calling non-relations "uncle/aunt"

[Matilda]

Sirtao has now remarked on a couple of threads on the Italian custom of calling an older close family friend "uncle/aunt". Rather than say this OT on one of those threads, I thought I'd start a thread to comment that this was also the practice of mid-20th-century polite American children. It would have seemed awkward to call a close family friend "Miss/Mrs./Mr. Lastname", but in those days an American child did NOT call an adult by their first name. So, up until the mid-1960's at least, a child would call a close adult family friend "Aunt Josie/Uncle Joe". I say this here only to remind the younger generation that the fact that Huey, Dewey and Louie sometimes call Daisy "Aunt Daisy" does NOT mean that she is a blood relative.

I believe it was the determined informality of the baby boomers that changed this, so that children started being encouraged to call adults by their first name.

[RobbK1]

Mar 13, 2017 23:38:48 GMT Matilda said:

Sirtao has now remarked on a couple of threads on the Italian custom of calling an older close family friend "uncle/aunt". Rather than say this OT on one of those threads, I thought I'd start a thread to comment that this was also the practice of mid-20th-century polite American children. It would have seemed awkward to call a close family friend "Miss/Mrs./Mr. Lastname", but in those days an American child did NOT call an adult by their first name. So, up until the mid-1960's at least, a child would call a close adult family friend "Aunt Josie/Uncle Joe". I say this here only to remind the younger generation that the fact that Huey, Dewey and Louie sometimes call Daisy "Aunt Daisy" does NOT mean that she is a blood relative.

I believe it was the determined informality of the baby boomers that changed this, so that children started being encouraged to call adults by their first name.

Yes, that was the same in The Netherlands and Canada when I grew up.  We could NOT call our parents by their first names, nor non-family members.  So, close family friends were "Uncles and Aunts".  I always cringe when I hear children calling their parents by their names (even when the children are 80 years old, and the parent is 105!)

[Minotaur]

Umm, so how do they call Gyro? I can't remember

[Palmer]

Remember: the reason for this thread is the confusion about the relationship between some Disney comics characters.

For myself, I had lots of older cousins, but never called anyone 'uncle' or 'aunt', except true uncles, aunts, great uncles, great aunts, and their spouses.
There were children of my cousins almost my age, and they were just considered 'cousin'.

The spouses of my older first cousins were are a problem to address, but mostly they didn't mind me using just their name especially if I could work a sir (or mam) into the conversation.


Lots of people did address any adult relative or close friend of the family as "uncles and aunts", but my mother didn't want me doing that.

An interesting case: a boy in my class had an uncle (mother's brother) married to one of my older first cousins. My classmate considered me a "cousin" but I considered him just 'kin'. [Kin sit on the other side of the church at a wedding.]

And one more case: an uncle took in three long-term foster kids - I still considered them "cousins".

[RobbK1]

Mar 14, 2017 5:53:29 GMT Minotaur said:

Umm, so how do they call Gyro? I can't remember

Huey, Dewey and Louie always called Gyro Gearloose by his first name ("Gyro" in USA books, and "Willie" (first name of Willie Wortel) in the Dutch books).  If I remember correctly, they also called him by his first name in Denmark (Georg), Sweden and Norway(Peter), and, I believe, also in Germany (Daniël).

[Pan Maciej]

They also call him by first name in Poland.

I recall they were some countries where they don't call Gladston by his name but refrence him "Uncle" but I can be wrong.

[Pan Maciej]

Mar 14, 2017 1:53:57 GMT RobbK1 said:

I always cringe when I hear children calling their parents by their names (even when the children are 80 years old, and the parent is 105!)

I have some friends (adults for the record) who do refrence parents by their first name when they talking about them to somebody (even if the parent is in the room) but refrence them "mom"/"dad" whenever they refrence them directly. 

Example : Let's say the parents name is Tom.
Talking to a friend - I must ask Tom about something.
Talking to parent  - Dad I need to ask you about something.

Parents appear to be Ok with this. I find it odd personally, but who em I to judge? 


I did refrence my mom's friend as "uncle" or "ant" when I was little (pre-shool/elementary school times) but some time after that it naturaly switch to refrence them as Mr./Mrs. 

[Minotaur]

Mar 14, 2017 7:17:50 GMT RobbK1 said:

Mar 14, 2017 5:53:29 GMT Minotaur said:

Umm, so how do they call Gyro? I can't remember

Huey, Dewey and Louie always called Gyro Gearloose by his first name ("Gyro" in USA books, and "Willie" (first name of Willie Wortel) in the Dutch books).  If I remember correctly, they also called him by his first name in Denmark (Georg), Sweden and Norway(Peter), and, I believe, also in Germany (Daniël).

Interesting. So the kids did call an adult by his first name... 

In my country people generally use their full name, but when we address one of our parents' friends we may directly say 'aunt' or 'uncle'. Things would be the same for strangers. But if that is an elder friend of mine, not my parents', I may still feel comfortable to use his/her full name. So I assume the kids and Gyro were so close and none of them felt uncomfortable to use the first name?

[sirredknee]

Mar 14, 2017 7:17:50 GMT RobbK1 said:

and, I believe, also in Germany (Daniël).

Actually, the Ducks usually address Gyro as "Herr Düsentrieb" or more often as "Herr Ingenieur" (Mr Engineer) in Germany. In the last twenty years or so he has also been called "Düsi" (a diminutive of his family name) by everyone including HDL. That sounded just oh so wrong and it seems the translators avoid it these days, thankfully.

[deb]

I always figured that the kids called Daisy "Aunt Daisy" because she was Donald's girlfriend, making her an unofficial part of the family, which also explained why she would call Scrooge "Uncle Scrooge". Never could figure why Mickey would call Scrooge "Uncle Scrooge", but in modern US Disney comics, that doesn't happen anymore.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Mar 14, 2017 7:17:50 GMT RobbK1 said:

Huey, Dewey and Louie always called Gyro Gearloose by his first name ("Gyro" in USA books, and "Willie" (first name of Willie Wortel) in the Dutch books).  If I remember correctly, they also called him by his first name in Denmark (Georg), Sweden and Norway(Peter), and, I believe, also in Germany (Daniël).

They also do in French (Géo).

[Palmer]

Re: Gyro

When Barks introduced Gyro in 1952's WDC 140, Gladstone recognized Gyro by name but they only acted as acquaintances, not kin. (Only Gyro and Gladstone were present in Gyro's debut.)

In the very next issue, Gyro is giving HDL a ride on a newly invented baggage buggy at the start of the story. Donald is not bothered when he sees them, but Gyro and Donald act more like casual friends than relatives. Donald says "Gyro Gearloose has been trying for ten years to invent something practical!". HDL refer to Gyro as "Mr. Gearloose".

About a year later in WDC 152, Donald/HDL and Gyro seem very familiar with each other. HDL directly address Gyro as "Gyro".

I'll stop my re-reading here, the point is that Barks did not have the boys refer to Gyro as "uncle" or cousin.

[sirtao]

In italian stories, Gyro is portrayed as just about not part of the family to not be called "uncle"- he should be called "Signor Archimede"("Mister Gyro") by HLD, but he's on such friendly terms with the family and a such friendly person himself, headcanon has him telling them to not bother with formalities