As a toddler I was so used to hear and say chi mang mang (translated roughly: time to eat.), though for a good many years I have forgotten about this uniquely Chinese expression. I’m not aware if one knows how to write the words in Chinese. However, that’s what a Chinese mother always says, probably for centuries, to her baby at feeding times and what she always hears when her baby cries hungry, a phrase often accompanied with a moving jaw, mouthing noise, and exaggerated facial expression to imitate a gorging of delicious food. In southern China-at least in my hometown in Yunnan, mang mang refers not to a specific kind of food but every sorts of meal or snack. The only distinction is its age-specificity: its use is reserved when dealing with young babies. Saying it or hearing from an old child or adult only evokes disgust and is universally recognized as absurd. Yet, the same words radiate love from a mother-baby bond.

I was in awe at the realization of how similar munch and mang mang mean and sound, despite their distinct origins. The history of the use of munch was dated back to 1375-1425 in Middle English period, while mang mang, I believe, has a root in ancient China. When it comes to the words essential to the human basic and core expression (such as mom, dad), cultural barriers and geological boundaries blur sometimes. How wonderful my discovery of this trivial! It made my day.