Kinship Semantics: Culture in the Lexicon

Gaby, Alice

doi:10.1007/978-981-10-4056-6_9

Cited by 31 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Lexical items instantiate culturally constructed categories that demonstrate how cultural norms, values, and social relations are organized in different speech communities (Degani, 2017;Gaby, 2017;Sharifian, 2011Sharifian, , 2017. This research finds that mahram 'intimate' vs.…”

Section: Categorization and Persian Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Studies in cultural linguistics and linguistic anthropology, especially those focusing on kinship terms, demonstrate that in many languages, lexical items instantiate culturally constructed categories that provide significant information as to how cultural norms, values, and social relationships are organized in different speech communities (Arthur, 1996;Degani, 2017;Gaby, 2017;Kronenfeld, 2015). In this regard, Sharifian (2011) reports cultural categories that are denoted by kinship terms in Aboriginal English.…”

Section: Categorizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Bakhtiar¹

2018

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This research is a cognitive linguistic investigation of the concepts of GHEIRAT 'moral vigilance', HAYA 'self-restraint', EFFAT 'chastity', and HEJAB 'veiling', which comprise the core of control mechanism in Iranian culture. The study aimed to find out whether these moral values are interrelated and examine how cognitive linguistics can contribute to discovering the ways in which they are connected to each other and fulfill their functions in the course of controlling the sexuality of men and women. The study finds that the Persian concepts are interrelated and form a conceptual cluster that operates to regulate the sexuality of Iranians. The interrelationship between the concepts and their systematic functioning was demonstrated through lexical collocates, shared conceptual metaphors, conceptual metonymies, categorization, and embodiment.The analysis reveals that gheirat, haya, effat, and hejab are part of a larger cultural model that operates to keep a legitimate, safe distance between men and women. According to the analysis, the cultural model of sexuality in Persian is founded on and guided by the Islamic principle of mahramiyat 'legitimate intimacy', which pulls together gheirat 'moral vigilance', haya 'self-restraint', effat 'chastity', âberu 'face/public image', nâmus 'female family members', harim 'holy space/border', and hejab 'veiling' in order to keep the sexes segregated.Within the identified model, mahramiyat 'legitimate intimacy' defines the specific category of people toward whom one should maintain a certain physical and social distance.Gheirat surveils the situations in which social interactions take place. It monitors the conducts of individuals, triggering reactions in people to tackle cases of taboo violation through admonishing, criticizing, fighting with, and, in extreme cases, through murdering the perpetrators. Haya 'self-restraint' operates to prevent the self from causing and feeling (further) shame through holding back the self, setting up a barrier between the self and what is considered as taboo, offensive, shameful, and unpleasant. Effat 'chastity' exclusively functions to discipline the body and set limits to bodily desires. It specifically deals with concealing illegitimate sexual desire so as to prevent the person from transgressing norms of conduct. Nâmus 'female family members' represents the heightened significance of women as holders of the family's honor and of their manner of conduct in society. Female family members are also strongly protected by men against social threats, such as sexually charged looks, sexual comments, and rape. Harim 'holy space/border' marks the boundary between cultural values and taboo behavior, assigning a high degree of sanctity to cultural values, and

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Section: Categorization and Persian Key Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Categorizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Bakhtiar¹

2018

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“…Holmes (2013) goes further and maintains that the use of kinship terms mirrors our cultural values and relationships. Similarly, Gaby (2017), points to the role of cultural context in understanding kinship term uses and Wierzbicka (2016) refers to kinship terms as the indicators of social realities, thoughts, and relationships. Therefore, it is implied that kinship terms can foreground social values, relations, and any differences in their uses can be attributed to the social changes.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship terms variation among speakers of Bahmaie dialect in Khuzestan Province of Iran

Tazik

Aliakbari

2023

Russian Journal of Linguistics

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Language indicates the social and cultural identity of the nations, and literature is of great value in reflecting ideas, beliefs and visions in language. Considering the fact that the local dialects that lack written literature are more subject to convergence and death, extensive research is required for further documentation and investigating the factors leading to their infrequency of use. Bahmaie, a variant of Luri dialect spoken in the southwest of Iran, is an example in which the stylistic variation of kinship terms represents dialect endangerment and necessitates in-depth analysis of the factors affecting this variation. The present study aims at examining the variation of Bahmaie kinship terms and their Persian equivalents across different contexts, with respect to age, gender, educational level, and third person presence. To this aim, a 32item questionnaire was designed and distributed among 275 Bahmaie speakers divided into four age groups: 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, and 40 - above. The findings of the study indicated that the 15-19 age group speakers favored the Persian terms while those aged 40 - above were more likely to use Bahmaie terms. They also showed the impact of other contextual characteristics on variation of kinship terms (interlocutors’ status, gender, educational level, and third person presence). Results further demonstrated that Bahmaie speakers have a tendency towards being persified, and this trend is more pronounced among young speakers. This tendency is attributed to the dominance of Persian as the only high-status language, language contact, and migration causing a generation gap. The implication of the research is that documenting Bahmaie dialect, encouraging educated speakers to use it and fostering intra-cultural communication, are the strategies that can be helpful in keeping this dialect alive.

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“…(e.g. Gaby 2017, Godelier 2012, Kronenfeld 2009, Larina & Suryanarayan 2013, Sharifian 2017, Suryanarayan & Larina 2012, Trask 2007, Wierzbicka 1992, 2016, to mention a few). The results of these scholars' Works show that there are different social categories reflecting cultural norms, beliefs, values, social contexts and how individuals of a specific speech community perceive their reality.…”

Section: Kinship Terminology and Socio-cognitive Reality Across Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In daily encounters, the linguistic behaviour of interlocutors reflects to a great extent their cultural conceptualisations. Gaby (2017), who investigates the relationship between cultural conceptualisations and lexical categories, asserts that understanding the cultural context enhances the analysis of kinship terms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship terms as indicators of identity and social reality: A case study of Syrian Arabic and Hindi

Suryanarayan

Khalil

2021

Russian Journal of Linguistics

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By displaying a certain fragment of reality in the linguistic consciousness of a person, socio-cognitive categories convey important information about the social structure of society, the lingua-cultural identity of its representatives and the values they share. This study focuses on kinship terms in the Syrian Arabic and Hindi languages. It is aimed at identifying similarity and the cultural specificity of kinship terms in two linguistic cultures and explaining the identified features through types of cultures and cultural values. The research is based on kinship terms that name consanguineal (blood) and affinal (non-blood) relatives in Arabic and Hindi. The material was collected through analysis of terms in dictionaries as well as anonymous questionnaires and observation. The collected material was systematized and analyzed using comparative, definitional, semantic and lingua-cultural methods. The results showed that both languages have a rich system of kinship terms, in which the line of kinship (paternal or maternal), the type of kinship (relatives by blood or through marriage), and age are recorded. They testify to the We-identity of the representatives of the cultures under consideration for whom family relations are of great value, and to the importance of determining the place of each member in society in the social system. The revealed features showed that age differences are more important in Indian society than in Syrian, although respect for elders is one of the most important values of both cultures. The results obtained once again confirm the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of language, which in turn provides new data for other areas of humanities.

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Kinship Semantics: Culture in the Lexicon

Cited by 31 publications

References 15 publications

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Cultural model of sexuality in Persian: A cognitive linguistic investigation of key concepts in Iranian culture

Kinship terms variation among speakers of Bahmaie dialect in Khuzestan Province of Iran

Kinship terms as indicators of identity and social reality: A case study of Syrian Arabic and Hindi

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