Re: Senyecan kinship system
| From: | Dirk Elzinga <dirk_elzinga@...> |
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| Date: | Friday, October 15, 2004, 21:58 |
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On Oct 12, 2004, at 4:45 PM, caeruleancentaur wrote:
> The Senyecan kinship system is pretty simple. If anyone can discern
> which of the 6 it is, I'd appreciate knowing it.
[snip]
I plotted your terms on a kin term worksheet (basically just a blank
chart of the same sort found on the website), and it looks like your
system is Sudanese (with distinct words for each kind of cousin).
My impression is that conlang kin terms tend to be very analytical,
with morphemes for mother/father/sister/brother/son/daughter forming
the basic units and words for cousin/aunt/uncle being transparently
composed; yours was no exception. I thought taliesin's system was
interesting in not making sex distinctions.
I tried to avoid an overabundance of compositional kin terms by having
all but the cross-cousins represented by unanalyzable roots. The
cross-cousins are _te-_ 'relative' + _-nga_ 'female' or _-ma_ 'male';
hence, _tenga_ 'female cross cousin' and _tema_ 'male cross cousin'.
Dirk
--
Dirk Elzinga
Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu
"I believe that phonology is superior to music. It is more variable and
its pecuniary possibilities are far greater." - Erik Satie
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