What are the attitudes about family in the culture(s) you are studying? How are families organized? Is the family evolving? How are these attitudes reflected in the language?
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Family is of the most utmost importance in Turkish culture. Most if not all decisions in life are strongly influenced by family relatives and revolve around those individuals considered close them. These strong family ties can be seen especially in especially important moments in a Turkish individuals life. One example of the vital role of family in Turkish culture is the influence that they have on a couple's marriage. Whether it be an arranged marriage or a love marriage, Turks value the opinions of their parents and families so much that their consent tends to be either a maker or breaker when making the decision to get married. This tendency demonstrates a strong value of family.
In the Turkish language, the way in which Turks refer to certain family members is also unique. Interestingly enough, the Turkish language draws clear distinctions between certain family members that come from the father's side of the family and those that come from the mother's side. For example, your would call your mother's mother "Anneanne" but you would refer to your father's mother as "Babanne. Similarly, your mother's sister would be called "Teyze" and your father's sister would be called "Hala." Such distinctions make the Turkish language very clear and distinct.
Family is a very important thing in Korean culture. Children are extremely filial toward their parents. It used to be a normal occurrence that someone will live with their parents until marriage and then have their parents live with them in a new home. The value of family comes from Confucianism where filial piety is a prized virtue. It is believed that one’s existence as a human being is a continuation or extension of the existence of their parents which are extensions of their parents and so on. It is often that one’s personal desires are suppressed for the interests of the family as a whole.
There are very specific attitudes about family to the Basques, which include the giving of the baserri, or family farm, and knowing the eight surnames of your ancestors. Families are organized in a very nuclear way, with only the immediate family living together usually, although in the old days elderly family members would live with their children in the baserri. This shows a little bit of a change in Basque culture, and reflects the evolving values of Western culture in general. This is also reflected in the language of Basque surnames, where a family's baserri can be located solely by the surname of the people who inhabit it.
In Korea, family is viewed as an interconnected unit-- it is expected that when children become adults they take care of their parents when they are old. In America, autonomy is highly valued and parents rarely ask anything of their children when they grow up. Many children move out of their parents house by the time they are 18, and besides an obvious sense of respect, nothing else is expected. In South Korea, filial duty is very common. In fact, children feel as though they "incur a debt to their parents who gave birth to them and raised them." Many young people in Korea do not move out of their homes when they become adults, and usually live with their parents until they get married. Although times have changed, in Old Korea, it was expected that children get married and have children to continue the family lineage. However, in contemporary times, it is now deemed acceptable to choose whether or not one wants to get married.
These attitudes are reflected in the language in ways that we would expect. There are certain verbal and non verbal communication cues we should use when speaking to adults in South Korea. We must bow and speak formally, depending on the age and status of the person who are talking to. In America, there is a standard way of talking in terms of language. We use the same words, however, the intonation may be different.
Source: http://asiasociety.org/education/value-and-meaning-korean-family
Family is a big part of Korean culture. I could even go as far as saying that filial piety is the single strongest driving factor of Korean culture but there is no factual basis behind that statement.
Everything starts with respect for elders; there is a strong sense of respecting your elders (Especially elderly family members). Younger generations' desire to achieve success usually trace back to their respect for their parents and their desire to make them happy. There is a strong emphasis on how the elders of the family sacrificed their life to pave the way for the younger generation.
Aside from respecting the elderly family members, Korean families are very tight downwards as well. There are cultural holidays such as chuseok and Korean New years when the entire extended family gather and share a big feast. Especially during the new year, the younger kids bow to the older members of the family and wish them a long and prosperous life. In return, the older members of the family give the younger kids allowance for the year. There are various cultural activities like these that build the bond between family members whether they are part of the immediate family or further away.
In one way or another, family is sacred in korean culture.
