Mamma Mia!

Rich's blog on cultural differences has inspired me to write my own take on the subject. After all, this is astoldbyannabanana :P


We may all look different, but in the end we are all just the same. I mean, even our first words are similar, and that universal word unifies us for life.


Most of you have probably played a Mario game at some point or other. Then, I'm certain that you are quite familiar with the plumber's catchphrase: "Mamma mia!" ( <- sound clip in case you didn't have a childhood).

*side note: I've always found this video amazingly cool, so check it out!


It also happens to be the name of a highly popular play, movie, etc. However, though it is a common saying, it is rarely given much attention.

What does it mean? Well, though I'm no expert in Italian, I can guess that it means something along the lines of "mother of mine". If you think about it, different variations of "my mother" can be found in almost every language except for English, which prefers to use "my God." In Chinese, it is very common to hear "wo de ma ya" or "我的妈呀," which literally translates to "my mom" to express upset or surprise! ( <- funny song :] ). It's kind of interesting to think, that regardless of race, we all revert to that security blanket of Mummy!!!

I brought up this subject at Aparna's graduation party last year, and it turns out that this phrase is in fact used in Hindi, Russian, and Tagalog (?). I don't know many other languages, so I'm just making a broad assumption, so if you can validate my claim in any other language, I'd love to hear it!

Mamma Mia!