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Originally Posted by maleficent
Back when I was a kid, there were some friends of my parents that I referred to as Uncle whatever or Aunt whatever... it's really a term that doesn't mean a lot of anything...
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My working hypothesis is that those were "special" friends
(not necessarily your parents' friends, though)
But just, in general, maybe these are friends who are closer than friends, but not quite family...capiche?
EDIT: @Craven, it's cuz their is more than one. Grandma and Grandpa [last name] do get similar treatment <<< see.
hmm, well, actually if you're standing in front of the person, you wouldn't say Grandma Shoe. Not saying her first name seems to be due to respect (I don't call my mom by her first name) and calling her by her last name would be too formal.
But I would call my sister or brother, if I had one, by their first name. Presumably because they are on the same status level as I am. If I were speaking about them to someone else, I would need to use their name, 'John" or just use "my brother" or "my brother, John..."
when we are young, we might have been taught to call other adults by Mr. Shoe. As we become older, we call that person 'John.'
In the case of an aunt or uncle, they are on a similar status level as one's parents, but not quite. They are adults, but not equal to one's parents. So we get Uncle John (the name our parents would use with an honorary title in front).