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Titles
When used as a noun (i.e., "…a grandparent walked by"), grandfather and grandmother are usually used, although grandpa/grandma and granny are often used. When preceded by "my…" (i.e., "…my grandpa walked by"), all forms are common (anywhere from "…my grandfather…" to "…my gramps…"). All forms can be used in plural, but gramps (plural gramps) is rare.
In writing, grandfather and grandmother are most common. In speech, grandpa and grandma are most common in the US, where grandfather/-mother is very rare when referring to a grandparent in person. In Britain and New England[1] nan, nana, nanny and other variations are often used for grandmother in both writing and speech.
Numerous other variants exist, such as gramp and grandpap for grandfather and grandmom, grandmama and grammy for grandmother, etc. Because of the terms' unavoidable familiarity, there are many simplified versions as well, including grampy, granddaddy, grandpappy, etc.
Given that people may have two living sets of grandparents, some confusion arises from calling two people "grandpa" or "grandma", so often two of the other terms listed above are used for one set of grandparents. Another common solution is to call grandparents by their first names ("Grandpa George", "Grandma Anne", etc.) or by their family names ("Grandpa Jones", "Grandma Smith"). In America (where most families are of mixed ethnicity), many families call one set of grandparents by their ethnic names (i.e., Hispanic grandparents might be called "Abuelo" and "Abuela", French grandparents might be called "Pépère" and "Mémère", or Dutch and German grandparents might be called "Opa" and "Oma").
Great-grandparents
The parents of a grandparent are called all the same names (grandfather/-mother, grandpa/-ma, granddad/-am, etc.) with the prefix "great-" added. Thus, one's father's father's father is a great-grandfather. The same applies to one's great-grandparent's parents (great-great-grandparents). Also note that two individuals who share the same great-grandparents but are not siblings or first cousins are called Second Cousins to each other because second cousins are the grandchildren of your grandparent`s siblings.
History of the term
The use of the prefix "grand-" dates from the early 13th century, from Anglo-French graund. The term was used as a translation of Latin magnus.[2] The prefix "great-" represents a direct translation of magnus to English.[3] In Old English, the prefixes ealde- (old) and ieldra- (elder) were used (ealdefæder/-mōdor and ieldrafæder/-mōdor). A great-grandfather was called a þridda fæder (third father), a great-great-grandfather a fēowerða fæder (fourth father), etc.
Grandparents in non-Western culture
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In traditional East Asian cultures influenced by Confucianism, filial piety is one of the highest moral values. Grandparents usually exercise their authority on family matters, and their descendants should obey them. This kind of structure has eased with the increasing influence of Western culture and the increasing number of nuclear families.
References
- ^ http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_69.html Dialect Survey Results - What about your paternal grandmother (is there a distinction?)
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
External links
- Grandparenting support database AARP
- Links to Australian grandparent support groups
- Family therapy for grandparents raising grandchildren in crisis
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