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Babcia or Busha - any social class difference?


HulaGRL 1 | -
11 Nov 2007 #1
I know they both mean Grandmother....but does the difference have to do with social class or geography?
Grzegorz_ 51 | 6,149
11 Nov 2007 #2
Babcia is a correct one.
inkrakow
11 Nov 2007 #3
I've never heard of Busha! Sounds like a shortening of Babusia, which comes from Babcia.
slick77 - | 127
11 Nov 2007 #4
What does Bush have to do with babcia? lol
Softsong 5 | 494
14 Nov 2007 #5
In the USA older Polish ladies are famous for wearing a scarf on their heads, called a babuska. Maybe there is a connection?
:-)
Heritage - | 2
24 Nov 2007 #6
Babcia is Fathers mother and Busha is mothers mother.
polishgirltx
24 Nov 2007 #7
??

babcia is dad's mom, and babcia is mom's mom...
the same...
omniba
25 Nov 2007 #8
Only Babcia/Babka means Granny and only Babcia/Babka is in Polish. Busha in Polish would be pronounced Bus-ha and apart from not sounding even vaguely Polish it is very likely just some sort of family nickname to differentiate between the two – ie Mother’s Mother and Father’s Mother. The language is complicated enough without adding any more embellishments.

The only Busha I’ve ever heard of is a diminutive of Bogusia, and even that would be spelt Busia.
JustysiaS 13 | 2,239
25 Nov 2007 #9
yeah i didnt think there was a different way to call your dads mum and your mums mum. its still babka/babcia/babunia
PinKoalabear - | 3
26 Nov 2007 #10
Babcia is the one most commonly used.
I have never heard of Busha??
I call both grandmothers Babcia.:/

I agree, perhaps Busha is derived from Babusia?
Dixie
28 Nov 2007 #11
Here in Pennsylvania we Polish call our Grandmothers Babci.
Cantankerous
30 Nov 2007 #12
My Great Grand mother is from Poland and we always called her and my Grandmother Busia, so i wonder where this came from??

How do you pronounce " Babcia" just how it's spelt?
z_darius 14 | 3,965
30 Nov 2007 #13
"Busia" (never heard it while I still lived in Poland) seems to be a short form of "babusia", which is yet another diminutive form of babka.

How do you pronounce " Babcia" just how it's spelt?

Your spellling is correct.
You can pronounce it as "Bob-cha".
Softsong 5 | 494
30 Nov 2007 #14
Yes, I believe it is a common American thing to call a Polish grandmother Babci.

Probably because after time, the descendents take the basic root word and add the kind of ending that makes sense to American ears. The way we make English words informal and cute. Like Bobby instead of Bob. Puppy instead of dog.

But what is forgotten is that kind of ending does not do the same thing in Polish. Michal is Michalek. Kot is kotek.

So it is an adaptation and corruption. But that is what I called mine, too. I never knew it would sound strange to someone from Poland. And then I found out when my Polish bf laughed at me calling myself Babci.
AJK - | 1
12 Feb 2008 #15
My maternal greatgrandmother was called Busha. She was from Szubin Poland and later lived in South Bend IN.
joe s
17 Feb 2008 #16
Our Grandma was called Busia (Busha).
When we speak to recent immigrants, they say we might use this diminutive or pronunciation since she came from the Podlasie region (Bargłow) , close to Russia, Lithuania and former Prussia, a real hodgepodge historically.

She was my mother's mom.
My Mom is referred to as Busia as well.
Naladahc
19 Feb 2008 #17
While I believe it is most likely derived from "babusia", I've noticed that it seems purely of Polonia creation.

I grew up in the Polish Diaspora of Toledo, Ohio and "Busia" was the most common term for grandmother that I ever heard, including in my own families.

From my encounters with other Polish-Americans, I think it can definitely be seen as a "regional" variation as well since friends who grew up near Chicago and Wisconsin's Poles used "Babcia" which surprisingly always sounded foreign to me.
bobby 6 | 32
23 Feb 2008 #18
My grandmother (she lived near Sanok) taught me Babushka - Grandmother.
Dzhaklin 3 | 166
25 Feb 2008 #19
ба́бушка (babushka) it's russian for grandmother.
GrandeSande 2 | 119
26 Feb 2008 #20
My grandmother used to call the headscarves the women wore "babushkas".
Any old lady was a "babcia".
lir<visiting>
26 Feb 2008 #21
Babcia is a correct one.

Hi to Gregorz, I just have a single ticket for now on PF <just a short visit for now>

I never knew my Babcia, wish I had but I remember seeing the pictures where the older women wore headscarves, usually wore bright red patterned ones if I remember correctly.
Dzhaklin 3 | 166
26 Feb 2008 #22
My grandmother used to call the headscarves the women wore "babushkas"

It's sort of used as slang now too. Like anyone who wears head scarves might be called an old lady... or granny.
GrandeSande 2 | 119
26 Feb 2008 #23
Like anyone who wears head scarves might be called an old lady... or granny.

Sounds like my Grandmother... calling any other old lady a babcia, but she never was one. At 99, she was still a proud lady who never wore a babushka.

She had more hats and purses than anyone I have ever known!
What a lady!!!
El Gato 4 | 351
26 Feb 2008 #24
Babcia or Busha

I was always told and have actually read before that "babcia" is definitely Polish, and that "busha" is Hungarian.

Anyone else heard something similar. I can't remember where I read it before, but busha is Hungarian.

People would always say something about their "busha" whenever they found out I was Polish, and I had no clue wtf they were talking about...
Dzhaklin 3 | 166
26 Feb 2008 #25
and that "busha" is Hungarian.

No, Nagymama is hungarian
El Gato 4 | 351
26 Feb 2008 #26
It's only what I heard. I can't really quote it. Maybe it's a hybrid word from all sorts of people.
Dzhaklin 3 | 166
26 Feb 2008 #27
I don't know. I've heard a lot of people swear busha was polish. I don't know where it came from but it would be interesting to find out.
krysia 23 | 3,058
26 Feb 2008 #28
babushka is russian and busha is a short form of it.
zaleski - | 10
28 Feb 2008 #29
If you really want to make granny endeared to you, address her as stary kobieta
pinky
28 Feb 2008 #30
You got to be joking !

She'll make your life hell if you do hahaha !


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