The Family. From Institution to Companionship

The concept of Family in Mandarin Chinese – A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to the Comprehension of Chinese Jia

“…The exclusiveness of a family circle can secure the interests of family members but on the other hand may restrict people's contacts to the outer world as suggested by example (70), because people can be easily trapped in their small family circle due to early marriage, child rearing, the burdens of family chores and various problems in family life. (70) Defined as a functional social organization where people gather together by blood, marriage or adoption to live and work for shared purposes in sociology (Murdock 1949;Burgess and Locke 1953;Eastman 1988), the institution of family has a variety of functions, among which the education of children is often considered to be crucial to shape a child's moral character and personal values, and parents are the best models for the growth of their children. Thus, the FAMILY IS A SCHOOL metaphor is motivated to emphasize the educational function of the family in example (71) where parents are metaphorically seen as the first teachers for their children.…”

“…A family in his understanding is a social group of parents and children, in which adults of both sexes maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and own or adopt one or more children to live under the same roof. Burgess and Locke (1953) see the family as a household constituted by a group of people that are united by ties of marriage, blood, or adoption. Within each single household, members interact and communicate with each other in their respective social roles, and create and maintain a common culture at the same time.…”

“…Given its exceptional characteristic of being universal in any known society and its tremendous influence on the individual lives and the process of socialization, the institution of family remains at the center of social life in almost all societies and continues to be the smallest and the most enduring, resilient social unit despite the fact that families might take different forms, and they change and adapt themselves through time (Burgess and Locke 1953;Newman 2009). Moreover, various cultural customs usually result in endless varieties of family, with the range of its functions varying enormously as well (Maciver and Page 1937).…”

Marital satisfaction in covenant versus standard marriages: Is there a difference?

“…This cultural shift has stimulated burgeoning nationwide conversations, research, and policy changes in the late 20th century. Some of these conversations on why such a cultural shift took place, how it happened, and what the consequences are, have been well-documented by other family scientists and scholars (e.g., Amato, 2000;Burgess et al, 1963;Cherlin, 2004). In response, the U.S. government has promulgated various policies and laws that aimed to restore marital stability.…”

“…After the first no‐fault divorce law was passed in California in 1969, the whole nation has witnessed increasing freedom for women, more couples cohabitated, more sex took place outside of marriage, more people married in venues other than religious institutes, and more support for same‐sex marriages and other equal rights movements (Cherlin, 2004). The traditional institutional view on marriage (e.g., one man and one woman marry till death do them apart) was progressively replaced by a companionate marriage model that emphasizes companionship and love (Burgess et al, 1963; Cherlin, 2004).…”