[Ads-l] Media Inquiry (Mike Pence calling his wife "Mother")

Fri Feb 3 22:52:36 UTC 2017

An example is the movie "Inherit the Wind," 1960, but set in 1925. The Matthew Harrison Brady character (i.e., William Jennings Bryan), played by Frederic March, calls his wife "Mother":

"MRS. BRADY: Matthew, it's a warm day. Remember, the doctor told you not to overeat.
BRADY: Don't worry, Mother. Just a bite or two."

I think it also appears in the 1955 play, but I can't verify that.

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2017 1:14 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Media Inquiry (Mike Pence calling his wife "Mother")

I wish I could offer a precise example, but this was occasionally used in movies by small-town, middle-aged fathers in the '30s or '40s.

For some reason I hear the voice of Lionel Barrymore or Lewis Stone.

OTOH, the corresponding "Father" seems not to ring so loud a bell.

JL

On Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 1:17 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> > On Feb 3, 2017, at 12:41 PM, Margaret Winters <mewinters at WAYNE.EDU>
> wrote:
> >
> > I have no insight into timing, but it reminds me of adult children 
> > who
> call their parents Grandma and Grandpa (or some variation of it) once 
> they have children of their own.
> >
> >
> > Margaret
>
> But there’s also a distinction between *referring* to them as “Mom”, 
> “Dad”, “Grandma”, and “Grandpa” when addressing the children who bear 
> that relation to them and *addressing* them as “Mother”, “Father”, 
> “Grandma”, “Grandpa”, especially when the children are not “ratified 
> overhearers”, if that’s the correct term.  Context is important. When 
> you’re in bed with your spouse and address them as “Dad” or “Mom”:  
> that, I believe, reflects a different practice.  My no doubt 
> prejudiced impression is that if you do it (viz., use these as terms 
> of address) in the kitchen, maybe you’re from the Midwest and probably you vote for people like Mike Pence.
>
> LH
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------
> > MARGARET E WINTERS
> > Professor Emerita
> > French and Linguistics
> > Wayne State University
> > Detroit, MI  48202
> >
> > mewinters at wayne.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> > Sent: Friday, February 3, 2017 12:34 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Fw: Media Inquiry (Mike Pence calling his wife "Mother")
> >
> > Dear members of ads-l,
> >
> >
> > I received the inquiry below (about men who call their wives "Mother").
> Would anyone
> >
> > anyone be able to provide Ms. Garau information/insight/etc. about this?
> >
> >
> > Gerald Cohen
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Annie Garau 
> > <annie at pbh-network.com<mailto:annie at pbh-network.com>>
> > Sent: Friday, February 3, 2017 9:51 AM
> > To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard
> > Subject: Fwd: Media Inquiry
> >
> >
> > Hi Professor Cohen,
> >
> > My name is Annie Garau and I'm an editor and writer for the site All
> That Is Interesting.
> >
> > I'm reaching out because a recent Rolling Stone article suggested 
> > that
> Vice President Mike Pence calls his wife "mother." I know this is a 
> trivial topic in the context of an administration with such serious consequences.
> But, the Internet is intrigued nonetheless and I'm trying to find out 
> the linguistic roots of calling your spouse "mother."
> >
> > Was this ever a common use of the word? Do people in some areas 
> > still do
> that? How does a nickname like that come to be used in a family? Does 
> it get passed down through generations?
> >
> > I read about some of your work and thought you might have some 
> > insight
> into this matter. Any relevant information you might be able to share, 
> or recommendations of other people to reach out to would be so helpful.
> >
> > Thank you very much for your time!
> >
> > All the Best,
> >
> > Annie
> >
> > 317-514-4379<tel:(317)%20514-4379>
> > https://www.facebook.com/AllThatIsInteresting/
> > [https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p526x296/
> 11846786_493243797524306_3286254161016111384_n.jpg?oh=
> 64ef20a3452c6b247412be5c478d6230&oe=591BA3E4]<https://www.facebook.com
> /
> AllThatIsInteresting/>
> >
> > All That Is Interesting | Facebook<https://www.facebook.
> com/AllThatIsInteresting/>
> > www.facebook.com
> > All That Is Interesting. 651,529 likes · 36,257 talking about this. 
> > Your
> curiosity knows no bounds. Neither do we.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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