I am curious to know if there is any connection between the words for father and mother in various languages. When I spent five years as a missionary/teacher in the country of Laos, I learned that their word for mother was mee, pronounced with a short e (like the beginning of the word met). Their word for father is pa (pronounced paw).

In Navajo the word for my mother is shima (emphasis on the second syllable). Their word for my father is shizhe'e with the emphasis and tone marks on both e's (short e). It might be interesting to research the words for mother and father in European languages, because there may be other similarities.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Watson, Broken Arrow, OK