Anthologica Universe Atlas / Forums / Department of Creativity / Kinship Systems and Terminology in your Con-stuff
Wherein I ramble about the kinship terms I've been working and ask for feedback, and you can do the same!
Please to be telling me what you think of the following. I have not really handled kinship much before and I don't know WTF I am doing.
The Second Language (2L) has two separate kinship systems running in parallel. The first system is "official" kinship (hv̄k /huk/), that is, formal and legally recognized by the celestial court. The second, considered inferior, is blood kinship (grŕk /↑ŋɹak/). As usual 2L works on a sixteen-words-under-a-hyponym system - so there are sixteen root1 kinship terms for each system. For anyone who's been following how 2L vocabulary works and its connection to the gods, official kinship is the Anthesis/Anthesis section and blood kinship Anthesis/Ascesis.
Charts! (With apologies to the colourblind
)
Official Kinship
Blood Kinship
Maternal uncles and paternal aunts have been left off the charts due to space and idiocy. Nothing much interesting is happening there, but for clarity:
Official Kinship: Maternal uncles and paternal aunts are elder/younger aunts/uncles. Their children are elder/younger cousins.
Blood Kinship: maternal uncles are "mother's maternal siblings", there is no term for their children. There are no terms for paternal aunts or their children.
The chart form was designed to compare the two systems, but be aware that for a single target individual the two charts might not refer to the same people. For example if you are adopted you have official parents different to your blood ones. If you are illegitimate you might have no official parents at all. Lists of officially recognised children versus actual offspring can be very different, and so on.
Official Kinship: Elder and Younger
"Elder" and "younger" terms are strongly influenced by relative social status. A sibling or cousin of a higher social status is referred to as "elder" regardless of relative age, and similarly lower status relatives are "younger". Only where social status is roughly equal to the terms correspond to relative age.
[I can't decide if the elder/younger status of aunts/uncles should be judged relative to ego, or to ego's related parent. Thoughts?]
Blood Kinship: Sex
The blood kinship system is remarkable in the context of 2L for recognising biological sex in some sense (as opposed to Vanan four-category gender). Strictly what it recognises the concept of "mother" (the one who bore a child) versus "father" (other genetic contributor[s]).
Blood Kinship: Children
Blood kinship has two terms for "child/offspring", specifying whether they are being considered as a child of the mother or a child of the father. Mothers will use the first term for their children, fathers the latter.
Blood Kinship: Full Siblings
Full siblings can be referred to as either maternal or paternal siblings. There is no specific term for full siblinghood in the blood kinship system.
Please to be telling me what you think of the following. I have not really handled kinship much before and I don't know WTF I am doing.
The Second Language (2L) has two separate kinship systems running in parallel. The first system is "official" kinship (hv̄k /huk/), that is, formal and legally recognized by the celestial court. The second, considered inferior, is blood kinship (grŕk /↑ŋɹak/). As usual 2L works on a sixteen-words-under-a-hyponym system - so there are sixteen root1 kinship terms for each system. For anyone who's been following how 2L vocabulary works and its connection to the gods, official kinship is the Anthesis/Anthesis section and blood kinship Anthesis/Ascesis.
Charts! (With apologies to the colourblind
)Official Kinship
Blood Kinship
Maternal uncles and paternal aunts have been left off the charts due to space and idiocy. Nothing much interesting is happening there, but for clarity:
Official Kinship: Maternal uncles and paternal aunts are elder/younger aunts/uncles. Their children are elder/younger cousins.
Blood Kinship: maternal uncles are "mother's maternal siblings", there is no term for their children. There are no terms for paternal aunts or their children.
The chart form was designed to compare the two systems, but be aware that for a single target individual the two charts might not refer to the same people. For example if you are adopted you have official parents different to your blood ones. If you are illegitimate you might have no official parents at all. Lists of officially recognised children versus actual offspring can be very different, and so on.
Official Kinship: Elder and Younger
"Elder" and "younger" terms are strongly influenced by relative social status. A sibling or cousin of a higher social status is referred to as "elder" regardless of relative age, and similarly lower status relatives are "younger". Only where social status is roughly equal to the terms correspond to relative age.
