nana

[Beverly Flanigan]

Regardless of the source(s), I have a feeling that 'Nana' has now become a
pop term, at least among Americans.  If we like a term, we teach our kids
to use it for Grandma--esp. if she says the latter term makes her feel old!

At 10:49 PM 10/23/00 +0100, you wrote:
>One of my English colleagues has a "Nana", so I think that the East European
>and WASP sources are probably separate.  (She used it as a generic term in our
>convesation--'my nana loved the theatre'.)
>It may just be like 'mama'--present in many langauges but not necessarily
>from the same source---seems a natural alteration of  'mama' to indicate
>another generation.
>
>But pop-pop (pron. pupup) seems more particular to the US.
>
>Lynne


_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm