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Austkin the AustKin project HomeThe ProjectThe Project PeopleThe Project OutputDisclaimerFAQContactResourcesFamily terminology> Kinship terminology> Classificatory systems> Children and grandparents> Representing relationships Categories & descent groups> Social categories> Local Descent Groups> Non-local descent groups Sounds and spelling> Consonants> Differences with English> Vowels> Word vocalizing and syllables> Examples of soundsSearch DatabaseBrowse languagesAdvanced search Conditions of use : The AustKin project and database reflect the work of early sources and does not provide supervisory knowledge of Aboriginal culture. Locations on maps are indicative only. Read more... Family/Kinship words (continued) Classificatory kinship systems English speakers use ‘sister’ and ‘brother’ mostly for people who share at least one parent. Warumungu and Gurindji use these sibling words, not only for these people, but moreover for the children of their father’s brothers and mother’s sisters, and for the grandchildren of their father’s father’s brothers and mother’s mother’s sisters, and so on.  So, some people that English speakers undeniability ‘cousins’ are tabbed ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ in many Aboriginal societies. This is tabbed a ‘classificatory’ kinship system type, specifically one with an unlimited extension of range (e.g. there is no limit to the number of classificatory mothers and fathers one has). Note that there are two ways of extending the range of a kin-term.  It can be washed-up on the understructure of role, e.g. calling a tropical friend of your mother’s ‘aunty’, as English speakers sometimes do.  Or it can be washed-up on the understructure of kin relationship in culturally specific non-arbitrary ways.  A kinship term describing a specific biological relation (e.g. people with the same parents) is extended to other biological relations, e.g. calling your mother’ sister’s son ‘brother’. Traditionally, all Australian groups have classificatory kinship systems, as do many groups in Asia and the Pacific.  Aunts and uncles Australian Aboriginal classificatory kinship systems proffer vastitude a person’s brothers and sisters.  A person’s father’s brothers are moreover often tabbed ‘father’, while a person’s mother’s sisters are moreover often tabbed ‘mother’.  However, there may be special words for ‘father’s sister’ and ‘mother’s brother’.  The relationship between a man and his sister’s children is very important in Aboriginal societies.  The terms ‘uncle’ and ‘auntie’ are not used in the Austkin database, considering the person tabbed ‘uncle’ is typically a mother’s brother and a person tabbed ‘auntie’ is typically a father’s sister. Previous page: Kinship terminology & Sisters and brothers Next page: Children and grandparents About ∴ DisclaimerThe AustKin project was made possible through funding from the Australian Research Council with contributions from EHESS