Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD Candidate of Linguistics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
2 Professor of Linguistics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
Abstract
All societies use kinship terms to address and refer to one’s kin. Most studies dealing with kin terms have been done based on consanguineal and affinal kin criteria. In some societies, kin relations are established by other criteria. Therefore, cultural differences must be taken into account but genealogical paths cannot represent this cultural knowledge. In this research, kin terms were considered as cultural elements. Using kin term maps, it is possible to formally represent how kin relations are calculated without reference to genealogical relations and to recognize primary kin terms. So, cultural differences can be represented as well. The framework used in this research provides a comprehensive basis for comparative studies of kin terms. This study diachronically explored kin term maps of Old Persian, Middle Persian and New Persian. The starting point was “self” in the maps, located in the center. Primary kin terms were identified according to their position relative to the “self”. A comparison of the maps showed that in Middle Persian grammatical gender has disappeared, but biological gender was still important in this period. Some kin terms were added and some were dropped in this period. The results showed that in New Persian the number of kin terms has increased. In the New Persian, there are now some loan kin terms, two-syllable kin terms are more frequently used, and biological gender has lost its importance in expressing kinship relations
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