Chinese-and-English-Kinship-Terms-学生.doc

Chinese and English Kinship Terms Abstract In this paper a comparison is made between Chinese and English kinship systems to see their differences and similarities, and a tentative explanation is also given to the differences of these two systems from the aspect of culture Chinese and English Kinship TermsThesis statement：Chinese kinship system and English kinship system are heavily influenced by their respective cultures. Outline： 1. Introduction 2. Comparison between Chinese and English kinship terms 2. 1 Similarities 2. 2 Differences 3. Cultural connotation of Chinese and English kinship terms 3. 1 Cultural connotation of Chinese kinship terms 3. 1. 1 The influence of the family-centered economy 3. 1. 2 The value of close family relationship 3. 1. 3 The value regarding the system of respect3. 1. 4 The over-emphasis on the differences between consanguine and affinal relations 3. 2 Cultural connotation of English kinship terms 4. Conclusion Works cited Chinese and English Kinship Terms1. Introduction Throughout human history people have sought to identify themselves and others in social contextsThis identification comes, in part, through the act of naming, which carries great social significance for us（Trenhohn; Jensen 1992)As we learn to identify and categorize the world around us, we also learn our place within itOur name sets us apart from every other human beingJust as our individual names connote our uniqueness within society, so do the kinship terms apply to us Kinship terms, according to ERLeach, , “category words by means of which an individual is taught to recognize the significant groupings in the social structure into which he is born（143）They are the lexically identical terms and unique terminological systems labeled with a distinctive social and cultural nature. Each culture has defined its own set of kinship terms and the roles they serve in societyThese kinship terms may be influenced by the cultures power orientation, philosophical or religious assumptions, environment, or any number of factorsThrough kinship terms, it is possible to understand a cultures power structure, particular interpersonal communication patterns, and normative elements of the family system, structure, and functions. In different societies and cultures, there must be different systems of kinship termsSome systems are “richer or“more precise than others, reflecting the social and cultural differences. An understanding of the unique cultural meanings and communicative functions of the systems will not only help us better understand different peoples and different cultures, but also help us improve intercultural communication In this paper, Id like to make a comparison between Chinese and English kinship systems to see their differences and similarities, and then Ill try to give a tentative explanation to the differences of these two systems from the aspect of cultureFrom the comparison, maybe we can know the communicative functions they play in their own society.2. Comparison between Chinese and English kinship terms As we have mentioned above that kinship terms are unique terminological systems that are used to identify groupings in the society into which one is born. Different societies and cultures have different kinship terms. In contrast to English kinship terms, the Chinese kinship system is very complicated. The following diagrams show the comparison between some English and Chinese kinship termsDiagram 1Relation to EgoChinese kinship termEnglish kinship termPaternal grandfatherZu fu (祖父)GrandfatherMaternal grandfatherWaizufu （外祖父）Paternal grandmotherZu mu （祖母）GrandmotherMaternal grandmotherWai zu mu (外祖母)FatherFu qin （父亲）FatherMotherMu qin (母亲)MotherSonEr zi (儿子)Son DaughterNu er (女儿)DaughterSons sonSun zi (孙子)Grandson Daughters sonWai sun zi (外孙子)Sons daughterSun nu (孙女)Granddaughter Daughters daughterWai sun nu (外孙女)Diagram 2Relation to ego Chinese kinship termEnglish kinship termFathers elder brotherBo fu (伯父)UncleFathers younger brotherShu fu (叔父)Fathers sisters husbandGu fu (姑父)Mothers brotherJiu fu (舅父)Mothers sisters husbandYi fu(姨父)Fathers elder brothers wifeBo mu(伯母)Aunt Fathers younger brothers wifeShen mu(婶母)Fathers sistersGu mu(姑母)Mothers brothers wifeJiu mu(舅母)Mothers sisterYi ma(姨妈)Diagram 3Relation to ego Chinese kinship termEnglish kinship termElder brotherGe ge (哥哥)Brother Younger brother Di di(弟弟)Elder sisters husbandJie fu(姐夫)Brother-in-lawYounger sisters husbandMei fu(妹夫)Elder sisterJie jie (姐姐)Sister Younger sisterMei mei (妹妹)Elder brothers wifeSao zi(嫂子)Sister-in-lawYounger brothers wifeDi mei(弟妹)Diagram 4Relation to ego Age to egoChinese kinship termEnglish kinship termFathers brothers sonElderTang ge (堂弟)CousinYounger Tang di(堂哥)Mothers brothers son and sisters sonElder Yi biao ge(姨表哥)Younger Yi biao di(姨表弟)Fathers sisters son Elder Gu biao ge(姑表哥) Cousin Younger Gu biao di(姑表弟)Fathers brothers daughter Elder Tang jie (堂姐)Younger Tang mei(堂妹)Fathers sisters daughterElder Gu biao jie(姑表姐) Younger Gu biao mei(姑表妹)Mothers brothers and sisters daughter9Elder Yi biao jie (姨表姐)Younger Yi biao mei(姨表妹)Diagram 5Relation to ego Chinese kinship termEnglish kinship termBrothers sonZhi zi（侄子）NephewSisters sonWai sheng（外甥）Brothers daughterZhi nu （侄女）NieceSisters daughterWai sheng nu (外甥女)From the above diagrams, a brief comparison between English and Chinese kinship terms points to more differences than similarities2. 