Henneth Annûn Story Archive

What do kids in Gondor say when directly addressing their moms and dads?

 

Now this is a good question, as I've often wondered about it myself! At least, I suppose the 'Mir brothers called their parents 'Mother' and 'Father' - and then probably 'Lord Steward' or 'My lord' for Denethor when they were older. And I've had kids call their parents 'Ma' and 'Da' in a fic of mine - though these characters are lower class and from Dol Amroth, and so I'd assume it's a dialect thing. What does everyone else do? I'm very curious to see if there's a standard. Also, Wordweaver, how old are the kids? And what class? Income level? (snort, I know it sounds weird... but I expect the upper circle kids have a different lingo compared to the lower circle kids) Where in Gondor? Aeneid

 

Hi Wordweaver AFAIK, it's another thing Tolkien never told us. (If he did, can somone please give me the reference!) I think there are only two father-son relationships shown in Gondor and we never see a direct interaction between the only child, Bergil, and his father Beregond. Bergil refers to Beregond, when talking about him to Pippin, as "my father" and also a couple of times by name as "Beregond of the Guard". (He also refers to his grandfather as "my grandsire".) (All are in The Return of the King, LoTR Book 5, Ch 1, Minas Tirith) As an adult, Faramir calls Denethor "father" or "my father" (in The Return of the King, LoTR Book 5, Ch 4, The Siege of Gondor). It's possible he always called him "father" and never used a diminutive form. Aeneid wrote: Also, Wordweaver, how old are the kids? And what class? Income level? (snort, I know it sounds weird... but I expect the upper circle kids have a different lingo compared to the lower circle kids) Where in Gondor? Not at all stupid questions, Aeneid. I was going to ask them myself! Social class, age and regional accent might have a big influence. Also, how formal or loving is the relationship? And bear in mind that some families in Gondor speak Sindarin rather than Westron/Common tongue, so they might use the Sindarin adar and or ada for father and naneth or nana for mother. I ve used mama/papa (which have strong connotations of upper class and privileged to me) or father/mother myself. At the risk of sounding parochial (since I'm British ), I think British idioms are more likely to seem appropriate: for instance, mum/dad would sound better than mom/pop to me. Ma/Da and Mam/Dad definitely sound appropriate for lower class families. I'm not sure if that helps, but I hope it does. Cheers, Liz

 

And bear in mind that some families in Gondor speak Sindarin rather than Westron/Common tongue, so they might use the Sindarin adar and or ada for father and naneth or nana for mother. I was just about to say the exact same. Slight addition to that, though. The short forms, ada and nana, seem to be likened to our "momma" and "daddy." The more formal Sindarin speaker would use adar and naneth. Bado na sídh. Berz.

 

It would depend on the context I think. In a formal setting, Boromir would address Denethor as my lord or sir or something appropriate I think. In private, he might use father. The age of the child might also have a bearing. Ma and Da are easier to sat than Mom or Mommy or Mother and dad or Daddy or Father. RiverOtter

 

I agree with the rest on this - it depends on a lot of things, such the nobility of the family and the relationship the parents have with their offspring. However, I might add, that it could depend and on the emotional state the kids are in when the conversation takes place... For example, if the child is very happy or very sad, the word "dad" or "mum" might slip in conversation. But in a more neutral, for lack of better word, setting, I suppose they could address their parents (or refer to them) as "mother" and "father".

 

Hullo, In the formal setting of the council, Faramir refers to his father as "sire," not "sir." Quoting from memory, when Denethor tells him to hold the outer defenses, Faramir replies, "If that is your will, sire." That particular word works rather neatly in the context; "sire" is an archaic form of adress for a lord, plus the word also means "father." Back to crunching numbers... Branwyn

 

Many thanks for all the input. I think I will definitely be able to glean what I needed from this wealth of information. Wordweaver

 

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