«If you don’t have your own opinion, you’re had by those who has it.» — Если вы не имеете собственного мнения, то вас имеют те, кто его имеет
Friday [ʹfraıdı] , 14 April [ʹeıprəl] 2023
Транскрипция слов и перевод текста
-
Вы здесь:
- Главная
- Транскрипция и перевод
прослушать
-
Англо-русский словарь
[ʹwɜ:dklɑ:s] лингв.
разряд слов; часть речи
Фразы, идиомы, фразовые глаголы, сленг , примеры предложений
Примеры фраз, тематические словари
|
to translate word for word [off-hand, adequately] — переводить дословно [без подготовки, точно] |
|
literal [word for word] translation — буквальный /дословный/ [пословный] перевод |
|
his speech was transcribed in the newspapers word for word — его речь была дословно воспроизведена в газетах |
|
to give the word, to say the word — отдать приказание /распоряжение, команду/ |
|
how do you write this word?, how is this word written? — как пишется это слово? |
Найдено:531
Разговорные фразы
|
просьба не раскрывать секрет или не рассказывать о чём-либо или о ком-либо. (американский разговорный) |
|
Мне нужно немного поговорить с вами наедине. (Вместо глагола could могут употребляться сап или may.) (американский разговорный) |
Найдено:5609
Сочетаемость частей речи
|
What English word corresponds to the Russian word? Какое английское слово соответствует этому русскому слову? |
|
to get word/ the word получить известие/ приказание |
|
to translate smth word for word/ verbatim переводить что-то слово в слово/ дословно |
|
to report smth verbatim/ word for word передать что-то слово в слово |
|
to quote smth verbatim/ word for word цитировать что-то слово в слово |
Найдено:82
Louisa May Alcott
I’m reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women right now. Throughout the book, the March sisters refer to their mother as “marmee.” This looks like an odd term of endearment until you remember that Alcott grew up (and set her book in) Eastern Massachusetts. Given that her accent was probably non-rhotic (i.e. she dropped her r’s), “marmee” is essentially a different way of writing modern-day mommy.
This got me thinking. We have several informal words for “mother” in English: mum (heard in much of England), mom (heard in much of America), and mam (heard in Ireland and Northern England). But are these actually different words, or are they just, in some sense, the same word?
Although “mum,” “mam,” and “mom” read differently, they’re often pronounced in a very similar way. Here’s a comparison of three different dialects, and their “mom” pronunciations (don’t worry if you aren’t proficient in IPA — I’ll explain after):
London: “mum” — [mɐm]
General American: “mom” — [mɑm]
Manchester, UK: “mam” — [mam]
Whether you understand the IPA symbols above or not, the point is that in these three dialects, the words are quite close in pronunciation. To be fair, there are some regions where this is not the case. In the Western US, for example, mom is often more clearly “mawm.” Still, is it possible that mom and mum and mam began as different spellings rather than different words?
I suspect this may be the case because written usage of them seems fairly recent. Mom and mum appear to only date back to the 19th Century in written form. I’m curious if perhaps mam is the earliest of these, and mom and mum were just different ways of rendering this.
But that’s all I can say for now. I’ve been able to find little information as to whether these words have some common derivation. Google searches of “mom vs. mum” or “mom mum mam” don’t yield anything substantial. I haven’t found much info about their etymologies either. Any thoughts?
About Ben
Ben T. Smith launched his dialect fascination while working in theatre. He has worked as an actor, playwright, director, critic and dialect coach. Other passions include linguistics, urban development, philosophy and film.
Select your language
Suggested languages for you:
Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken
Jetzt kostenlos anmelden
Words don’t only mean something; they also do something. In the English language, words are grouped into word classes based on their function, i.e. what they do in a phrase or sentence. In total, there are nine word classes in English.
Word class meaning and example
All words can be categorised into classes within a language based on their function and purpose.
An example of various word classes is ‘The cat ate a cupcake quickly.’
-
The = a determiner
-
cat = a noun
-
ate = a verb
-
a = determiner
-
cupcake = noun
-
quickly = an adverb
Word class function
The function of a word class, also known as a part of speech, is to classify words according to their grammatical properties and the roles they play in sentences. By assigning words to different word classes, we can understand how they should be used in context and how they relate to other words in a sentence.
