Re: OT: Language & clans? Re: OT: Ukraine

On Monday 06 December 2004 00:47, Sally Caves wrote:

[snip]

and even more delightfully weird, father and son, father and daughter,
mother and son, mother and daughter, parents and children would call
each other by a word that meant "parental-filial kinship relation."
Let's call it bazzyt, /ba'zit/. "Vazzyt!" says the child to his parent.
What is it, vazzyt? says the parent to the child.  Of course if one
wanted to address his father, one might say Vazzyt Hmyhhkal! (using the
parent's first name).  Same with any of the children.  Same with
aunt/uncle/niece/nephew, etc.


Something along these lines exists in colloquial Arabic, at least as far
as children and parents are concerned.  In colloquial Arabic (I'm
familiar with Palestinian, but I think it applies more widely), a father
can address his child (of either sex) as "yabba" = ya [vocative] + abba
[father], and a mother can address her child (ditto) as yamma = ya +
[a]mma.  In other words the parent says to the child the form of address
the child would be exected to use to them.  The child can also use the
same term in replying.  These forms are common and not at all esoteric.
I say "can" because there are other possible forms of address (eg the
father could say "ibni" = my son instead).

Delightfully weird? Maybe, and it's going on here every day!