[Lexicog] Re: The irony of thou

[Bill Poser]

Yes, it would be interesting to do a book on forms of address. You'd
think that someone would have done this already, but I'm not aware of
such a book, at least not a really comprehensive one.

One topic in which I have some interest is the extended use of kinship
terms, that is, the use of kinship terms with people who are not actually
related. In some cultures, this is very common, but there is a great
deal of variation in when it is done and whether it is treated like
actual kinship. In Korean I have noticed a change between my generation
and the next. Korean girls of my generation addressed unrelated boys with
whom they were fairly well acquainted, such as the sons of friends of
the family and the boys from their own neighborhood, as "elder brother".
This usage extended to their boyfriends. When they married, however, they
ceased to address their husband as "elder brother". Korean women of the
current generation continue to call their boyfriend "elder brother" after
marriage. I noticed this first when watching Korean soap operas and t hen
confirmed it while staying with a former student and her husband.

In Korea, then, calling someone "brother" does not preclude a sexual
relationship - it is not incest. In Navajo, one also uses sibling terms
toward close friends. I address a close friend two years older than I am
as shadi "my elder sister" and sign nitsili "thy younger brother".
If, however, we were to become sexually involved, we would not be able to
use this terminology as it would be considered incest (which is perhaps
the strongest taboo in Navajo society - really, really, bad). 

Bill



 
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