Each word class has its own unique set of characteristics and rules for usage, and understanding the function of word classes is essential for effective communication in English. Knowing our word classes allows us to create clear and grammatically correct sentences that convey our intended meaning.
Word classes in English
In English, there are four main word classes; nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. These are considered lexical words, and they provide the main meaning of a phrase or sentence.
The other five word classes are; prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, and interjections. These are considered functional words, and they provide structural and relational information in a sentence or phrase.
Don’t worry if it sounds a bit confusing right now. Read ahead and you’ll be a master of the different types of word classes in no time!
| All word classes | Definition | Examples of word classification |
| Noun | A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. | cat, house, plant |
| Pronoun | A word that is used in place of a noun to avoid repetition. | he, she, they, it |
| Verb | A word that expresses action, occurrence, or state of being. | run, sing, grow |
| Adjective | A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. | blue, tall, happy |
| Adverb | A word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb. | quickly, very |
| Preposition | A word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. | in, on, at |
| Conjunction | A word that connects words, phrases, or clauses. | and, or, but |
| Interjection | A word that expresses strong emotions or feelings. | wow, oh, ouch |
| Determiners | A word that clarifies information about the quantity, location, or ownership of the noun | Articles like ‘the’ and ‘an’, and quantifiers like ‘some’ and ‘all’. |
The four main word classes
In the English language, there are four main word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Let’s look at all the word classes in detail.
Nouns
Nouns are the words we use to describe people, places, objects, feelings, concepts, etc. Usually, nouns are tangible (touchable) things, such as a table, a person, or a building.
However, we also have abstract nouns, which are things we can feel and describe but can’t necessarily see or touch, such as love, honour, or excitement. Proper nouns are the names we give to specific and official people, places, or things, such as England, Claire, or Hoover.
Cat
House
School
Britain
Harry
Book
Hatred
‘My sister went to school.‘
Verbs
Verbs are words that show action, event, feeling, or state of being. This can be a physical action or event, or it can be a feeling that is experienced.
Lexical verbs are considered one of the four main word classes, and auxiliary verbs are not. Lexical verbs are the main verb in a sentence that shows action, event, feeling, or state of being, such as walk, ran, felt, and want, whereas an auxiliary verb helps the main verb and expresses grammatical meaning, such as has, is, and do.
Run
Walk
Swim
Curse
Wish
Help
Leave
‘She wished for a sunny day.’
Adjectives
Adjectives are words used to modify nouns, usually by describing them. Adjectives describe an attribute, quality, or state of being of the noun.
Long
Short
Friendly
Broken
Loud
Embarrassed
Dull
Boring
‘The friendly woman wore a beautiful dress.’
Fig 1. Adjectives can describe the woman and the dress
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that work alongside verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They provide further descriptions of how, where, when, and how often something is done.
Quickly
Softly
Very
More
Too
Loudly
‘The music was too loud.’
All of the above examples are lexical word classes and carry most of the meaning in a sentence. They make up the majority of the words in the English language.
The other five word classes
The other five remaining word classes are; prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, and interjections. These words are considered functional words and are used to explain grammatical and structural relationships between words.
For example, prepositions can be used to explain where one object is in relation to another.
Prepositions
Prepositions are used to show the relationship between words in terms of place, time, direction, and agency.
In
At
On
Towards
To
Through
Into
By
With
‘They went through the tunnel.’
Pronouns
Pronouns take the place of a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence. They often refer to a noun that has already been mentioned and are commonly used to avoid repetition.
Chloe (noun) → she (pronoun)
Chloe’s dog → her dog (possessive pronoun)
There are several different types of pronouns; let’s look at some examples of each.
- He, she, it, they — personal pronouns
- His, hers, its, theirs, mine, ours — possessive pronouns
- Himself, herself, myself, ourselves, themselves — reflexive pronouns
- This, that, those, these — demonstrative pronouns
- Anyone, somebody, everyone, anything, something — Indefinite pronouns
- Which, what, that, who, who — Relative pronouns
‘She sat on the chair which was broken.’
Determiners
Determiners work alongside nouns to clarify information about the quantity, location, or ownership of the noun. It ‘determines’ exactly what is being referred to. Much like pronouns, there are also several different types of determiners.
