Kinship

Question 1

Kinship Terminology

Answer 1

Reveals how the categories of relatives reflect the social construction of reality. A universal feature of languages, extremely important in social organization

Question 2

Three major factors in the English Kin System

Answer 2

Gender, Generation, Blood … also marriage

Question 3

Two approaches to studying Kin

Answer 3

1) Relating kinship terms to specific words

2) Various kinship terms are collected the basic components of each term is determined

Question 4

Semantic composition and Circumlocutions

Answer 4

• Only half the term is new ex. Grand-father
• No word for relationship because it is unimportant
  Difficulies in relating kinship terms to words.
  also kinterms used for non-kin

Question 5

How does the english kinship system fail?

Answer 5

Does not reflect new social conditions ex. nuclear families, Mixed families, single sex marriages

Question 6

Taxonomy

Answer 6

Splitting the world into non-random concepts and arranging them into classifications
Wardhaugh’s Examples:
Pronoun system of Palaung

Question 7

Colour Terms

Answer 7

All languages make use of basic colour terms. Terms are a single word, not the obvious subdivisions (ex. crimson), in general use (not only by painters), not restricted (ex. blond only for hair)

Question 8

What did Berlin and Kay reveal?

Answer 8

Patterns of colour terms. 1, 2) White and Black first, 3) red 4, 5) yellow or green
Russian has two types of blue

Question 9

How are colour and technical progress related?

Answer 9

Little technological development = fewest colour terms ex. Jale of New Guinea only have dark and light
Technologically advanced societies have terms for all 11 colours

Question 10

Prototype Theory

Answer 10

Concepts are best viewed as a reference to typical instances rather than as a set of features

Question 11

“Typical Instances” of Prototype theory

Answer 11

• flexible allowing for creativity

- applied to social situations, people etc.

Question 12

Taboo

Answer 12

prohibition or avoidance in any society of behavior

• believed to be harmful to society members
• extreme politeness constraint
• term borrowed from Tongan in Polynesian

Question 13

Typical Taboo subjects

Answer 13

Sex, sex organs, natural bodily functions, death.

Question 14

When may Taboos be broken

Answer 14

To show freedom from social constraints

To expose taboos as irrational and unjustified

Question 15

Taboos in multilingual societies

Answer 15

Result in avoidance of word similar to taboo word in language X in language Y ex. - Avoidance of Thai word phrig for chili pepper cause it sounds like prick, avoidance of english words et and key
- Name change of Russian Mennonites from Dick to Dyck

Question 16

How can a language be filthy or clean?

Answer 16

The filth of a word lies in the collective ear of society. If a person does not know the meaning of the word the word is inoffensive

Question 17

Euphemisms

Answer 17

Used to talk about something indirectly in an acceptable way. Allow us to: - talk about taboo things, make language presentable, dress up language