LL-L "Kinship terms" 2006.05.07 (07) [E]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 07 May 2006 * Volume 07
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Translation"

Beste Ron,

You wrote:

> On the other hand, in nineteenth century bourgeois German circles it would
> have been unthinkable for a child (including adult child) to call or refer
> to his or her father and mother anything other than _Herr Papa_ and _Frau
> Mama_, with _Sie_, the polite second person pronoun.  That was the only
> option.

I think I saw more than one American movie back in the days (twentieth
century), where sons were addressing their father with "Yes, Sir" and
"No, Sir". Whether that was meant to be humorous, I can't recall...but I
doubt it.

Greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Kinship terms

Hi, Luc!

> I think I saw more than one American movie back in the days (twentieth
> century), where sons were addressing their father with "Yes, Sir" and
> "No, Sir". Whether that was meant to be humorous, I can't recall...but I
> doubt it.

As far as I can tell, when it is serious, it (and also "ma'am" for 'mother') 
is a sign of submission and is pretty much limited to responses that express 
obedience, much like a young wolf lying down on its back when a parent wolf 
growls.

I have heard sons say things like "Good morning, sir!" to their fathers, but 
only in old movies in which the fathers were very authoritarian, usually 
military types.

I have heard "sir" and "ma'am" used sarcastically, particularly used by 
aging parents in response to their adult children's commands (e.g., "I want 
you to stop trying to walk by yourself, mom." -- "All right, ma'am, if you 
say so.")  My mother-in-law loved doing that in her last-ditch struggle to 
retain control.  It was just short of her asking "Who's the mother here?" 
and she did that too.

Cheerio!
Reinhard/Ron 

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