- The, a, an — articles
- This, that, those — you might recognise these for demonstrative pronouns are also determiners
- One, two, three etc. — cardinal numbers
- First, second, third etc. — ordinal numbers
- Some, most, all — quantifiers
- Other, another — difference words
‘The first restaurant is better than the other.’
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that connect other words, phrases, and clauses together within a sentence. There are three main types of conjunctions;
-
Coordinating conjunctions — these link independent clauses together.
-
Subordinating conjunctions — these link dependent clauses to independent clauses.
- Correlative conjunctions — words that work in pairs to join two parts of a sentence of equal importance.
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so — coordinating conjunctions
After, as, because, when, while, before, if, even though — subordinating conjunctions
Either/or, neither/nor, both/and — correlative conjunctions
‘If it rains, I’m not going out.’
Interjections
Interjections are exclamatory words used to express an emotion or a reaction. They often stand alone from the rest of the sentence and are accompanied by an exclamation mark.
Oh
Oops!
Phew!
Ahh!
‘Oh, what a surprise!’
Word class: lexical classes and function classes
A helpful way to understand lexical word classes is to see them as the building blocks of sentences. If the lexical word classes are the blocks themselves, then the function word classes are the cement holding the words together and giving structure to the sentence.
Fig 2. Lexical and functional word classes
In this diagram, the lexical classes are in blue and the function classes are in yellow. We can see that the words in blue provide the key information, and the words in yellow bring this information together in a structured way.
Word class examples
Sometimes it can be tricky to know exactly which word class a word belongs to. Some words can function as more than one word class depending on how they are used in a sentence. For this reason, we must look at words in context, i.e. how a word works within the sentence. Take a look at the following examples of word classes to see the importance of word class categorisation.
The dog will bark if you open the door.
The tree bark was dark and rugged.
Here we can see that the same word (bark) has a different meaning and different word class in each sentence. In the first example, ‘bark’ is used as a verb, and in the second as a noun (an object in this case).
I left my sunglasses on the beach.
The horse stood on Sarah’s left foot.
In the first sentence, the word ‘left’ is used as a verb (an action), and in the second, it is used to modify the noun (foot). In this case, it is an adjective.
I run every day
I went for a run
In this example, ‘run’ can be a verb or a noun.
Word Class — Key takeaways
-
We group words into word classes based on the function they perform in a sentence.
-
The four main word classes are nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. These are lexical classes that give meaning to a sentence.
-
The other five word classes are prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, and interjections. These are function classes that are used to explain grammatical and structural relationships between words.
-
It is important to look at the context of a sentence in order to work out which word class a word belongs to.
Frequently Asked Questions about Word Class
A word class is a group of words that have similar properties and play a similar role in a sentence.
Some examples of how some words can function as more than one word class include the way ‘run’ can be a verb (‘I run every day’) or a noun (‘I went for a run’). Similarly, ‘well’ can be an adverb (‘He plays the guitar well’) or an adjective (‘She’s feeling well today’).
The nine word classes are; Nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, interjections.
Categorising words into word classes helps us to understand the function the word is playing within a sentence.
Parts of speech is another term for word classes.
The different groups of word classes include lexical classes that act as the building blocks of a sentence e.g. nouns. The other word classes are function classes that act as the ‘glue’ and give grammatical information in a sentence e.g. prepositions.
The word classes for all, that, and the is:
‘All’ = determiner (quantifier)
‘That’ = pronoun and/or determiner (demonstrative pronoun)
‘The’ = determiner (article)
Final Word Class Quiz
Word Class Quiz — Teste dein Wissen
Question
A word can only belong to one type of noun. True or false?
Show answer
Answer
This is false. A word can belong to multiple categories of nouns and this may change according to the context of the word.
Show question
Question
Name the two principal categories of nouns.
Show answer
Answer
The two principal types of nouns are ‘common nouns’ and ‘proper nouns’.
Show question
Question
Which of the following is an example of a proper noun?
Show answer
Question
Name the 6 types of common nouns discussed in the text.
Show answer
Answer
Concrete nouns, abstract nouns, countable nouns, uncountable nouns, collective nouns, and compound nouns.
Show question
Question
What is the difference between a concrete noun and an abstract noun?
