Western Yugur Kinship Terms

 

The Western Yugur kinship terms represent a mixture of words of Turkic, Chinese, Mongolic and Tibetan etymology, and some of unknown origin. Terms for the oldest and youngest generations, great-grandparent and grandchild, derive from Chinese.
      Many kinship terms are automatically affixed with the suffix -(ï)ñ expressing the first and second person possessive, e.g. anañ, my mother, your mother, our mother. In fact, this suffix is currently only attached to kinship terms, not to other words, and it functions often not as a possessive, but as a term of endearment.

The overview tables of kinship terms are shown in a separate window.

The terms for the great-grandparents are compounds, whose first element derives from Chinese: thethe, great-grandparent, is from the Northwest Mandarin dialect form taitai, paternal great-grandmother. This element is followed by one of the terms for grandparent.
      The terms for the grandparents derive from Turkic; they consist of ana, mother, and awa, an obsolete word for father, affixed with the endearment suffix -ka. The grandfathers' and grandmothers' brothers and the grandfathers' and grandmothers' sisters' husbands, that is all the great-uncles are also called awaka. Likewise, the grandparental sisters and the wives of the grandparental brothers, that is all the great-aunts are called anika.
      Father is called aça and mother is called ana; the word for parents is aça-ana. The word aça is of unclear origin, but it occurs in Tuva as aça, father, and in Khakas as aja, elder brother or paternal uncle.
      In the Dàhé speech of Western Yugur some different kinships terms are used: nana for grandmother, thethe nana for great-grandmother and thethe qharawa for great-grandfather. A distinction is made between the paternal grandfather and his brothers, who are all called awa or qharawa, and the maternal grandfather and his brothers and the maternal great-uncles, who are all called taghï qharawa; taghï means maternal uncle, and qharawa may be a compound of qharï, old, and awa, father.
      Furthermore, in Dàhé speech the word ana means mother as well as aunt (father's elder brother's wife), and the general word for mother is tata.
 

Parents and grandparents

thethe awaka great-grandfather	thethe anika great-grandmother
awaka (ôka) grandfather	anika (ayka) grandmother
aça father	ana mother

 

There are different terms for paternal and maternal aunts and uncles. Only the paternal uncles are distinguished by age (in relation to one's father). The term ahka (father's elder brother) derives from Tibetan, and the terms taqa (mother's brother) and kughi (mother's sister) are of Turkic origin. The origin of papa (father's younger brother) and kuna (father's sister) is unknown. The most important of all the uncles is the maternal uncle. Formerly, a girl could be married to Heaven, after which she could have sexual relations with men. Her brother acted as a guardian to any children born to her, and he was consulted in such matters as the marriage of a daughter.
      The term pezïk ana (father's elder brother's wife) is a compound, meaning big mother; it is calqued from Chinese dàma. Similarly, an alternative term for ahka (father's elder brother) is pezïk aça, big father, and for papa (father's younger brother) kïhçigh aça, small father.
      The term taghïni is a compound consisting of taqa or taghï, maternal uncle, and ana, mother, affixed with the endearment suffix -y. The term iji is of Turkic origin, indicating originally one's mother's younger sister or one's own elder sister. The term küyi is of unknown origin.
 

Uncles and aunts

ahka, pezïk aça uncle (father's elder brother)	pezïk ana aunt (father's elder brother's wife)
papa, kïhçigh aça uncle (father's younger brother)	iji aunt (father's younger brother's wife)
kuna aunt (father's sister)	küyi uncle (parent's sister's husband)
taqa uncle (mother's brother)	taghïni aunt (mother's brother's wife)
kughi aunt (mother's sister)	küyi uncle (parent's sister's husband)

 

All sibling terms are of Turkic origin. Brothers and sisters are distinguished according to age. The term for elder sister, qïzaqa, is a compound consisting of qïz, girl or daughter, and aqa, elder brother. The older Turkic word for elder sister, eke, is only preserved in the compound ihki-sïñnï, elder and younger sisters, but it may als refer to brothers and sisters or siblings. The compound aqa-ïnï refers to elder and younger brothers.
      All cousins are called çhïqan, a Turkic word that is preserved in few languages only, such as Western Yugur, Turkmen, Tuva, and Yakut. To distinguish between the different cousins, compounds are formed by adding one of the words for brother or sister, e.g. çhïqan aqa, a male cousin older than oneself.
      In the Dàhé speech of Western Yugur, some different kinships terms are used: kuka for elder brother, aqa for elder sister, and töke, a loanword from Mongolic, for younger brother. Furthermore, the Turkic word yezne was preserved in the Dàhé speech of Western Yugur as ezte, indicating one's (elder and younger) sister's husband.
 