The family may actually be the most important part of Korean life. Korean people do not practice individualism. They are a collectivist society and what an individual does would be influenced based on his or her family welfare. Korean culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism and it teaches that fathers be the head of the family and has the primary responsibility to provide for his family. The eldest son is expected to fulfill his duties first to the parents, then to his siblings (oldest to youngest), then to his wife, and finally to his children. These attitudes are definitely reflected in the language. One would speak in "jondaemal" to his or her elders such as the parents or grandparents. Speaking in "Jondaemal" signifies respect to whom one is speaking to. The language spoken changes its form to become more polite and soft. This is usually used when speaking to someone who is older or who is of higher ranking in terms of social status.
Family holds a significant role in Pakistani culture. Families are different from those seen in the west because of the importance and close-knit relationship that is seen in the extended families. The children in the family are expected to stay and help parents once they become adults. The mentality is that parents should be taken care of not just financially but socially as well. The parents have raised, bathed, and fed their children when their hands and feet could not work way an adult could and when they reach old age when they are unable to use their hands and feet in the same way, children are expected to help them. They are expected to keep them company. Therefore when the son gets married, it is quite normal for the son to come back and reside with the family with his wife. This type of organization is slowly evolving depending on if the area is urbanized or rural. Affluent families may have a separate floor or apart of their house built to include their daughter in law into their household but maintain somewhat of a distance. These attitudes are reflected in the language in extended families. The daughter in law communicates in a formal and respectful manner with her mother in law. It is very common for the daughter in law to address her mother in law as “Ma” or “Ami” which is translated into mother. The son also does the same with his wife’s in-laws. This language between the son and daughter in law reflects that close-knit relationship that is encouraged among extended families.
The typical Indonesian family (here, I focus on Balinese families) is different from the typical American family. To be sure, circumstances and living conditions are quite different between Bali and, say, many parts of Long Island. One must be cautious when describing familial relations then so as to not "victim blame." In rural areas in Bali, it is common to experience extended families living in one compound on one lot of land. This occurs for different reasons. The primary reason is economics. In urban areas, extended families are less of the norm. Rather, single families live in homes or apartments, however, it is expected to live near your relatives. Family members' wealth and material goods are often shared within the extended family. Therefore, private property -- among the family -- rarely exists. In sum, this model produces a system wherein individual interests are subordinated to the collective. This process leads to conformity among family members, and gossip spreads quickly among family units.
These dynamics are captured in Bahasa Indonesia. It is seen as extremely disrespectful to call a family member by their name -- even a brother or sister. One must address his older sister or brother (kakak) or for their younger brother or sister (adik). If you meet someone, for example, you will address him or her with a term that denotes a higher status -- without even asking for their age.
Family is very important in the Korean culture. There are ceremonies that are put on by families to respect relatives who have passed even a decade ago. In general, Koreans use the formal form, "nopimmal" to their elders and anyone that is older or deserves respect. There are also different hierarchies of nopimmal. When speaking to your grandparents, one is expected to use the highest form. However, to uncles or aunts, it is expected that you use nopimmal, but not as formally as you would to your grandparents.
Families are organized similarly to the American household. However, there is a divide between the in-laws. In Korean culture, it is not rare for the bride to be scared of or not like the mother of her husband. This is portrayed often in Korean dramas.
Family is the most important thing in Turkish Culture. Some young people at my age in Turkey live their families or even with their extended families. It is common to see a house in which the parents and the children live with their grandparents. It is so important to call your extended family members at least once in a week. People get together with their whole family in Bayram ( which is like a religious fest in Turkey). In Turkey, girls tend to get married at an early age. It is important to get married, have a family and have babies after getting married. There are some young people who are not traditional and those people are more influenced by European culture and tend to get married after they have their carriers. But this is only %10 Turkish population. The ways families organized change region to region in Turkey. Because in the east part of Turkey, There is a big Kurdish population and their culture influenced that area in terms of family organizations. In that area, people tend to have at least more than five children whereas in west part of Turkey people only have 2 children at most.