Show answer
Answer
A concrete noun is a thing that physically exists. We can usually touch this thing and measure its proportions. An abstract noun, however, does not physically exist. It is a concept, idea, or feeling that only exists within the mind.
Show question
Question
Pick out the concrete noun from the following:
Show answer
Question
Pick out the abstract noun from the following:
Show answer
Question
What is the difference between a countable and an uncountable noun? Can you think of an example for each?
Show answer
Answer
A countable noun is a thing that can be ‘counted’, i.e. it can exist in the plural. Some examples include ‘bottle’, ‘dog’ and ‘boy’. These are often concrete nouns.
An uncountable noun is something that can not be counted, so you often cannot place a number in front of it. Examples include ‘love’, ‘joy’, and ‘milk’.
Show question
Question
Pick out the collective noun from the following:
Show answer
Question
What is the collective noun for a group of sheep?
Show answer
Answer
The collective noun is a ‘flock’, as in ‘flock of sheep’.
Show question
Question
The word ‘greenhouse’ is a compound noun. True or false?
Show answer
Answer
This is true. The word ‘greenhouse’ is a compound noun as it is made up of two separate words ‘green’ and ‘house’. These come together to form a new word.
Show question
Question
What are the adjectives in this sentence?: ‘The little boy climbed up the big, green tree’
Show answer
Answer
The adjectives are ‘little’ and ‘big’, and ‘green’ as they describe features about the nouns.
Show question
Question
Place the adjectives in this sentence into the correct order: the wooden blue big ship sailed across the Indian vast scary ocean.
Show answer
Answer
The big, blue, wooden ship sailed across the vast, scary, Indian ocean.
Show question
Question
What are the 3 different positions in which an adjective can be placed?
Show answer
Answer
An adjective can be placed before a noun (pre-modification), after a noun (post-modification), or following a verb as a complement.
Show question
Question
In this sentence, does the adjective pre-modify or post-modify the noun? ‘The unicorn is angry’.
Show answer
Answer
The adjective ‘angry’ post-modifies the noun ‘unicorn’.
Show question
Question
In this sentence, does the adjective pre-modify or post-modify the noun? ‘It is a scary unicorn’.
Show answer
Answer
The adjective ‘scary’ pre-modifies the noun ‘unicorn’.
Show question
Question
What kind of adjectives are ‘purple’ and ‘shiny’?
Show answer
Answer
‘Purple’ and ‘Shiny’ are qualitative adjectives as they describe a quality or feature of a noun
Show question
Question
What kind of adjectives are ‘ugly’ and ‘easy’?
Show answer
Answer
The words ‘ugly’ and ‘easy’ are evaluative adjectives as they give a subjective opinion on the noun.
Show question
Question
Which of the following adjectives is an absolute adjective?
Show answer
Question
Which of these adjectives is a classifying adjective?
Show answer
Question
Convert the noun ‘quick’ to its comparative form.
Show answer
Answer
The comparative form of ‘quick’ is ‘quicker’.
Show question
Question
Convert the noun ‘slow’ to its superlative form.
Show answer
Answer
The comparative form of ‘slow’ is ‘slowest’.
Show question
Question
What is an adjective phrase?
Show answer
Answer
An adjective phrase is a group of words that is ‘built’ around the adjective (it takes centre stage in the sentence). For example, in the phrase ‘the dog is big’ the word ‘big’ is the most important information.
Show question
Question
Give 2 examples of suffixes that are typical of adjectives.
Show answer
Answer
Suffixes typical of adjectives include -able, -ible, -ful, -y, -less, -ous, -some, -ive, -ish, -al.
Show question
Question
What is the difference between a main verb and an auxiliary verb?
Show answer
Answer
A main verb is a verb that can stand on its own and carries most of the meaning in a verb phrase. For example, ‘run’, ‘find’. Auxiliary verbs cannot stand alone, instead, they work alongside a main verb and ‘help’ the verb to express more grammatical information e.g. tense, mood, possibility.
Show question
Question
What is the difference between a primary auxiliary verb and a modal auxiliary verb?
Show answer
Answer
Primary auxiliary verbs consist of the various forms of ‘to have’, ‘to be’, and ‘to do’ e.g. ‘had’, ‘was’, ‘done’. They help to express a verb’s tense, voice, or mood. Modal auxiliary verbs show possibility, ability, permission, or obligation. There are 9 auxiliary verbs including ‘could’, ‘will’, might’.