[I can't decide if the elder/younger status of aunts/uncles should be judged relative to ego, or to ego's related parent. Thoughts?]
Blood Kinship: Sex
The blood kinship system is remarkable in the context of 2L for recognising biological sex in some sense (as opposed to Vanan four-category gender). Strictly what it recognises the concept of "mother" (the one who bore a child) versus "father" (other genetic contributor[s]).
Blood Kinship: Children
Blood kinship has two terms for "child/offspring", specifying whether they are being considered as a child of the mother or a child of the father. Mothers will use the first term for their children, fathers the latter.
Blood Kinship: Full Siblings
Full siblings can be referred to as either maternal or paternal siblings. There is no specific term for full siblinghood in the blood kinship system.
_________________________
1. 2L is built on a rather large list of single-syllable root words. The vocabulary, including kinship vocabulary, is extended with compounds, but these are not part of the precisely ordered root system.
1. 2L is built on a rather large list of single-syllable root words. The vocabulary, including kinship vocabulary, is extended with compounds, but these are not part of the precisely ordered root system.
My system for Kala is rather boring/bland:
ntaha - ancestor; elder
nta'i - baby; infant
ntaya - spouse
tlika - clan; family; kin
tsonta - teenager
ntaku [-ku] - sibling
ntahi [-hi] - child; offspring
ntahue [-hue] - sibling's child [nibling]
ntahya [-hya] - grandchild
ntaue [-ue] - cousin
nata [nta] - family member; relative
naka [na] - woman; feminine [fem]
hyanta [hya-] - grandparent
tlaka [ta] - man; masculine [masc]
tlaya [-ya] - marry; in-law; wed
onta [o-] - adult; parent
uenta [ue-] - parent's sibling
But, if you look here: http://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/diagram.pdf | http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kinship_systems# you can see that there are a myriad of ways to go about it.
ntaha - ancestor; elder
nta'i - baby; infant
ntaya - spouse
tlika - clan; family; kin
tsonta - teenager
ntaku [-ku] - sibling
ntahi [-hi] - child; offspring
ntahue [-hue] - sibling's child [nibling]
ntahya [-hya] - grandchild
ntaue [-ue] - cousin
nata [nta] - family member; relative
naka [na] - woman; feminine [fem]
hyanta [hya-] - grandparent
tlaka [ta] - man; masculine [masc]
tlaya [-ya] - marry; in-law; wed
onta [o-] - adult; parent
uenta [ue-] - parent's sibling
But, if you look here: http://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/diagram.pdf | http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kinship_systems# you can see that there are a myriad of ways to go about it.
The kinship system normally used by the Lilitai is called zúsika (literally "the way of the uterus") and leans heavily on the matrilineal side, with a focus on the core mother-daughter dynamic. (Remember that the Lilitai have no men and reproduce entirely through IVF.) Perhaps frustratingly, most of these terms are of affection rather than formal pedigree jargon, giving them flexible and ambiguous meanings.
Note that "father" is used a little loosely here to describe a donor to the IVF process who may in fact be female, and almost always is when describing Lilitai themselves.
efteta - daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, or any subsequent descendent
pana ("infant") - daughter
bama/baba - biological mother (IVF surrogate) and closest caretaker; in very rare cases this may be usurped by a caretaker if the mother dies or abandons the child
atapa/apata/apapa/atata - biological father (IVF donor, may be more than one in very rare cases)
ébamela - caretaker, applies to any step-parents, biological parents other than the literal mother, or any extremely close friends of the mother; one or more of the mother's sisters often fall under this label if there are no other caretakers directly related to the child by blood
mímefta - sister or adopted sister
bamela - any of the above (although a less-important caretaker can be ébamela without being bamela)
híma - mother's sister
hímía - stepsister or daughter of mother's sister (cousin)
mema (short for memefísta) - mother's mother
kelmema (short for kelmemefísta) - matrilineal ancestor beyond grandmother (e.g. great grandmother)
egúmefta - "i don't know who you are, but you're part of my family somehow; furthermore, family reunions are annoying"
When humans were discovered, zúsika was displaced gradually by Alfí stulitrika ("the family traditions of Earth") which more closely resembles the English-speaking model we use today. The maternal-only rulings of the words above vanish, resulting in the following system. Note carefully that some words remain in the feminine gender despite being male nouns, and that there is no distinct word for great-grandfather.
