Xue, Wendi (2016). The semantics of ‘uncle’-type kinship terms in Cantonese (Guangzhou) and Teochew (Jieyang). Master’s thesis, Australian National University.
Kinship stands as the foundation of all human societies, and kinship terms have been an important area of research in cultural anthropology and linguistics. Although scholars have accumulated much information on kinship terminology across many languages, there is still a gap to be bridged regarding the Sinitic languages, especially the non-Mandarin varieties of Chinese; moreover, many previous studies require semantic reanalysis so that the native speaker’s point of view can be revealed. This thesis examines the under-surveyed groups of kinship terms which are semantically related to the English category of ‘uncle’ (henceforth ‘uncle’-type) in Cantonese and Teochew, and uses the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) for their semantic analysis. It offers full NSM explications for the 32 ‘uncle-type’ terms in the two languages under three major categories: father’s side, mother’s side and in-laws; it also explains how these explications are arrived at and discusses the similarities and differences in the semantic patterns between these two non-Mandarin Chinese varieties. An innovative aspect of the thesis is that it proposes four culture-specific semantic molecules in explications. As well as shedding light on the under-explored area of ‘uncle’-type kinship terminology in Sinitic languages, this work highlights the diversity within Han Chinese culture, which has often been misunderstood as a homogeneous system based on the prevailing Mandarin-centric conventions.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
