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    What are dads generally called in the UK?

    Topic

    What are dads generally called in the UK?

    Comment
    Is papa used frequently in the UK? Dad? Daddy? What would be the best way to refer to one's father at the age of 28, besides the word father? I am translating a quote that uses "Papa" and need to know if that is alright for the UK, as it would be a bit unusual for the US.
    Author Selkie (236097) 03 Jan 07, 16:45
    Comment
    I call my dad "Dad", a girl can call her dad "daddy" at any age if she hasn't seen him in a long time and is greeting him with a big hug, or if she is trying to get something from him. A boy will call his dad "daddy" until he is about 7 or 8 then will from then on always say "dad". I don't know if this is different in different parts of the UK, I come from the South-West.
    #1AuthorKlippan03 Jan 07, 16:53
    Comment
    I almost entirely agree with Klippan, although I have heard "Daddy" used a little more widely than he suggests, and I have come across "Father", but it is not at all common as a term of address.

    To answer your question directly, though, I would say that "Papa" is pretty well obsolete here.
    #2AuthorJoe W03 Jan 07, 17:00
    Comment
    Oh phooey, that is not what I wanted to hear at all. I guess I'll go with dad then.
    #3Author Selkie (236097) 03 Jan 07, 17:03
    Comment
    @Joe W

    I'm not offended or anything but I'm not a boy, I'm a girl. I recently called my Dad "Daddy" as I greeted him when I went home for Christmas after not seeing him for 3 months.
    #4AuthorKlippan04 Jan 07, 10:45
    Comment
    And another affectionate term in German for Papa is 'Paps' . . .

    Usage like Daddy in #1 by Klippan . . .

    And yet another term is 'Vati' . . .
    #5AuthorDaddy04 Jan 07, 10:54
    Comment
    I've heard "papa" as a term for grandfather in some cases in the U.S., but I don't know if it is really common.
    Another form of "Papa" is - of course - "Papi"...especially in Switzerland, wehre most of the (smaller) children call their parents Papi and Mami.
    #6Authorvreneli04 Jan 07, 11:00
    Comment
    Some of my cousins call our Grandpa "papa", we come from the UK
    #7AuthorKlippan04 Jan 07, 11:04
    Comment
    Actually, I don't think "Papa" is entirely obsolete in Britain, though I suppose it is a bit of a class marker, as only upper-class children (even grown ones) would use it. At least that is my guess. Just as upper class Germans would tend to use Papa (with long a's), whereas other might say Pappa.
    #8AuthorWilli04 Jan 07, 11:06
    Comment
    my sons refer to me as "Vatter" (as included in "Gevatter") - but that could well be a matter of regional or dialect use. My (grown-up) daughter continues to call me Pappa. The only time I ever heard a Brit using "Papa" was a noncom addressing his unit's catholic chaplain.
    #9Author sagittarius (254521) 04 Jan 07, 11:41
    Comment
    My husband and his siblings call his mother (now 90) "Mutti". This was introduced after my husband went on a German exchange when he was 14! She is never called Mum or Mummy now.
    #10AuthorWendy04 Jan 07, 11:55
    Comment
    Just as upper class Germans would tend to use Papa (with long a's), whereas other might say Pappa.

    Ich wage zu bezweifeln, dass das mit der Klasse zusammenhängt. Wohl eher Idiolekt/Dialekt/Regiolekt.
    #11Author Jalapeño (236154) 11 Jan 07, 10:56
    Comment
    I'm born in the Ruhr area and called my father Vadder when I was a child and later Vater. My children call me Vater, my grandchildren Großvater. We never called each other Papa, Paps,Opa etc. though it is more popular and of widespread use.
    #12AuthorHermann11 Jan 07, 11:59
    Comment
    @Selkie: the best word would depend on the class and sex of the speaker, and whether talking to or about him. "Dad" is neutral and safe.
    #13AuthorGhol ‹GB›11 Jan 07, 12:12
    Comment
    I decided to leave Papa in, since it was a German woman referring to the artistic creations of her father. But thank you for all the suggestions.
    #14Author Selkie (236097) 11 Jan 07, 13:41
    Comment
    @ selkie

    If you are suggesting you are talking about someone who is referring to his/her father then I think you would not say my papa has/is .... (unless you are talking to someone you know), the usual way would(in my humble opinion) be to say my father has/is....

    Have a nice day

    #15AuthorLFC-YNWA (251723) 11 Jan 07, 13:53
    Comment
    No, LFC-YNWA, thank you for trying to help, but I was not. I was referring to a line of text about a young German woman who sells, among other things, "Papas Kreationen" as they are called in the German text. I was dithering about whether to change it to "Dad's creations," but decided against it and left it as Papa, since it would not be misundertood but was authentic to the origional.
    #16Author Selkie (236097) 11 Jan 07, 14:46
     
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