efteta - daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, or any subsequent descendent
efteto - son, grandson, great-grandson, or any subsequent descendent
pana ("infant") - daughter or son
pano ("infant") - son
bama/baba - biological mother (IVF surrogate) and closest caretaker; in very rare cases this may be usurped by a caretaker if the mother dies or abandons the child
atapa/apata/apapa/atata - biological father (IVF donor, may be more than one in very rare cases)
terbezo - father (literally means "fertilizer"; technical but not very polite)
ébamela or ébamelo - caretaker, applies to any step-parents or any extremely close friends of the parents; one or more aunts or uncles often fall under this label if the mother is single
mímefta - sister or adopted sister
mímefto - brother or adopted brother
bamela or bamelo - any of the above (although a less-important caretaker can be ébamela without being bamela)
híma - aunt
hímo - uncle
hímía - stepsister or female cousin—covers any relation described by "cousin" in English
hímío - stepbrother or male cousin—covers any relation described by "cousin" in English
mema (short for memefísta) - maternal grandmother
kelmema (short for kelmemefísta) - matrilineal ancestor beyond grandmother (e.g. great grandmother)
keltapa (short for kelterbezo) - grandfather, maternal or paternal; usually maternal when describing Lilitai, but paternal for other species
kelhíma - paternal grandmother or great aunt
kelhímo - paternal grandfather or great uncle
Note that "father" is used a little loosely here to describe a donor to the IVF process who may in fact be female, and almost always is when describing Lilitai themselves.
efteta - daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, or any subsequent descendent
pana ("infant") - daughter
bama/baba - biological mother (IVF surrogate) and closest caretaker; in very rare cases this may be usurped by a caretaker if the mother dies or abandons the child
atapa/apata/apapa/atata - biological father (IVF donor, may be more than one in very rare cases)
ébamela - caretaker, applies to any step-parents, biological parents other than the literal mother, or any extremely close friends of the mother; one or more of the mother's sisters often fall under this label if there are no other caretakers directly related to the child by blood
mímefta - sister or adopted sister
bamela - any of the above (although a less-important caretaker can be ébamela without being bamela)
híma - mother's sister
hímía - stepsister or daughter of mother's sister (cousin)
mema (short for memefísta) - mother's mother
kelmema (short for kelmemefísta) - matrilineal ancestor beyond grandmother (e.g. great grandmother)
egúmefta - "i don't know who you are, but you're part of my family somehow; furthermore, family reunions are annoying"
When humans were discovered, zúsika was displaced gradually by Alfí stulitrika ("the family traditions of Earth") which more closely resembles the English-speaking model we use today. The maternal-only rulings of the words above vanish, resulting in the following system. Note carefully that some words remain in the feminine gender despite being male nouns, and that there is no distinct word for great-grandfather.
efteta - daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, or any subsequent descendent
efteto - son, grandson, great-grandson, or any subsequent descendent
pana ("infant") - daughter or son
pano ("infant") - son
bama/baba - biological mother (IVF surrogate) and closest caretaker; in very rare cases this may be usurped by a caretaker if the mother dies or abandons the child
atapa/apata/apapa/atata - biological father (IVF donor, may be more than one in very rare cases)
terbezo - father (literally means "fertilizer"; technical but not very polite)
ébamela or ébamelo - caretaker, applies to any step-parents or any extremely close friends of the parents; one or more aunts or uncles often fall under this label if the mother is single
mímefta - sister or adopted sister
mímefto - brother or adopted brother
bamela or bamelo - any of the above (although a less-important caretaker can be ébamela without being bamela)
híma - aunt
hímo - uncle
hímía - stepsister or female cousin—covers any relation described by "cousin" in English
hímío - stepbrother or male cousin—covers any relation described by "cousin" in English
mema (short for memefísta) - maternal grandmother
kelmema (short for kelmemefísta) - matrilineal ancestor beyond grandmother (e.g. great grandmother)
keltapa (short for kelterbezo) - grandfather, maternal or paternal; usually maternal when describing Lilitai, but paternal for other species
kelhíma - paternal grandmother or great aunt
kelhímo - paternal grandfather or great uncle
Kinship
The Hellesan kinship system is cognatic and bilateral. An Hellesan has three surnames: the first and second are, respectively, the mother's and father's first surname, while the third is in fact the name of his/her clan. An example: Estanh Gafardeu e Turmí, nais Potgenet "Estanh Gafardeu and Turmí, of the Potgenet".