Show question
Question
Which of the following are primary auxiliary verbs?
-
Is
-
Play
-
Have
-
Run
-
Does
-
Could
Show answer
Answer
The primary auxiliary verbs in this list are ‘is’, ‘have’, and ‘does’. They are all forms of the main primary auxiliary verbs ‘to have’, ‘to be’, and ‘to do’. ‘Play’ and ‘run’ are main verbs and ‘could’ is a modal auxiliary verb.
Show question
Question
Name 6 out of the 9 modal auxiliary verbs.
Show answer
Answer
Answers include: Could, would, should, may, might, can, will, must, shall
Show question
Question
‘The fairies were asleep’. In this sentence, is the verb ‘were’ a linking verb or an auxiliary verb?
Show answer
Answer
The word ‘were’ is used as a linking verb as it stands alone in the sentence. It is used to link the subject (fairies) and the adjective (asleep).
Show question
Question
What is the difference between dynamic verbs and stative verbs?
Show answer
Answer
A dynamic verb describes an action or process done by a noun or subject. They are thought of as ‘action verbs’ e.g. ‘kick’, ‘run’, ‘eat’. Stative verbs describe the state of being of a person or thing. These are states that are not necessarily physical action e.g. ‘know’, ‘love’, ‘suppose’.
Show question
Question
Which of the following are dynamic verbs and which are stative verbs?
-
Drink
-
Prefer
-
Talk
-
Seem
-
Understand
-
Write
Show answer
Answer
The dynamic verbs are ‘drink’, ‘talk’, and ‘write’ as they all describe an action. The stative verbs are ‘prefer’, ‘seem’, and ‘understand’ as they all describe a state of being.
Show question
Question
What is an imperative verb?
Show answer
Answer
Imperative verbs are verbs used to give orders, give instructions, make a request or give warning. They tell someone to do something. For example, ‘clean your room!’.
Show question
Question
Inflections give information about tense, person, number, mood, or voice. True or false?
Show answer
Question
What information does the inflection ‘-ing’ give for a verb?
Show answer
Answer
The inflection ‘-ing’ is often used to show that an action or state is continuous and ongoing.
Show question
Question
How do you know if a verb is irregular?
Show answer
Answer
An irregular verb does not take the regular inflections, instead the whole word is spelt a different way. For example, begin becomes ‘began’ or ‘begun’. We can’t add the regular past tense inflection -ed as this would become ‘beginned’ which doesn’t make sense.
Show question
Question
Suffixes can never signal what word class a word belongs to. True or false?
Show answer
Answer
False. Suffixes can signal what word class a word belongs to. For example, ‘-ify’ is a common suffix for verbs (‘identity’, ‘simplify’)
Show question
Question
A verb phrase is built around a noun. True or false?
Show answer
Answer
False. A verb phrase is a group of words that has a main verb along with any other auxiliary verbs that ‘help’ the main verb. For example, ‘could eat’ is a verb phrase as it contains a main verb (‘could’) and an auxiliary verb (‘could’).
Show question
Question
Which of the following are multi-word verbs?
-
Shake
-
Rely on
-
Dancing
-
Look up to
Show answer
Answer
The verbs ‘rely on’ and ‘look up to’ are multi-word verbs as they consist of a verb that has one or more prepositions or particles linked to it.
Show question
Question
What is the difference between a transition verb and an intransitive verb?
Show answer
Answer
Transitive verbs are verbs that require an object in order to make sense. For example, the word ‘bring’ requires an object that is brought (‘I bring news’). Intransitive verbs do not require an object to complete the meaning of the sentence e.g. ‘exist’ (‘I exist’).
Show question
Answer
An adverb is a word that gives more information about a verb, adjective, another adverb, or a full clause.
Show question
Question
What are the 3 ways we can use adverbs?
Show answer
Answer
We can use adverbs to modify a word (modifying adverbs), to intensify a word (intensifying adverbs), or to connect two clauses (connecting adverbs).
Show question
Question
What are modifying adverbs?
Show answer
Answer
Modifying adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They add further information about the word.
