Please forgive this ignorant gringo. Why do you call your kids papi and mami? One of my best friends is from Mexico, and he just laughed when I asked and said he had no clue why (although he does it with his daughter).
Isn't it the other way around? lol. Anyways, to answer your question. I don't know why, I'm Hispanic and I've never heard any of family members saying that, but definitely the kid saying it either to their mom or dad. Come to think of it though, I think I have heard someone else call their kids that.
It's a term of endearment, like saying "sweetheart" or "sweetie" to a significant other. Like saying "come to papa" in English to someone when you're not even their dad. I'm Mexican and sometimes I call my daughters "momma". I've heard Green-ghosts call their kids "mama" or "daddy" in public places before. Why do women shout out "hurt me, daddy!" (or so I've heard) to thadeus, when he isn't even their dad? :grin:
My sister calls my son "papa". I think its just a comforting loving word besides their name to call them. Like when white folks call their kids "sweety" "honey" or "love".
i remember a teammate of mine on a softball team bringing his kid along. he kept calling the kid, "Papi". I asked him, "You named your kid Papi?" of course he didn't, but i couldn't figure why he was calling him that either.
Now that I think about it I don't know why they call us that. I get the whole endearment like swoles said but they also use other words like mi vida, mi Rey, etc. One thing I know is Dominicans and Puerto Ricans seem to use it the most. They will call anyone that not just their kids.
huh? maybe Puerto ricans do but not people form central america. here are some terms I've heard: Mijo- Mi hijo- my son Cariño- my darling sipote- kid or this alot when I was younger: sin verguenza- without shame. lol.
Yes, but we don't think of it as "insulting" in Mexico, I guess. A cousin was "fat" when she was little, so her dad called her "mi gorda" and it stuck, and now he still calls her 'mi gorda' but she ain't got an ounce of fat. (no, I don't have pictures of my cousin) We call people all kinds of different ways in Spanish-speaking countries... here's a variation of a commercial in the U.S. that was playing in Mexico: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufSuzkloheQ&feature=related <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ufSuzkloheQ?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ufSuzkloheQ?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> ^ people calling each other things like "tío", "broder" (like 'brah')... etc... :grin: I call black people "los hermanos" (the brothas). and Billy D. is "Otro Hermano" to me.
Salvadoreno? Your right Central Americans living there don't use it as much but those of us leaving here def do.
I guess. My parents don't say it but I have an uncle that has a straight up Salvadorian vocab. Glad my Pops doesn't talk like that. It's embarrassing.