In the complete name the clan surname goes after the second (father's) surname. It can go in the way we see in the example above or suffixing –esc (from the group genitive in Peran –sken), which gives Potgenetesc in Hellesan.
The family
grandfather a ausi ause –s –s b ausi euse –s –s | etim From Peran eidu "grandfather" and eidese "grandmother", although is the feminine form which gave the Hellesan word, since eidu would gave eu, which only exists as an affective form in some dialects. It was eidese which, by analogy to the evolution of eidu, gave euse and ause, and from that the masculine appeared, ausi. From eidese we also have egi "grandfather" and ègie "grandmother". | see also old.
cousin 1 Generic. n gernès –esse –eus –esses | etim From Per. ant. gernesu "cousin", lit. "lineage brother", adapt. of Sdn. *ghernēso, from Peran hernessante and Sar. hernessantis "lineage", from Sar. and Meg. herne "line" (from Sng. ghere– "thread, rope, tube") + Meg. ernēso "brother".
2 The brothers/sisters and first cousins as a whole. m/f pl gers | etim From Per. tar. gertsu "brother, first cousin", from Per. mit. gernsu, from Per. ant. gernesu "cousin"; see cousin #1. | see also lad #3.
son n deu deure –s –s | etim Hel ant. deur "son", from Sdn. deuro, from Per. teuru and Sar. theulon.
brother 1 Generic. n orne –esse –s –esses | etim From Peran ornu "brother", from Meg. ernēso, from erneg– "origin, genesis, start".
2 The brothers/sisters and first cousins as a whole. m/f pl gers | etim From Per. tar. gertsu "brother, first cousin", from Per. mit. gernsu, from Per. ant. gernesu "cousin". | see also lad #3.
mum 1.1 Mother, in an affectionate sense. f amel –s 1.2 Mother, typical of children. f ama –es | etim All from Per. mamare, from Sate MAM–AR– "mother, maternal" « MAM– "mother, breast".
mother f a maide –s b maie –s c madhe –s | etim From Per. mit. maite "mother", from Meg. maite or mete, from Sate MAM– "mother, breast".
uncle 1.1 Generic. m audart –s 1.2 Maternal uncle. m maçanart –s 1.3 Oncle patern. m adarnat –s | etim Audart comes from Sdn. autartu, from Per. artartu "uncle", lit. "other father", from arter– "other" + artu "father". Maçanart and adarnat come, respectively, from Per. tar. maitanartu, contr. of Per. ant. *maitarnartartu, from maitarnas "maternal" + artartu "uncle", and from Per. tar. atarnatu, contr. of Per. ant. *artarnartartu, from artarnas "paternal" + artartu "uncle".
dad m a ata –s b atar –s | etim From Per. atar, ataru (Meg. atar).
father m arte –s | etim From Per. mit. artu, from Sate ART– "right, upright, erect".
aunt 1.1 Father's or mother's sister. f aice –s 1.2 Maternal aunt. f mairamadhe –s 1.3 Paternal aunt. f adramadhe –s | etim Aice comes from Per. tar. aite, which seems to be taken from child language by reduction of Per. mit. armaite, contr. of Per. ant. artermaite "aunt", lit. "other mother", from arter– "other" + maite "mother". Aite survives in Hellesan as a colloquial form of aice. Mairamadhe and adramadhe come, respectively, from Sdn. mairamaide and adramaide, from Per. mit. maitarmaite and artarmaite, from maitarnas "maternal" / artarnas "paternal" + armaite "aunt".
great-grandfather n noseu noseie –s –s | etim From Per. noseidu "great-grandfather" and noseidese "great-grandmother", lit. "two (times) grandfather/grandmother", from nos– "two, twice" + eidu "grandfather" / eidese "grandmother". Masc. and fem. forms evolved separately, from that the irregularity.
father-in-law/mother-in-law of one's son/daughter n cassandro –s cassandre –s | etim From Sdn. cansandru, from Per. tar. camansandru, from cam– "common" + mansandru "father-in-law", from Per. mit. marnesarnu, from marnu "great, big" + esarnu "foreign".
brother-/sister-in-law 1.1Brother's or sister's partner. 1.2 Partner's brother/sister. n astró –one –ons –ones | etim From Per. mit. astornu, lit. "brother from afar", from aste– "far" + ornu "brother".
