UNKNOWN

Mataura Ensign, Issue 945, 14 September 1901, Page 3

UNKNOWN

VICISSITUDES OF "PAPA" A .;> KAIIMA," "DADDY" AMD " GOYK.-.w 1U '■ In our own country " papa " and " mamma " have been in familiar useful some three hundred years at 1. u-,t. They probably reached us from Italy, where tin ir use was of much older date. Haute u«ih " mama "in the •* Vurgatono." Word.-' of this kind are often in common anil f.,unhar use Ion); before thiy Hud their way into the written language of book?, so thai it would not be easy to nay when " papa" and " mamma " were first heuid among us, but one of the earliest literary traces .if tin ir use is to bo found in tyly's " Kuphius " (1579), an Italian story crammed with curiou* verbal absurdities, fur the most patt copied or imitated from the Italian fashions and affectations of the day. From that time instances of the use of one or the oilier of the words, or of both, are fairly comtuou in literature. Another familiar and childish variant is " dad "or " daddy." " J)ad," or "1i.i1," us the earlier form is, is a pur. Welsh wmd, aud is of nieat llMliju:!.. The land's Flayer begins in Welsh with the muds " liinTad," or " Km Dud." the lint word of the phrase meaning " Our." "Da'i," will its derivatives ' daddy " and " ihui.i " has long boeu familiar in the mouths ol I'.u -isli children. l.iuu 'p. pa," it was donl.iless in use many years bi lore litenitine took m-to of if; btlll.it is fount mote 11,..0 1,.0 on tiuies ago in a biirle.s.pm poem ;,1..,. .in ; J.'iuios 11. The doggerel contains bum " dad " and •'duda." Dr.ulcu, 100, iu a liaiislatiuii of the twenty-seventh Idjll of Theocritus has the line BUT MAW AND DAD ARC PRETTY NAMES TO HEAR. There arc cuii-.os dint h iici s hi Hi. i,i. mul day pronunciation ol both ■• O.i.ia " ..ml "papa.' In iheriiiiniiy and rounti v town districts for instance, of Noi il. ,;...i Inland children of the punier aid .-• ,-1.,..,:.,1 classes all saj "dada." vviih thi ;,< i,-:,t on the second syllable. Tins is line also of some of the eastern In h ii.untie,., kllkouuy aud oiheis, and ii..- ..amc pienuia-ia-tiou is coiiiiiiou in Suulh Lam a -hue ~icl South Wales, and in Duil-i'iii. Tap-,, a,.-;.in, becomes " pappa " in (,'ln shin., uheie " mamma " is also accented on the lii-t m! - thlc. Iftt-CgO tu-lhl I'llll. d Sflt.es, vail.llions in the pioin iineiatu n of " papa " iu..y be found in almost evi iy Si tie. IV, hap- the couiiuonist forms aio'p, ppa"ami' n ..." Iu Indiana, the •• 11... -I r " S:m,-, u.-„, m familiar is the vary ah. tnd''p. ;jm " i lo-malii-ual corn-laii'.-, In,- v.,, i- ~, '• niiipsv. ' though it Is 1 ~.i i,. ;l,v M.1V1.1. ha* not follovvi-d a- an.. .-,, . f < -. ' The sucial \i. issnu , ■., ni ■■ , ~;•. " „..| "mamma" iiiniui.: iiiui..,- n:iv, .. • n curious. Their use was f.,i lye,,; ;i, ly ie Ktrietcd tnlhn upper ilas- -; l.ui ih.-v eii.-lu-ally lilton-d downwind till people < 1 a ,|., s winch, sixtv or seventy yea:? a; .--, I .si pn.bably uever harm the vvonls. oi, at a I ivrnt-, had never di-eamo.l of ui-iio; th.-m, laugt.l their clulditu to my "papa" ;id " inauima," as being mine ' giut.ol" t!i,,.i father mid mother, oi uadov a...1 u. ... ... Whin the ciiiirigo was otic, ted 11 | ,-. r c lasses reverted lo father and iik-i Iu i, a...1 left their imitators lo the ciijuvim nl i I the ancient baby vvoids. (;» urge 111., u hun n. d aud forty years ago, addressed his.m.-tlo i us " mamma "; but nivally dues uol.aiiicl tin.l mode of speech to day. Children ol a linger growth have ollu r equivalents for father ami motlei. linvs who think thev are tou big to tin- Ice, or sounding names whi.-h wen i. ei:l..,i i>. 11-, rinfancy talk of the •■ pat.r " and ii e

" mater." " (Juvornor "is ; in-- (■ >■; tjm,.! valiant which his little In in »..,n. ■., i u. Sum Weller nddre-s.d hi* i:<ih. r l.v that name, but Sam had full a \aiud J-clcctlUU of fl>iti'lllH f"|' |,l- lc\...d patent. - ■■ old I'HL.w ' and "old codger," and a..ii„niii■■•.- him n> Mr. I'iekwick as the " old 'un." V. h. ~ the wld gentleman, uiuiiird la :u->:V ■li.nl', makes his appeal mice, Ham I-i in l.\ miipriM'. '• Why, I wouldn't 1.,-, 1 b.-lmc I it, sir." he cries, "It's ilm old'mi." "Did one." says Mr, I'i. kwi< k. "vVI.nl .-Id um ?"

"Mv father, sir," r. plied Air. \V. Hi r. " How aie you. my ancient ';" U ith ;\\ ;. h beautiful ebullition ol lllial all (Inai is 11. Welier inadu room on the scat hi si a him for the stout man, who advanci d, pipe in mouth and pot in hand, to greet him. A few shades worse than " guM-nior "in

" relieving ntliccr "—u phi use ullietid l/v sons wlki loi k uiiun their fat tiers elm lly athesouieeof linaiieial Hupply. 'J'he:i aie other similar epithet* in um,-, but they a.n in ither u'.traelive nor dignilied. Wli.-u daddy and niatniuy or papa and ma ■.■ mi i.- put aside us too childish, 01 aroiliM nub d n i any other reason, there aie no pan nta! names which can for a moment eompair withtli't simple, but dignilied, plain, hoi. In iiiiiilul, Anglo-Saxon words father and ■"•■tlier,— " Globe."