Siblings and cousins

aqa elder brother	iñke sister-in-law (elder brother's wife)
ïnï younger brother	ïnï kheln sister-in-law (younger brother's wife)
qïzaqa elder sister	aqa brother-in-law (elder sister's husband)
sïñnï younger sister	(younger sister's husband)
çhïqan aqa older male cousin
çhïqan ïnï younger male cousin
çhïqan qïzaqa older female cousin
çhïqan sïñnï younger female cousin

 

The general word for child in Western Yugur is mïla; it also means boy or son. The more specific word for son is oghïl and for daughter qïz.
      The general word for grandchild is a compound consisting of sunzï, borrowed from Chinese, and mïla; likewise, the word for grandson is sunzï oghïl and for granddaughter sunzï qïz. The Dàhé speech of Western Yugur records an alternative term for grandchild, sunzïka, consisting of sunzï affixed with the endearment suffix -ka.
      Terms for nephews and nieces distinguish between one's brother's and one's sister's children. The word haçï (brother's child), is of Mongolic origin. The term ighin (sister's child) is of Turkic origin, and originally indicated the son of a younger sister or daughter. To specify whether a nephew or niece is meant, a compound is formed with oghïl, son, or qïz, daughter.
 

Sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, and grandchildren

oghïl son	sunzï oghïl grandson	haçï oghïl nephew (brother's son)	ighin oghïl nephew (sister's son)
qïz daughter	sunzï qïz granddaughter	haçï qïz niece (brother's daughter)	ighin qïz niece (sister's daughter)

 

The general term for family-in-law, comprising the family of one's husband as well as one's wife, is qazïn, from the older Turkic form kadïn, related by marriage. The terms qazna and qazta are compounds consisting of qazïn and ana, mother, and ata, father (a word that is only preserved in this compound).
      The term kheln, daughter-in-law, is of Turkic etymology; in Western Yugur, it is also the common word for wife. Alternative words for wife are shazhtïgh (hairy), and qatïn, an old Sogdian loanword in Turkic that originally meant queen. The word shazhtïgh also denotes a woman in general, just as khempishtïgh (having a khempish, the traditional headgear).
      Likewise, the term kuzighï, son-in-law, also means husband. The compound qïz kuzighï for son-in-law is probably calqued from Chinese nüxu, son-in-law, husband (nü woman, daughter, xu son-in-law, husband). An alternative word for husband is yirïn, which also means man in general.
      The Western Yugur sources distinguish between a general set of terms for spouse's siblings and a separate set for wife's siblings; there seem to be no terms to specifically indicate the husband's siblings.
      The term yohrçï is of Turkic etymology: the original meaning, however, is one's wife's younger brother.
      The terms for wife's sisters, pezïk kughi (lit. big aunt), and kïhjigh kughi (lit. small aunt) may be calqued from Chinese dàyízi (big yízi) and xiao yízi (small yízi): the Chinese word yízi denotes both one's mother's as well as one's wife's sister.
      The term kunasï is of unknown etymology.
 

Brothers and sisters-in-law (spouse's brothers and sisters)

qazïn aqa brother-in-law (spouse's elder brother)	yohrçï brother-in-law (spouse's younger brother)	kunasï sister-in-law (spouse's sister)
(wife's elder brother)	qazïn ïnï brother-in-law (wife's younger brother)	pezïk kughi sister-in-law (wife's elder sister)	kïhjigh kughi sister-in-law (wife's younger sister)

 

The words for stepfather and stepmother are soñkï aça, later father, and soñkï ana, later mother. Likewise, stepsons and stepdaughters are called soñkï oghïl (later son) and soñkï qïz (later daughter).
      The words for adoption father and mother are ahsraghan aça, rearing father, and ahsraghan ana, rearing mother. Likewise, adopted sons and daughters are called ahsraghan oghïl and ahsragan qïz, or simply ahsrançï; an alternative term is quçaqtaghan mïla, an embraced child.
      A child without mother is called sheylï mïla. The adjective sheylï is also used for young animals without mother, such as lambs, calfs, foals and and camel foals. It is of unknown etymology.

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