Learn English – Mam or mum in English crime series

british-englishmeaningpronunciationword-usage

In English crime series I often hear mom or mam or mum. I don't know…

What does it mean? When is an appropriate time to use it?

See this trailer from the BBC's Bodyguard crime series.

Best Answer

What you are hearing is not mum as in mother, but ma’am, contraction of madam, with a strongly reduced vowel. In British English, it is mostly used as a sign of repect for a woman of superior rank, say, in the military or police. In the film clip, Keeley Hawes appears to be playing the Prime Minister, whose bodyguard addresses her as ‘ma’am’ with the reduced vowel. At the end of this clip from Casino Royale, James Bond (Daniel Craig) addresses M (Judi Dench) in the same fashion.

In British English, the full vowel is reserved for royals:

On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is 'Your Majesty' and subsequently 'Ma'am,' pronounced with a short 'a,' as in 'jam'.

For other female members of the Royal Family the first address is conventionally 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Ma'am'.

In American English the vowel is never reduced and may be used as a polite form of addressing any woman, especially one unknown to the speaker:

Excuse me, ma’am, you’ve dropped your keys.

Some Americans might address younger women as miss in the same context.