3 ms·

Not an issue: You already have two grandfathers and two grandmothers, how do you call them?

by lynguist 3y ago

lainga 3y ago
I'm not sure I follow, I don't want my kids calling me "grandpa"...
- rhaps0dy 3y ago
  lynguist is suggesting that you and your partner both be called with the same word
  - lainga 3y ago
    OH, I thought meant take the grandparent names and strip some common grandparent root from them or something complicated and etymological
ziofill 3y ago
A+ I’m so going to steal this.
xboxnolifes 3y ago
While I called my grandmothers by different names, I called both my grandfathers the same name. They were never in the same room together, so it was never an issue.
- smeej 3y ago
  I called all three of my grandfathers (mom's parents divorced and remarried long before I was born) "Grandpa" to their faces, but if I spoke about "Grandpa" at dinner, I still needed a way to specify which one.
wizofaus 3y ago
I'd imagine kids that happen to grow up in households with two granddads or two grandmas would find solutions - I remember we called the latter two "grey grandma" and "white grandma" on the basis of their hair colour, though I'm not sure how often we used those names to their faces. And of course plenty of adults call their parents and step-parents or parents in law of the same sex the same thing. I'm curious if there are any languages that don't have separate words for "mum" and "dad" though. Tried googling but all the results were about how different languages use similar words for each term individually.
- lainga 3y ago
  Wait, that would work (for my specific use case). "White dad" and "brown dad". But - what would the PTA say...
- bradknowles 3y ago
  For me, it was grandad (paternal) versus grandpa (maternal). Then for my grandmothers, they were both "granny" but I included their name (first name for paternal, last name for maternal).
jjtheblunt 3y ago
Not if your parents are siblings
strken 3y ago
In my family we gave different words to the different grandparents, but chose more or less at random. This made the words unique and therefore more useful. It's not an "issue" for parents, exactly, but it is an interesting choice because of how much less trodden a path it is. Would you both go by dad? Would one or both be daddy, dadda, or pop? Would you use first names or diminutives after a certain age?
sensanaty 3y ago
Some languages do make a distinction between the patrilineal and matrilineal grandparents, though I suppose having 2 of the same gender parent means you just use the pat/matrilineal of whatever gender your parents are :P
carstenhag 3y ago
In Germany it used to be quite common to just say Oma (grandma) and then the village name. So "Oma Salzgitter" would be the perfectly accepted way of referencing to one of your grandmas. It got out of fashion though, not really common anymore at least in my circle.

Not an issue: You already have two grandfathers and two grandmothers, how do you call them?

lainga 3y ago

I'm not sure I follow, I don't want my kids calling me "grandpa"...

rhaps0dy 3y ago
lynguist is suggesting that you and your partner both be called with the same word
- lainga 3y ago
  OH, I thought meant take the grandparent names and strip some common grandparent root from them or something complicated and etymological

ziofill 3y ago

A+ I’m so going to steal this.

xboxnolifes 3y ago

While I called my grandmothers by different names, I called both my grandfathers the same name. They were never in the same room together, so it was never an issue.

smeej 3y ago
I called all three of my grandfathers (mom's parents divorced and remarried long before I was born) "Grandpa" to their faces, but if I spoke about "Grandpa" at dinner, I still needed a way to specify which one.

wizofaus 3y ago

I'd imagine kids that happen to grow up in households with two granddads or two grandmas would find solutions - I remember we called the latter two "grey grandma" and "white grandma" on the basis of their hair colour, though I'm not sure how often we used those names to their faces. And of course plenty of adults call their parents and step-parents or parents in law of the same sex the same thing. I'm curious if there are any languages that don't have separate words for "mum" and "dad" though. Tried googling but all the results were about how different languages use similar words for each term individually.

lainga 3y ago
Wait, that would work (for my specific use case). "White dad" and "brown dad". But - what would the PTA say...
bradknowles 3y ago
For me, it was grandad (paternal) versus grandpa (maternal). Then for my grandmothers, they were both "granny" but I included their name (first name for paternal, last name for maternal).

jjtheblunt 3y ago

Not if your parents are siblings

strken 3y ago

In my family we gave different words to the different grandparents, but chose more or less at random. This made the words unique and therefore more useful. It's not an "issue" for parents, exactly, but it is an interesting choice because of how much less trodden a path it is. Would you both go by dad? Would one or both be daddy, dadda, or pop? Would you use first names or diminutives after a certain age?

sensanaty 3y ago

Some languages do make a distinction between the patrilineal and matrilineal grandparents, though I suppose having 2 of the same gender parent means you just use the pat/matrilineal of whatever gender your parents are :P

carstenhag 3y ago

In Germany it used to be quite common to just say Oma (grandma) and then the village name. So "Oma Salzgitter" would be the perfectly accepted way of referencing to one of your grandmas. It got out of fashion though, not really common anymore at least in my circle.