Show question
Question
‘Additionally’, ‘likewise’, and ‘consequently’ are examples of connecting adverbs. True or false?
Show answer
Answer
True! Connecting adverbs are words used to connect two independent clauses.
Show question
Question
What are intensifying adverbs?
Show answer
Answer
Intensifying adverbs are words used to strengthen the meaning of an adjective, another adverb, or a verb. In other words, they ‘intensify’ another word.
Show question
Question
Which of the following are intensifying adverbs?
-
Calmly
-
Incredibly
-
Enough
-
Greatly
Show answer
Answer
The intensifying adverbs are ‘incredibly’ and ‘greatly’. These strengthen the meaning of a word.
Show question
Question
Name the main types of adverbs
Show answer
Answer
The main adverbs are; adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of manner, adverbs of frequency, adverbs of degree, adverbs of probability, and adverbs of purpose.
Show question
Question
What are adverbs of time?
Show answer
Answer
Adverbs of time are the ‘when?’ adverbs. They answer the question ‘when is the action done?’ e.g. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’
Show question
Question
Which of the following are adverbs of frequency?
-
Usually
-
Patiently
-
Occasionally
-
Nowhere
Show answer
Answer
The adverbs of frequency are ‘usually’ and ‘occasionally’. They are the ‘how often?’ adverbs. They answer the question ‘how often is the action done?’.
Show question
Question
What are adverbs of place?
Show answer
Answer
Adverbs of place are the ‘where?’ adverbs. They answer the question ‘where is the action done?’. For example, ‘outside’ or ‘elsewhere’.
Show question
Question
Which of the following are adverbs of manner?
-
Never
-
Carelessly
-
Kindly
-
Inside
Show answer
Answer
The words ‘carelessly’ and ‘kindly’ are adverbs of manner. They are the ‘how?’ adverbs that answer the question ‘how is the action done?’.
Show question
Discover the right content for your subjects
No need to cheat if you have everything you need to succeed! Packed into one app!
Study Plan
Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan.
Quizzes
Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes.
Flashcards
Create and find flashcards in record time.
Notes
Create beautiful notes faster than ever before.
Study Sets
Have all your study materials in one place.
Documents
Upload unlimited documents and save them online.
Study Analytics
Identify your study strength and weaknesses.
Weekly Goals
Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them.
Smart Reminders
Stop procrastinating with our study reminders.
Rewards
Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying.
Magic Marker
Create flashcards in notes completely automatically.
Smart Formatting
Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates.
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We’ll assume you’re ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Today ‘mum’ is certainly the correct spelling of the word in the UK.
Oxford dictionaries confirm that ‘mom’ is a spelling pertaining to North America:
mom (noun)
North American term for mum
While Cambridge concur that ‘mom’ is an American spelling of the equivalent ‘mum’: —
mom noun
/mɒm/ us /mɑːm/ US informal UK mum
The difference in spelling may be cultural
…we know that America had officially become a «new nation» in 1776
so it seems that «mum» and «mom» are a cultural difference between the
two countries.
Or Simply Phonetic:
One possible reason for the difference between the ‘o’ and ‘u’ of the
more common ‘mom’ and ‘mum’ may be the Great Vowel Shift (GVS)…a
major change in pronunciation in England…Vowel sounds changed in the
GVS from 1350 and 1700 so it’s not out of the realm of possibility
that America, as a new nation, got the tail end of the shift in
pronunciation.
But ‘mum’ is the correct spelling in the UK, and ‘mom’ is recognised as an American word.
This wasn’t always the case however. In Middle English Circa 1400s words were spoken as they were pronounced, the word ‘mome’ was used to mean mother, and was likely pronounced /moːm/.
The same source quoted above cites Etymonline when referring to both mom and mum as being derived from the word ‘mamma’
…diminutives of ‘mother’ in English—such as ‘mom’, which uses the
central nearly open vowel /ɒ/, and ‘mum’, which uses the back open-mid
vowel /ʌ/—, are offshoots from ‘mamma’ which date back to the 1570s.
Having checked the source myself, this is what they have to say on the matter, regarding the noun mamma, and early English usage of ‘mom’ and ‘mum’:
Its late appearance in English is curious, but Middle English had mome
(mid-13c.) «an aunt; an old woman,» also an affectionate term of
address for an older woman. In educated usage, the stress is always on
the last syllable. In terms of recorded usage of related words in
English, mama is from 1707, mum is from 1823, mummy in this sense from
1839, mommy 1844, momma 1852, and mom 1867.
