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"Grandmother"....what are the terms used to refer to this person in your life, or your part of the world?
My first grandchild is due any day now! And I'm looking for a name for myself other than 'granny'.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Angel: I grew up in MA, with only one grandparent living, my father's mother. She was always "Gramma" because I was still small when she died. Except for a formal "Grandmother" or "Grandma" I never heard any other terms.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Welcome to the board, Angel. I hope you'll feel comfortable here. In Spanish, the formal word for grandmother is abuela. Two informal versions are abuelita and ábue, "ita" being the feminine diminutive form. Abuelo is grandfather, formally, and abuelito informally.
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In Hawaii grandmother is Tutu Wahine - usually shortened to "Tutu" pronounced too-too.
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Pooh-Bah
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We called my mother's mother "Nanny." As a consequence, the word has always retained warm and fuzzy associations for me.
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In Maaori, grandmother is tipuna wahine ... The Maaori word for grandfather is koro.
How odd that one would be so much longer than the other. Max, is there any story behind this? Ayleurs, are there other languages with a like disparity?
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Congratulations on your impending grandmotherhood, Angel, and welcome aBoard  . To distinguish between the paternal and maternal grandmothers, my kids called one Grammy, the other Busia (boo'-sha)(Polish) - never any confusion. Grandfathers were Papa and Grandpa.
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enthusiast
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is nonna . And grandfather is nonno.
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I have been Nana -- since i became a grandmother 15 months ago.
Nana is what i (we) called our grandmother. (Mother's mother)
My kids had Nana (my mother,) grammy (great grammy, acutally) Father's matertal and grandma.(father's mother)
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Congrats, Angel! I always used Grandmom and Grandpop. But, for some reason, my nieces took to calling my parents Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, which is cute and age-neutral to boot! 
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Just a quick thank you to all for your insightful posts. When the baby is born, (due any day now), I will let you all know. And we will decide what this first time grandma, or nanny, or tutu, or whatever! will be called.
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As our dear Satin just became one I recall recently catching myself pronouncing it as 'Gramma', which admitedly comes from slurring Grandma and Marie into Grammarie, yet I believe it has 'always' been that way... wahdeyah say, sis? C'mon... who says Grand-pa.  It's 'Grampa'.
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My first grandchild is due any day now! And I'm looking for a name for myself other than 'granny'.
Getting back to the original question/search for a more elegant name than Granny -- I offer the appellation chosen by my son's mother-in-law (sorry, English just doesn't have a word for my relationship to her, though some other languages do): Gigi, as in the French. It's supposed to be G for Grandma, twice.
Actually, I don't think much of it myself, but then, nobody asked me. Better for Great-Grandmother, maybe?
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One of mine is part Greek. We call her Yaya.
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Oma and opa are also used here in Indonesia as an informal term for addressing one's grandmother and grandfather. The normal words are nenek and kakek, which can also mean old woman and old man, respectively.
When growing up, I used nanny and grandad (plus surname when differentiation was necessary).
Bingley
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old hand
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It's easy when you have grandparents who are from two different cultures. My Italian (Sardinian) grandparents were Nonno and Nonna, and my Ukrainian grandparents would have been Baba and Dyido (hard to spell the pronunciation). However I never knew my Ukrainian grandparents, because they are both long dead, and my Sardinian grandparents lived very far away. Actually, I am completely without grandparents now, since my last surviving grandparent, Nonno, died last fall.  On a brighter note, due to my lack of locally available grandparents, I borrowed a great-great aunt and uncle, who happened to be close to our family, and called them Gramma and Grampa. They fit the role quite well. My "Gramma" is now 96 years old and until last year or so, was going to aerobics classes three times a week at her seniors' residence! About six years ago, when she was still living in her 12th floor apartment, she walked up to her apartment one day when the elevator was broken. (Okay, she rested every few floors - but still!)
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But not because grandfather always said:"No, No!"
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It's a girl! At 2:05 this morning, January 24th, my daughter gave me a wonderful grand daughter! Her name is Amanda Morgan (Mandy) and mom and daughter are doing well. 8 pounds, 13 oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Long fingers and toes and just a hint of some dark fuzz on her head. Don't ask me who she looks like, at 2:30 this morning, I couldn't tell! Other than being exhausted, we are all doing well.
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Happy day! Congratulations on the addition of an Aquarius Girl to your family from another Acquarian ... and born in a Snake year! Mercy! In the Oriental zodiac Snake Women are considered the most beautiful and are prized by Asian men as wives.
So what you have is an independent and loving girl with creativity, imagination, and a strong will combined with a great sense of personal identity and worth.
Clear the decks you're in for a great fun ride!
That is if you give any credence to this sort of thing! But what the heck, it's fun anyway!
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Pooh-Bah
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Congratulations, Angel. And welcome to the world, Amanda.
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Congratulations, Angel. And welcome to the world, Amanda.Ditto!
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no text
You are only wretched and unworthy if you choose to be.
Cheers,
Bryan
You are only wretched and unworthy if you choose to be.
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Angel- Grandmotherhood becomes you! Every happiness to the newly expanded family . Later edit: BTW, what was the decision - how will you be known to this precious child? Nana...Gramma...Grandmere...Granny...Grandmother...Nona.....?
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And remember, grandmothers can be extra special at times, when parents are obliged to be absent. And being a grandparent is wonderful in that they can alway hand child back to parents if it gets unreasonable, or soiled.
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Heartiest congratulations, Angel, from one recent grandparent to another. Our oldest son and daughter in law had a beautiful daughter whom they named Rachel Elizabeth 2 weeks before Christmas (their second daughter). One week ago, our second son & daughter in law had a boy of unbelievable beauty, named Ethan Nelson (Nelson was my wife's maiden name), who is doing well in spite of being a footling breech and born with cord twice around his neck, limp and black. He recovered well and quickly, however, and so did my poor daughter in law who had to deliver like that without anesthesia. What a great time we had Sunday; all three sons, daughters in law, daughter-in-law-elect (with youngest son), all 3 grandchildren to have a ball with. We didn't even care about the debacle on TV (the Ravens) believe it or not, Sparteye!. I wish for you as much fun with your grandchildren as we have with ours.
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Congratulations Angel! And welcome little Amanda! There's nothing like the face of a baby to brighten your life and bring a smile to your day! Enjoy her!
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Oh, Bob, congratulations on that one-week-old! Oh mercy, that poor kid and his mother!
Um...are the Ravens some kind of team?
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Um...are the Ravens some kind of team?They are an alleged football team from Baltimore (and Cleveland), but after their performance on Sunday your question becomes more philosophical than factual. Sorry for the sports joke, but I coudn't resist. I will be sorrier if the Steelers do anything like the damage they did to the Ravens to my beloved Patriots this week.And hearty congratulations to all the recent grandparents. If you enjoy your grandchildren half as much as Abigail's grandparents enjoy her you will be in for some real fun! By the way, Abby will be a year old in February, but I remember posting news of her birth here like it was yesterday...
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Pooh-Bah
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Well, Grandpa Bob, you have neglected your obligation to promptly notify us all of the additions to your family. Nevermind, it is now rectified.
Congrats to the entire Youngbalt family.
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Yes congratulations to both the new grandmother and grandfather. It is a precious time for you both. I am ever grateful that my son still has the gift of two grandmothers (Grand-mère and Grand-maman Dion) one grandfather (Grand-père) and one great-grandmother (Granny).
When I was young we called one grandmother Mamie and the other Granny (yes same one as above. I called her that once and the name stuck, now everybody calls her that - but in a French accent )
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Congratulations to the Angel and Youngbalt families.
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