[–] derram 0 points 0 points 0 points (+0|-0) 3.6 years ago
https://archive.is/fKDYo | :
Why the Words for ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ Sound So Similar in So Many Languages - The Atlantic
'Perhaps—but the facts are the same with languages English is spoken much less “amidst.” In Africa, Swahili has mama and baba. '
'The mother takes “mama” as meaning her, and in speaking to her child refers to herself as “mama.” Voilà: a word mama that “means” mother. '
'Otherwise, if we want to know why a word sounds the way it does, there are only glimmers. '
'The word for “mother” seems often either to be mama or have a nasal sound similar to m, like nana. '
'But when it comes to European languages closely related to English, like the Romance and Germanic ones, this isn’t so surprising. '
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[–] derram ago
https://archive.is/fKDYo | :
'Perhaps—but the facts are the same with languages English is spoken much less “amidst.” In Africa, Swahili has mama and baba. '
'The mother takes “mama” as meaning her, and in speaking to her child refers to herself as “mama.” Voilà: a word mama that “means” mother. '
'Otherwise, if we want to know why a word sounds the way it does, there are only glimmers. '
'The word for “mother” seems often either to be mama or have a nasal sound similar to m, like nana. '
'But when it comes to European languages closely related to English, like the Romance and Germanic ones, this isn’t so surprising. '
This has been an automated message.