 3y ago
I'm struggling to think of a single word in an American accent (from American people I have listened to) that has a letter "o" pronounced correctly, as IPA "ɒ". If that's true, and Americans never learn to make that sound until they try to mimic another accent, then shouldn't this be described more as a speech impediment, rather than an accent? But yes, it's "mahmmy", which is only very subtly different from a British "mummy" - in the American version, there's almost a hint of an "r" at the end of the vowel, whereas the British version has a straight (and short) "u".