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Language, kinship, family
Is there “kinship” and “family”in other animal species?
Mother-child bonds in higher primates
Evolutionary origins and biological basis
Conditions of life in the trees
Fewer offspring per birth.
Greater care of each offspring
Weak or absent bondsbeyond the mother-child bond
“Fathers” are marginal. provide no special are not recognized.
Siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins? not recognized. Not given special treatment
Conclusion: other animal species have: biological relationships but no “kinship system” cultural sense.
Human kinship systems are based on language
A general term to distinguish a sub-group of humans “family”, “kin”, “relatives”
Special terms for different types of relatives. “Kinship terminologies”
Rules for behavior toward different subgroups of kin
Children are taught the terminology for different groups of kin the rules of behavior toward each group
Conclusion: The cultural system “kinship” requires language.
Objective categories of kin
Consanguineal vs. affinal “blood relatives” vs. “in-laws” by marriage
Lineal vs. collateral
Ego’s generation vs. ascending / descending gen.
These are universal categories used by anthropologists. Similar to the phonological grid of linguists
Different cultures use their own terms
Chinese vs. English kinship terminology
Patrilateral kin vs. Matrilateral kin Chinese distinguishes.
More distinctions on father’s side. Mother’s kin often called “outsider”
English merges. No diff. between father’s and mother’s kin
Birth order and seniority Chinese distinguishes English merges
Family names: both are patronymic
Why have different terminologies emerged?
Not simply linguistic differences.
Theory: terminologies reflect social organization
The “patrilineal clan” served three functions Landholding group Military group Exogamous marital group
Terminological “lag”
Social conditions may change, but old terms persist.
A terminology may reflect past social organization.
Evolution of terminologies
Impact of French on English collateral terms
Hypothetical terminological impact of the one-child family system.
Summary of major conclusions
All animals have “biological relations”.Only human language permits “kinship”.Kinship is a cultural system with two
elements: Kinship labels and terminologies Rules of behavior
Kinship terminologies differ among cultures.Kinship terminologies evolve.But they evolve more slowly than behavior.They may reflect the past.
Diversity of kinship terminologies