[Lexicog] Words for "cousin"

Hayim Sheynin hsheynin19444 at YAHOO.COM
Tue Nov 21 03:17:49 UTC 2006


Russian language has two forms
dvoyurodnyi brat (lit. secundary brother) (adj. m. + n.)
dvoyurodnaya sestra (lit. secundary sister) (adj. f. + n.)

Hebrew has four forms 
ben dod  (lit. son of the uncle)
ben doda  (lit. son of the aunt)
bat dod (lit. daughter of the uncle)
bat doda (lit.daughter of the aunt)

In the literary language these four forms can be replaced with only two
forms that indicate only the gender of the cousin

dodan (male cousin)
dodanit (female cousin)   

Hayim Sheynin    

Doug Trick <doug_trick at sil.org> wrote:                                  The English word "cousin" refers to the offspring of a 
 parent's sibling.  Since the offspring is either male or 
 female, a parent is either male or female, and the parent's 
 sibling is either male or female, there are (at least) 8 
 potential combinations:
 - male offspring of father's brother
 - female offspring of father's brother
 - male offspring of father's sister
 - female offspring of father's sister
 - male offspring of mother's brother
 - female offspring of mother's brother
 - male offspring of mother's sister
 - female offspring of mother's sister
 
 I recently read somewhere that Farsi has 8 distinct forms, 
 corresponding to the above.  Can anyone confirm whether or 
 not this is true?  Or, can anyone confirm whether any other 
 language has 8 distinct forms?  Or even 4 different forms?
 
 Doug Trick, SIL Philippines
 
     
                       

 
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