Translation.... grandpa

Discussion in 'Vocabulary & Translation Help' started by rkasparek, Mar 29, 2006.

  1. rkasparek

    rkasparek Well-Known Member

    Greetings!

    I live in West Texas USA. I am about to get re-married. The woman I am marrying is a wonderful Lady with grandkids. Here in West Texas, all grandparents have 'pet names' like PawPaw, Pappaw, Umpaw... Grammy, etc. These kids already have a "PawPaw" (my fiancees ex) and of course I want something a bit different.

    I have read the normal translation for grandfather, but are there more informal names for grandpas? I read (via google) about the term ja-ja... being grandpa in czech. I'm not sure this is correct.

    Can you give me some ideas?

    Thanks
     
  2. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    Common is "děda" (approx. pronunciation djehdah); vocative - used when addressing people - is "dědo" (djehdoh). However, I read in another of your posts that your ancestors were born in southern Moravia - Zlín and Velká nad Veličkou, so it would be "staříček" (stahrzeeczech) or "staříčku" (stahrzeeczkuh) there.
     
  3. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    děda or dědeček
     
  4. brook

    brook Well-Known Member

    Yay! A fellow Texan. 8) Okay so, it's not exactly czech, but we call our grandpa in East Texas "Pepa" or "Pepaw." People giggle when I tell them, but I like it - and it's a little different from Papa. Congratulations by the way!
     
  5. stepan

    stepan Well-Known Member

    ...and grandmother is Babicka - sounds like ba-bitch-ka. That's what my son and my nephews and nieces called my mother.

    My childred did not know their grandfather - but the nephews and nieces called him dedecku - with the proper accents - my computer is not set up for that.
     
  6. Kanadanka

    Kanadanka Well-Known Member

    my grandpa was "dedous" (d-yeah-doush)
     
  7. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    :lol: Ba - beach - ka
    (there is no English short "i" sound in Czech).

    P.S. One might think you had some issues with your grandma, Stepan! (just kidding, of course) :p
     
  8. stepan

    stepan Well-Known Member

    NO problems - actually it was my mother and she pronounced it "ba-bitch-ka" with the accent on the first syllable.
     
  9. Kanadanka

    Kanadanka Well-Known Member

    the only pronunciation I ever heard was ba-bitch-ka as well. The only time it would have the prolonged "ee" would be in the shortened form
    "Babi" (Bah-bee") occasionally (otherwise even that form would use accent on the first syllable in Bah-bih
     
  10. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I guess foreign words and their pronunciations do have a way of becoming Americanized (Canadicized??).
     
  11. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    I am sorry, but the only pronunciation I know and have used all my life is babička with short -i- and stress on the first syllable.
     
  12. Zeisig

    Zeisig Well-Known Member

    bitch is pronounced /bItS/ and
    beach is pronounced /bi:tS/

    There are two distinct vowels /i/ and /I/ in English. I personally make no difference when speaking English. My bitch sounds like my beach (in sense of the vowel quality).
     
  13. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Jana,

    The English "short i" is NOT the same as the Czech "short i." The word "long" in the sense of English vowels has no bearing on the duration of pronunciation, but actually serves to distinguish different vowel sounds produced by the same letter. In Czech the short "i" and long "i" are both best described as an English "long e," the difference being in the duration of the vowel sound. The short "i" sound in English is a vowel sound something between a Czech "e" and a Czech "i" but doesn't really exist in Czech. Most non-native English speakers seem unable to correctly form the English short "i" vowel sound (among others).

    See also the thread The famous "R" consonant !!, particularly on page 10 the post by Ceit near the top, and my post at the bottom of the page, and also my post on the thread Vitame Vas?
     
  14. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    To Sova: I am aware of the difference between Czech and English concept of short and long vowels; however, the Czech pronunciation of babička does not sound at all like ba-beach-ka (I let several native English speakers pronounce both transcriptions, i.e. bah-bitch-kah and bah-beach-ka, and I must say the "beach" version sounds funny to my ears).
     
  15. stepan

    stepan Well-Known Member

    I have always heard the "Ba-bitch-ka" with emphasis on the first syllable. However, I have a sister-in-law who insists on pronouncing it "ba-beach-ka" with emphasis on the "beach" syllable. It sounds VERY funny - she said that she did not want to say the word "bitch".
     
  16. dzurisova

    dzurisova Well-Known Member

    My native Czech husband states that it is definately Ba-bitch-ka. He states that there is an í with a čárka on the end and an i with a tečka on the end of it. The i with the tečka creates the bitch sound whereas the í with the čárka creates the beech sound. Babička has the i with the tečka on the end which makes the prounciation Ba-bitch-ka.
     
  17. rkasparek

    rkasparek Well-Known Member

    Thanks Brook! Its been so long since I visited back here at the message boards that I forgot I placed this request in here. I never saw your message! Thank you for your input. Texas huh? Where from? I am in Midland in West Texas.

    Rick
     

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