Saka
Is it correct to call a girl "son"? I am a female student, and one day, my house lady ask me:" how many pancake do you want, son?" I was so confused. I thought maybe she just mixed my gender. But the other day I saw another woman calling a girl "son". I know it's time to learn something new. Please tell me why. And help me with my grammar mistake.
Jan 21, 2017 11:11 PM
Answers · 15
3
Ah no, that's not normal at all. Are you sure they weren't saying "Hon" (short for "Honey", a term of endearment)?
January 21, 2017
3
A son is always male in English. Perhaps it was "How many pancakes? Do you want some?" When making an offer, it's typical to use "some" instead of "any." Chinese speakers can mix up final M an N, and don't always pick up on English phrase level intonation.
January 22, 2017
1
Sorry, I'm not an English native speaker, but couldn't just disregard this funny story :) Maybe they mean 'sun'? Old ladies like to name people as 'sun', 'honey', 'sweetheart' and so on
January 21, 2017
1
A son is ones male offspring (child).
January 21, 2017
1
I'm quite sure she didn't think you were male , and she definitely wasn't calling you 'son' - 'son' is only for boys. I agree with the theory that what she said was actually: 'Do you want some?'. As Phil suggests, this wasn't exactly a question of your mishearing, but of failing to pick up on the intonation pattern and confusing 'm' with 'n' - both common issues with Chinese speakers.
January 22, 2017
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