this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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Father and mother are probably the two worst examples. Mother is "mamá" in Spanish, and "mama" in Japanese, not because they're related, but because babies make that sound a lot.
That said, I agree with you completely. It's just that that specific example bugged me.
Mama is different than mater and pater both being very similar in several IE languages.
"Mama" is not the common word you'd use in Japan, it's a loanword from watching English/European media. Normally they'd use "Haha". At least as my neighbor once explained to me.
In Chinese, though, we use "maa maa", which does sound more similar.
I used to type up long explanations but I don't do it anymore. Either the person is not going to be uninterested and/or unconvinced, or they'll read up more on it on their own