1 Similarities In using kinship terms both English and Chinese. share the same semantic meanings of generation, sex and certain kinds of relations. For example, both languages use such kinship terms as“father, “mother, “son, “daughter and“uncle to express family relationsWhile in the dimension of generation, English“son”is contrasted with Chinese“er zi, in the dimension of sex, English“father and Chinese“fu qin are contrasted with English“mother”and Chinese“mu qin”And in the dimension of linearity, English“uncle is contrasted with Chinese kinship terms such as“130 full, “shu fu, “gu full, jiu fu and“yifu However, there is still an exception in English kinship terms speaking of the dimension of sexThe English word“cousin carries no meaning of sex. So it is not clear from the word itself if ones cousin is a man or a woman. Besides sex, English and Chinese kinship terms differ in two major dimensions：relative age within the same generation in a horizontal relationship and consanguine versus affinal relations in both horizontal and vertical relationships2. 2 DifferencesChinese kinship terms differ from English kinship terms in that Chinese kinship terms reflect age differences within the same generationFor example, general terms such as“brother and“sister in English, expressed by two pairs of words in Chinese indicating both age and sex：ge ge（elder brother) and di di（younger brother), jie jie（elder sister) and mei mei（younger sister)It is quite common in English to say, “He is my brother, while in Chinese you have to make it clear by saying, “Hes my ge ge or“Hes my di di, making clear that this brother is older or younger than the speaker The word “cousin in Chinese can refer to brothers and sisters depending also on the sex and relative age to self. Thus, the word“cousin could mean egos“ge（older brother), di（younger brother), jie（older sister), or mei（younger sister)”These kinship terms then fall into two categories. Chinese call them“biao”and“tang, “Biao”represents affinal relationship, whereas“tang, represents consanguineous relationshipIt seems that neither affinal nor consanguineous relationships, as indicated in these kinship terms, are as important in English as they, in Chinese.Difference in the dimension of consanguine versus affinal relations is also found in the way Chinese label grandparentsIn Chinese grandparents are divided into paternal and maternal grandparents. Paternal grandfather and grandmother are called“zu fu, “zu mu” respectively whereas maternal grandfather and grandmother, called“wai zu fu and“wai zu mu” respectively“Wai”in Chinese means“outside”, suggesting that this vertical relationship between generations is not related by blood, but by marriage. However, it seems that the English language pays little attention to the differences between consanguine and affinal relations in its kinship termsAnother distinctive example is the kinship term“uncleAccording to Ullmann, the English word“uncle“comes via French from the Latin avunculus, which meant only one kind of uncle, namely, the mothers brother, whereas the fathers brother was called patruus. Since the latter word fell into disuse, the descendants of avunculus have come to stand for both kinds of uncle, so that the range of the Latin term has been doubled（228）In the Chinese language, there are as many as five terms for the concept of uncle: bo fu, shu fu, gu fu, jiu fu and yi fu, all indicating the different relations with ego, as shown in Diagram 2 It is obvious that the Chinese language has more kinship terms than the English languageThen, some questions are raised：Why does the Chinese language have so many kinship terms? Are there any reasons for Chinese people to consider seriously all those consanguineous, affinal, lineal and collateral relations? Can we find some natural links between this aspect of language and culture? As Yotsukura states, “Language and culture are fused as denotation and connotation of wordsThus, when linguists try to analyze language in Toto, they cannot avoid referring to the culture behind languageAnalyzing language requires analyzing culture”（270)Assuredly, behind the kinship terms in the Chinese and English languages, there must be some relevant influential factors of their cultures.3. The Cultural Connotation of Chinese and English Kinship Terms3. 1 The cultural connotation of Chinese kinship terms3. 1. 1 The influence of the family-centered economyFirst and foremost, the traditional Chinese family-centered economy has a great influence on the development of the system of Chinese kinship termsFor thousands of years, people in rural areas have been living separately in small villages. In many cases a village constitutes a large farmi1yAll the villagers share one family name and have the same ancestorsInside this big family, members, labeled with specific kinship teams according to their age, generation, sex, and other factors such as marriageThey can never get confused about their relations with the other members, For example, if ones father has three elder brothers and two younger brothers, then he can call them, respectively, first bo fu, second bo fu, third bo fu, first shu fu and second shu fu. In the broad family（the village）the ordinal number becomes even higher, You may hear someone call another villager seventh bo mu or ninth shu fuBecause people of this village consider themselves the same as a family writ-large, incest is firmly prohibited. One can never marry his aunt even if he is older than her；and very often people of the same age from different generations3. 1. 