How are families organized? Is the family evolving? How are these attitudes reflected in the language?
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How are families organized? Is the family evolving? How are these attitudes reflected in the language?
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Iranian culture is very patriarchal, with the father supposed to be the one who makes all decisions for the family. Extended family is also very important in Iranian society and many live close to each other and spend a lot of time together.
I see these notions reflected in my own family. My parents are very liberal and conscious of gender inequality, unlike many Iranians. However, they still stick to the traditional gender roles -- my father is the breadwinner and my mother is a stay-at-home mom who believes that the rightful job of a woman is to raise a family and keep the home organized. I also see the notion of a close extended family -- though my mom lives far away from her mother and siblings, she talks to them multiple times a week and we have had many family reunions all over the world. She describes her childhood with her cousins, who were as close to her as siblings, and her aunts and grandmother, who were just as close to her as her own mother.
As similar as my family is to the stereotypical Iranian family, we are also very different. My grandmothers live alone and not with their children, as is common in Iranian society, although my grandmother did live with us for a few years. And although my father is the breadwinner of the family, it doesn't mean that he makes all the decisions like a typical Iranian father. He respects and values my mother's opinion even more than his own. So while some traditional norms of Iranian families are staying the same as the diaspora abroad grows, some are evolving to a more Westernized model.
The closeness of family is definitely reflected in Farsi, as I have mentioned before, with the specificity of the familial words. There are different words for mother's brother (daiee) and father's brother (amoo), as opposed to the singular English word, uncle. The same goes for aunt -- mother's sister (khaleh) and father's sister (ameh). The singular word cousin in English has eight different variations in Farsi, depending on whether the cousin is a boy (pesar) or a girl (dokhtar), and which aunt or uncle is their parent. For example, your father's sister's son would be your pesar ameh, while in English, he would just be called your cousin.
In Korean culture, the father is the head of the household and is responsible for his family and must be obeyed and revered by everyone. Even ancestral fathers are honored and this custom is called filial piety. Traditionally, older people are honored and respected. An example of this would be at dinner time where the father or the eldest person in the family sits first and eats/drinks first before everyone else. In general, everyone older should be addressed with honorifics and should never be called by their first names. The Korean language has a systematic set of kinship terms that elaborately distinguish the young from the elder, as well as the male from the female. Instead of two-word expressions like English older brother, older sister, younger brother, and younger sister... Korean has developed separate terms for these. As for the wives/females in the family, they have to obey the males as well. Families are evolving through marriages and once they're married, the females tend to move in with their respected husbands.
Family is a crucial part of the Indian culture. Indian culture is very collective and polychronic.
Families are evolving rapidly as times change. For example, before I was born my family used to be a “jointed” family. This meant that, the families of my father and his brothers lived together with my grandfather and my grandmother. Today, my joint family is just as close relationship wise, however, we do not live together any more. Now, the immediate families live by themselves.
The tight bonds of families are directly reflected in the Hindi language. Each family member has his/her own name in Hindi. The father is called pita whereas the mother is called mata. My grandfather on the father’s side is called dada and my grandmother on the father’s side is called dadi. On the other hand, my grandfather on the mother’s nana and my grandmother is called nani. Similarly, each member of the family has his/her name. They are not referred to using their first names.
This goes on to reflect that each member of the family has his/her own identity and they are irreplaceable.
Family is central to Gujarati culture. Joint families are also a major part of the fabric of Gujarati society.
Unlike Western culture where individuals are encouraged to court, date, and marry, in that order, there is no concept of dating in Gujarati culture. Consequently, arranged marriages are an integral part of Gujarati society and the foundation of new families. When a man and woman are married, the woman leaves her family and accepts her husband's family as her new family. She moves into the home of her in-laws and resides with whoever the husband's family consists of; including, his brothers, their wives, and children.
There are many different terms for the relationships within a family because family is so important. In English, the term "sister-in-law" is an umbrella term for all sister-in-laws despite the specific relationship. This contrasts with Gujarati culture. For example, a woman's husband's younger brother's wife would be referred to as jethani and her husband's older brother's wife would be referred to as derani. Specific relationships within a family are reflected in the language by the use of specific terms for specific family members.
Attitudes about the family are reflected in the language. Men are the head of the household, and their familial relationships are of lifelong commitment. This is reflected by other family members speaking to men with respect and compliance.
In the culture where Urdu is spoken, families are organized by, the father and mother being the head of the family and then the authority goes from the oldest child to the youngest. Most families in Pakistan are evolving, through marriages, started from husband and wife, and then goes to children, husbands or wives of their children, and grand children.
Usually, all these people live in one big house, especially when their sons get married they tend to live with their parents at least for few years until they have their own children and then get their own house and expand their families more.
Of course, language is an important part of this culture and these practices, so no mattar where a child is born and raised they have to learn their native language and this is the responsibility of the parents to teach them about the culture and language.
Are there words in the language to distinguish the various roles in the extended family? If so, what does this tell us about the importance of family?