2 Brother's or sister's partner. n astrorne –esse –s –esses | etim From astró "brother-/sister-in-law" + orne "brother".
3 Partner's brothers. a n astró perís –ius "pair brother-in-law –s". b f astrone perise –s "pair sister-in-law –s".
ex wife f atsdeune –s | etim From ats– (ex–) + deune "wife".
ex husband m atsdombre –s | etim From ats– (ex–) + dombre "husband".
lad 1 Young, not older than 15. n dornuys –nusye –nusyis –nusyes | etim From Per. tar. dornuisu, from Per. mit. duernuisu or duenruisu, lit. "little good one", from duenu "good, beautiful, blessed" + –ruisu (affective). | see also child, boy.
2.1 Young with enough age to get married, still single. 2.2 Young older than 15. Teenager. n dongal –e –s –es | etim From Per. duengalu, lit. "goof value", from Meg. duene "good, blesse" + gual– "valuable".
3.1 Brother/sister or first cousin. 3.2 Person that is member of the same clan than his/her halfbrother/sister or stepbrother/stepsister. n dórne –esse –s –esses | etim From Per. tar. duernu, from Per. mit. duenornu "good brother".
family 1.1 f festarie –s 1.2 Language family ************* | etim Festarie comes from Per. mit. festarie, var. of festiarte "Festia's fire", from Sdc. festeater, from éater "fire" + Festia (home spirit). Festiarte became the Peran name of the spirit of the home (Hel. Fester), getting contaminated, subsequently, with Per. aesu "fire", which gave the pleonasm festiaresue "Festia's fire fire", which already became "family".
familiar adj festariarn –s
stepson/stepdaughter 1 Person that is member of the same clan than his/her halfbrother/sister or stepbrother/stepsister. see lad #3.
2 Brother that is not from his halfbrother's/sister's or stepbrother's/stepsister's clan. m deuresarn –e –s –es | etim From Per. tar. teuresarnu, from Per. mit. teuru esarnu "foreign son".
godson/goddaughter 1 Person considered in relation with his godparents. 2.1 Adopted child. 2.2 Stepson/stepdaughter from the same clan than his/her siblings. n dornol –e –s –es | etim From Per. tar. durnolu, from Per. mit. teurundolu, lit. "beloved son". | see also lad #3.
son-in-law Son's/daughter's husband. m neu –s | etim From Per. neuku "young".
half brother/sister 1 Person that is member of the same clan than his/her half brother's/sister's. see lad #3.
2 Brother that is not from the same clan than his half brothers/sisters. m ornesarn –e –s –es | etim From Per. tar. ornesarnu, from Per. mit. ornu esarnu "foreign brother".
heir 1 Who receives an inheritance or part of it n hernès –esse –eus –esses | etim From Per. herne(n)su "heir", from hernessante "lineage", from Meg. herne "line".
2 Older son in a home. m broceu –s | etim From Sdn. bruyceu, from Per. mit. bruktedu, from Per. ant. apruktedu "heir", lit. "rooted house".
stepmother 1 Mother that is a member of the same clan than her stepsons/daughters. see godfather/godmother #3.
2 Mother that is not from the same clan than her stepsons/stepdaughters. f maitesarne –s | etim From Per. tar. maitesarne, from Per. mit. maite esarne "foreign mother".
midwife/godmother 1 Midwife. 2 Wet nurse. 3 nursemaid. f camaide –s | etim From Per. mit. kamaite "midwife", lit. "beside mother". Meanings #1, #2 and #3 have a common term because in ancient times, within a clan, women assisted themselves during births, took care of other women's children and breast-fed them when the natural mother was absent; usually the sisters or first-cousins of a mother breast-fed her children.
husband m dombre –s | etim From Per. tar. dombru, from Per. mit. duenbruki "husband", lit. "good man".