So in fact both ‘mom’ and ‘mum’ are words derived from the word ‘mamma’ with early recorded usage back in the 1570s in England.
It’s interesting to note also that there are regional differences across the UK, in the Midlands the word ‘mom’ is sometimes used still (owing to dialectical inflection) while in Northern Ireland ‘mam’ is in popular usage, and recognized as an informal word for ‘mother’, with origins dating back to the 16th century.
In English grammar, a word class is a set of words that display the same formal properties, especially their inflections and distribution. The term «word class» is similar to the more traditional term, part of speech. It is also variously called grammatical category, lexical category, and syntactic category (although these terms are not wholly or universally synonymous).
The two major families of word classes are lexical (or open or form) classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and function (or closed or structure) classes (determiners, particles, prepositions, and others).
Examples and Observations
- «When linguists began to look closely at English grammatical structure in the 1940s and 1950s, they encountered so many problems of identification and definition that the term part of speech soon fell out of favor, word class being introduced instead. Word classes are equivalent to parts of speech, but defined according to strict linguistic criteria.» (David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2003)
- «There is no single correct way of analyzing words into word classes…Grammarians disagree about the boundaries between the word classes (see gradience), and it is not always clear whether to lump subcategories together or to split them. For example, in some grammars…pronouns are classed as nouns, whereas in other frameworks…they are treated as a separate word class.» (Bas Aarts, Sylvia Chalker, Edmund Weiner, The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2014)
Form Classes and Structure Classes
«[The] distinction between lexical and grammatical meaning determines the first division in our classification: form-class words and structure-class words. In general, the form classes provide the primary lexical content; the structure classes explain the grammatical or structural relationship. Think of the form-class words as the bricks of the language and the structure words as the mortar that holds them together.»
The form classes also known as content words or open classes include:
- Nouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
The structure classes, also known as function words or closed classes, include:
- Determiners
- Pronouns
- Auxiliaries
- Conjunctions
- Qualifiers
- Interrogatives
- Prepositions
- Expletives
- Particles
«Probably the most striking difference between the form classes and the structure classes is characterized by their numbers. Of the half million or more words in our language, the structure words—with some notable exceptions—can be counted in the hundreds. The form classes, however, are large, open classes; new nouns and verbs and adjectives and adverbs regularly enter the language as new technology and new ideas require them.» (Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar. Allyn and Bacon, 1998)
One Word, Multiple Classes
«Items may belong to more than one class. In most instances, we can only assign a word to a word class when we encounter it in context. Looks is a verb in ‘It looks good,’ but a noun in ‘She has good looks‘; that is a conjunction in ‘I know that they are abroad,’ but a pronoun in ‘I know that‘ and a determiner in ‘I know that man’; one is a generic pronoun in ‘One must be careful not to offend them,’ but a numeral in ‘Give me one good reason.'» (Sidney Greenbaum, Oxford English Grammar. Oxford University Press, 1996)
Suffixes as Signals
«We recognize the class of a word by its use in context. Some words have suffixes (endings added to words to form new words) that help to signal the class they belong to. These suffixes are not necessarily sufficient in themselves to identify the class of a word. For example, -ly is a typical suffix for adverbs (slowly, proudly), but we also find this suffix in adjectives: cowardly, homely, manly. And we can sometimes convert words from one class to another even though they have suffixes that are typical of their original class: an engineer, to engineer; a negative response, a negative.» (Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2009)
A Matter of Degree
«[N]ot all the members of a class will necessarily have all the identifying properties. Membership in a particular class is really a matter of degree. In this regard, grammar is not so different from the real world. There are prototypical sports like ‘football’ and not so sporty sports like ‘darts.’ There are exemplary mammals like ‘dogs’ and freakish ones like the ‘platypus.’ Similarly, there are good examples of verbs like watch and lousy examples like beware; exemplary nouns like chair that display all the features of a typical noun and some not so good ones like Kenny.» (Kersti Börjars and Kate Burridge, Introducing English Grammar, 2nd ed. Hodder, 2010)