Kinship Distinctions According to Generation

Synonyms

Distinction according to genealogical level

Definition

“Kinship distinctions according to generation” refers to linguistic distinctions between kin who are of the same generation and those who are in the generations above or below you. These distinctions exist, to some extent, in all languages. For example, in English, we distinguish three basic generations of kin: ego’s (or the speakers) generation, brother, sister, and cousin; the generation above ego, mother, father, aunt, and uncle; and the generation below ego – son, daughter, niece, and nephew. To refer to other generations, we can append the prefix “great-” or “grand-” to these basic terms. These generations are often referred to as G⁺¹ for the parental generation, G⁰ for ego’s generation, and G⁻¹ for the generation of ego’s children. This system is extensible, so G⁺² would refer to ego’s grandparental generation.

Introduction

Generational distinctions are found to some extent in all languages and are one of Héritier’s...