wife f deune –s | etim From Per. tar. deunde, from Per. mit. duendame "wife", lit. "good woman".
nephew/niece n anyor –e –s –es | etim From Sdn. nandeuro, from Per. mit. nanteuru "nephew", lit. "son/daughter from beyond".
grandson/granddaughter n tardor –e –s –es | etim From Per. mit. tartoru, from Per. ant. tarteuru, lit. "son/daughter from in front".
daughter-in-law Son's or daughter's wife. f noce –s | etim From Per. neuke "young".
stepfather 1 Father that is a member of the same clan than his stepsons/stepdaughters. see stepfather.
2 Father that is not from the same clan than his stepsons/stepdaughters. m artesarn –s | etim From Per. tar. artesarnu, from Per. mit. artu esarnu "foreign father".
godfather/godmother 1.1 Stepfather that is from the same clan than his stepsons/stepdaughters. 1.2 Adoptive father. 2.1 Man who protects someone in his/her purposes. 2.2 Male patron. m a ardol –s b ardoval –s | etim From Per. tar. artualu, from Per. mit. artugualu "godfather", lit. "valuable father".
3.1 Stepmother that is from the same clan than her stepsons/stepdaughters. 3.2 Adoptive mother. 4.1 Women that protects someone in his/her purposes. 4.2 Female patron. f a maidole –s b mairole –s | etim Hel. ant. maideule, maidole, from Per. tar. maiteuale (by mimesis with artualu "godfather", instead of maitegole), from Per. mit. maiteguale "godmother", lit. "valuable mother".
relative 1 Member of the same clan or family. n tarol –e –s –es | etim From Per. tar. tareulu, from Per. mit. talebolu "relative", lit. "typical of two".
2 Someone's parents, uncles, aunts and grandarents as a whole. 3 Legal guardian of a minor. n domarn –e –s –es | etim From Per. tar. donmarnu, from Per. mit. duenemarnu, lit. "good big", in the sense of "good older".
heiress Older daughter in a home. f bricede –s | etim From Sdn. breyceude, from Per. mit. brukteude, from Per. ant. aprukteude "heiress", lit. "rooted house".
great-great-grandfather/-mother a m noseu noscar "second great-grandfather" b f noseie noscare "second great-grandmother" | etim All forms that move back beyond noseu noseie "great-grandfather/mother”, this one included, are formed with these words followed by the ordinal. Since 'great-grandfather/mother' is the first in the list, 'great-great-grandfather/mother' is the 'second great-grandfather/mother'.
father-in-law/mother-in-law 1 Father, mother, of one of the two partners in relation to the other. n sandro sandre –s –s | etim From Sdn. sandru, from Per. tar. mansandru, from Per. mit. marnesarnu "father-in-law", lit. "older one from beyond".
2 The mother of the wife in relation to the other partner. f damaire –s | etim From Per. tar. damaite, from Per. mit. damemaite "mother-in-law", lit. "mother of the wife".
3 The father of the wife in relation to the other partner. m damart –s | etim From Per. mit. damartu "father-in-law", lit. "father of the wife".
4 The mother of the husband in relation to the other partner. f brungaire –s | etim From Per. tar. brunkaite, from Per. mit. brukimaite "mother-in-law", lit. "mother of the husband".
5 The father of the husband in relation to the other partner. m brugard –s | etim From Per. mit. brukartu "father-in-law", lit. "father of the husband".
widow(er) mmm
quoting Anguipes, Foreigner:Blood Kinship: maternal uncles are "mother's maternal siblings", there is no term for their children. There are no terms for paternal aunts or their children.
Just curious: are paternal aunts and their children taboo relatives, where you're not allowed to talk to them? Or is there just no specific term for them?
quoting kodé:quoting Anguipes:Blood Kinship: maternal uncles are "mother's maternal siblings", there is no term for their children. There are no terms for paternal aunts or their children.
Just curious: are paternal aunts and their children taboo relatives, where you're not allowed to talk to them? Or is there just no specific term for them?
There's no specific root term, and they're not blood relatives by celestial law. Which makes it a good idea to talk to them, as they are perfect endogamy fodder (along with your paternal uncles and their children, or children of your maternal uncles...).