¿Why the Queen Elizabeth is called "Mom" instead of "Lady" or "Madam"?

Question

Spanish is my mother tongue; sometimes I see movies in English to improve my comprehension of the language. In the movie "The Queen" (2006, with Helen Mirren as the Queen) the people call her Mom and never Your Majesty. At the beginning, when Tony Blair arrives at the Palace and get upstairs, he receives instructions about the Royal Protocol: I hear that the say him to call "Mom as in hand, not mom as in farm" Is this correct, or I am mistaken?

The translation in spanish of that scene says "no la llamen Su Majestad, sino simplemente Señora". Translating literally: "Do not call her Your Majesty but simply Lady (or Madam)" You see the translation alters the concept.
Then the question is: " Just Mom as if you say Mother or I am mistaken?
Thank you very much.

Answer 1

The Queen is referred to as "Ma'am" (as in jam) an abbreviation of Madam. At a first meeting, she is called "Your Majesty" and thereafter as "Ma'am"

Answer 2

It's "Ma'am", a contraction of "Madam". If we had a King, you would address him as "Sir", and "Madam" is the female equivalent. As with so many things British, it's traditional to use "Ma'am" rather than "Madam", and Tony Blair is instructed correctly in that film to say "mam", not "marm". English is my mother tongue and to say "Lady" would sound very strange to me - in fact just wrong. "Lady" is the title of a female member of the peerage or the wife of a knight, and not a form of address. Of course Spanish is not English, and "Señora" translates into English as a number of different words depending on the context. Of course "Señora" also means "Mrs." the title of any married woman who does not have any other title, but if I said "Hello Mrs." that would sound as if I was trying to be funny. It would have to be "Hello, Mrs. Smith" or whatever her name is.



The full protocol is that if you meet the Queen, you address her as "Your Majesty" on the first occasion in the conversation, and then use "Ma'am" after that. So the film is slightly inaccurate there.



"Mom" is what an American calls their mother. We British say "Mum".

Answer 3

It's not "Mom" you are hearing - it's "Ma'am" - it means Madam. It's just a contraction of the word Madam.



In the UK "Ma'am" is pronounced similarly to American English "Mom", but that word for mother is "Mum" in the UK and has a different pronunciation here. You can call any woman "Ma'am" in the UK, or "Madam" as a form of polite address - especially if you do not know their name. The male equivalent is "Sir".



Lady is a different title reserved for peeresses (but not duchesses), the wives and daughters of peers and knights, and for certain women of importance, eg mayoresses. However you can't just call someone "Lady" on it's own, it's usually said before their name such as "Lady Chatterley"

Answer 4

The Queen is always referred to as "Your majesty" or in third person as "Her majesty". However, protocal only expects her to be called that one time. Afterwards she is referred to as "Ma'am" or in the case of a king as "Sir". It makes the conversation move smoother.

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Some people mistakenly call her "Your highness" which is the correct form of address of a prince or a princess. She is also not referred to as "royal" since that refers to her family. Also, technically she is called "Elizabeth, The Queen" instead of "Queen Elizabeth", but that rule is widely broken.

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She can be referred to as "The British Queen" casually, or more formally "The Queen of the United Kingdom". However, to call her the "Queen of England" which many Americans and Latinos do, is considered ignorant.

Answer 5

it's Mam as in Ham.it sounds like mum because of dfferent accents around BHP.

Answer 6

Mum is someone's mother.

Ma'am is a way of showing respect to someone. Spanish Pronounciation *Me'em*



Hope that helps! :)

Answer 7

The word is ma'am, which is pronounced 'mam' as far as I am aware. Ma'am is a contraction of the word madam.