kinship terms (Henaudute)

From: "Fabian" <fabian@...>
> From: "Anton Sherwood" <bronto@...>
>
> > Is there a word in any language for "father's second wife's former
> > husband's adopted daughter"?  I doubt it -- and yet I can say it with
> > the limited vocabulary of English.
>
> Come to think of it, does anyone's conlang have a word for "mother's
> cousin's husband' sister"? This particular relationship has seen active
> usage in my family, and the woman in question is a moderately famous
> singer, having sung in the Eurovision song contest.
In Henaudute, the only lang I have with significant amounts of kinship terms,
you'd have to say it a little more obliquely, as there doesn't seem to be even a
word for 'cousin'.

What we have:
({ee} is pronounced /{:/)

    mad-          "wife" / "woman"
    deena         "husband" / "man"
    dal           "older brother"
    rhoph-        "younger brother"
    tirrhi        "sister"
    atra          "brother's wife"
   *rhothi        "sister's husband"
    hik-          "son"
    deenu         "son's wife"
    nee           "daughter"
   *hut-          "daughter's husband"
    deethne       "father"
    meemne        "mother"
    khoda         "father's father"
   *khoda         "wife's father"
    buu           "father's mother"
   *theemi khoda  "mother's father"
   *teema         "mother's mother" or "wife's mother"
    pekh-         "brother's son" or "son's son"

The people marked with asterisks are not even technically "family", as they
belong to someone else's patriline and someone else's household, although they
still receive use as names ("khoda" really is just a word meaning "head of
household",... words like "rhothi" and "hus" see use when marrying off the women
of the family, and, I think a Hena would say something along the lines of the
women never ceasing to talk about their mothers!).  Some of these terms probably
have larger reference...I  think "nee" would also refer to one's nieces
[brothers' daughters!] as well as your own daughters, for example, and it may
even be that one's uncle is "deethne" just as much as one's father is.  I will
probably have to invent a term for father's sister, something along the lines of
"hunalki" (< *wunu-qalik, for Ardaists).

Well, if your uncle is "deethne", then there your cousin words are too:  they're
indistinguishable from the others in your generation, your brothers and sisters
"dal" "rhops" and "tirrhi".  But again, these are only your father's brother's
children.  [In Hena, your mother's cousin's husband's sister isn't functionally
related to you!]

So... let's remake this list on these principles for actual use...

    mad-          "wife" / "woman"
    deena         "husband" / "man"
    dal           "older isogenerational male agnate"
    rhoph-        "younger isogenerational male agnate"
    tirrhi        "isogenerational female agnate"
    atra          "wife of dal or rhops"
   *rhothi        "husband of tirrhi"
    hik-          "son"
    deenu         "son's wife"
    nee           "daughter"
   *hut-          "daughter's husband"
    deethne       "male of parents' generation"
    meemne        "mother"
    hunalki       "father's sister"
    khoda         "male of grandparents' generation"
   *khoda         "wife's father"
    buu           "father's mother"
   *theemi khoda  "mother's father"
   *teema         "mother of any woman of the household"
    pekh-         "nephew or grandson"

I *think* that as far as incest goes, marrying (etc.) any person named here (or
their children) would be tabooed.  (Well, okay, not including your actual
wife/husband, you're allowed to marry her/him..)  [I haven't worked this quite
out yet.]

        *Muke!

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