2 The value of close family relationshipThe second reason for the Chinese people to have so many kinship terms is that Chinese people value the close family relationship and prefer living together with or near their familiesThis is greatly influenced by Chinas great teacher and philosopher Confucius, who educated his people not to study or work far away from home while their parents were still alive. This concept has since become one of the traditions of Chinese culture. Even in todays society, many people working far away from home feel certain kinds of guilt simply because they are not able to live with or near their aged parents or grandparentsThose aged persons would feel proud to have four generations living under the same roof, and would consider their childrens presence as the greatest family happiness. Because of this concept of close family ties, Chinese families are usually very large. Since people prefer living with or near their families, family members encounter each other frequently in daily routine；therefore, it is convenient for them to keep those precise kinship terms3. 1. 3 The value regarding the system of respectThe value regarding the system of respect may be the third reason why the Chinese language has a large number of kinship termsIn China, the kinship term is always used in the coordination with the word of seniority. It is a general rule that the younger generation must respect the older generationKinship terms such as grandparents, parents, or even elder brother, represent authority and superiority, while kinship terms such as son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, or even younger brother and younger sister, suggest inferiority and obedienceAccording to the feudal idea, a father not only owns respect from his children but also has the right to guide, teach, abuse, beat or even kill themThus the relationship between a father and a son is not simply a kinship term vs. another, but respected vs. respect, order vs. obedience, lord vsservantLu Xun（1881一1936）, the greatest writer of modern China, tells a very funny and bitter anecdote in his most famous short story “The True Story of Ah Q Ah Q, a spiritually weak poor peasant, always comforted him self by the means of winning a psychological victoryFrequently, he was scorned and abused by a group of idlers. If the idlers were still not satisfied, but continued to bait him, they would in the end come to blowsThen only after Ah Q had, to all appearances, been defeated, had his brownish pigtail pulled and his head bumped against the wall four or five times, would the idlers walk away, satisfied at having wonAh Q would stand there for a second, thinking to himself, “It is as if I were beaten by my sonWhat is the world coming to nowadays. Thereupon he too would walk away, satisfied at having won（Lu 1974：32-33） Here, Ah Q was greatly satisfied only by thinking of himself as the others fatherKinship terms play a very important role in daily life because, according to Chinese tradition, the inferior is not allowed to call the superior by name , for that is considered against morality and the social orderIn feudal society in China, the names of the sovereign and parents were taboo and could not be used except in a mutilated formFor example, in the most influential classic novel, Dream of the Red Mansion, the heroine Lin Daiyu, a beauty from a rich family, “always reads the character min as“mi and writes it with a stroke missing in school simply because the name of her mother is min（Tsao 1957：24）This is historical and can be found in literature, but many people today still stick to this conception and refuse to call their parents or the sovereign by name.3. 1. 4 The over-emphasis on the differences between consanguine and affinal relations The over-emphasis on the differences between consanguine and affinal relations might be another reason why Chinese have so many terms for kinsmenIn Chinese kinship terms, there is a clear distinction between paternal line and maternal lineThe relatives of paternal side and of maternal side have different interrelationship with the egoAccording to the patriarchal clan system, the relatives of paternal side are closer than those of maternal sideBecause of the long tradition of discrimination against women, wives are looked upon as outsiders of the family and daughters future outsiders. Ones fathers brothers and sisters are closer than his/her mothers brothers and sisters；brotherswives are closer than sistershusbands；a womans husbands brothers and sisters are closer than her sistershusbands and brotherswives. The relatives of paternal side are members of the same big family while those of maternal side are outsidersThe patriarchal clan system of China is based on consanguinityAs the family is usually formed in accordance with paternal blood tie and the big family is the basic unit of economic activities as well, it is necessary to distinguish those of paternal side from relatives of maternal side through the use of different kinship terms. Of course, things have changed a great deal in recent decades and today women are not looked down upon as they once were. Nevertheless, the dividing line between consanguine and affinal relations, which has created so many kinship terms, still exists3. 2 The cultural connotation of English kinship terms The simple English kinship system represents the characteristics of English people. In their society, people sing high praise for independence and pay a lot of attention to solidarityTheir family structure is comparatively simple. After marriage, the sons and daughters usually move out of their parents house and live an independent lifeWith the development of industry and progress of society, more and more people prefer nuclear family. Only in some great or important holidays or festivals do the relatives get together and visit each otherTherefore, in their mind, there are no distinct differences between relatives and friends and it is not necessary to distinguis