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Thread: Ma'am as in ham or palm?
Just watched The King's Speech.
Now ordinarily I'm quite confident of how I pronounce words, and luckily my accent is more neutral than most people here.....
So how does one pronounce ma'am? Like ham or like palm?
The Internet offers contradicting opinions...thus I post here....
Now ordinarily I'm quite confident of how I pronounce words, and luckily my accent is more neutral than most people here.....
So how does one pronounce ma'am? Like ham or like palm?
The Internet offers contradicting opinions...thus I post here....
I pronounce it sounding like ham. I personally have never heard it sounding like palm, but perhaps elsewhere it might. I would prefer to say 'miss' though, whether she married or not.
I say ham and palm the same way... although that may be due to the fact that Scottish people have quite a harsh sounding 'a'.
Like ham over here in Californaiyay.
I would say like ham....but I am in the midwest, so....
Ham on the US east coast/south.
It is ham.
hhh AAAAAmmm.
muh aaaaaammm.
puh aaaaalm
hhh AAAAAmmm.
muh aaaaaammm.
puh aaaaalm
You mean you don't say it like "up yours, lady!" ?
Thats an odd username change.
Originally Posted by :
So how does one pronounce ma'am? Like ham or like palm?
The Internet offers contradicting opinions...thus I post here....
I can't speak for any others but as a northern Englishman when I address my mother I call her mam, which rhymes with ham. However were I ever to encounter Brenda, then I would address her as ma'am, which rhymes with palm.So how does one pronounce ma'am? Like ham or like palm?
The Internet offers contradicting opinions...thus I post here....
A lot of it is to do with where you're from and so depends on your accent.
I've been pronouncing it as 'ham'...but, I've actually heard some English actors pronounce it differently. And it sounds...sort of..cooler...as 'palm'.
Ma'am as in
yes. Ma'am as in ham/spam.
the only time I've heard it as "palm" is in the new Halo. and I was wondering if he just said what I thought he said.
the only time I've heard it as "palm" is in the new Halo. and I was wondering if he just said what I thought he said.
No it's pronounced like maulk.
If one is addressing Her Majesty, then one uses the long vowel sound. Since it is her English, there is no alternative.
However, what the pronunciation might be in American, I have no idea, as I do not speak the language.
However, what the pronunciation might be in American, I have no idea, as I do not speak the language.
Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost:
If one is addressing Her Majesty, then one uses the long vowel sound. Since it is her English, there is no alternative. ...
Interesting, so when addressing the Queen specifically, it rhymes with "palm?" Or "mom?"If one is addressing Her Majesty, then one uses the long vowel sound. Since it is her English, there is no alternative. ...
Here's a link with audio clips, male Canadian and male American.
Originally Posted by Togakure:
Interesting, so when addressing the Queen specifically, it rhymes with "palm?" Or "mom?"
Protocol advises that one starts any conversation by addressing the Queen as "Your Majesty" and each subsequent time with Ma'am. Pronounced "maarm".Interesting, so when addressing the Queen specifically, it rhymes with "palm?" Or "mom?"
Over in Tennessee Appalachia, protocol advises that one starts a conversation by pronouncing Ma'am like so.
Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost:
Protocol advises that one starts any conversation by addressing the Queen as "Your Majesty" and each subsequent time with Ma'am. Pronounced "maarm".
Wrong way round - it's specifically Ma'am as in Ham, not the long vowel. As any phule no, Ma'am is a contraction of Madam, hence "ham".Protocol advises that one starts any conversation by addressing the Queen as "Your Majesty" and each subsequent time with Ma'am. Pronounced "maarm".
Here's a link from Debretts, the ultimate etiquette guide.
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