Lesson 9


LESSON NINE - SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS

 

This isn't as startling as the title suggests. It's about kinship terms and sexual distinctions. Ceqli has these basic relationship terms:

 

Pam - Parent

Fil - offspring

Frer - sibling

Zin - cousin, someone who shares a grandparent or more remote ancestor

Zban - spouse

Paren - relative, someone related

 

All of these terms are sex-neutral. The sexes can be designated with the sub-morphemes -i and -o.

 

Pamo - father

Pami - mother

Fili - daughter

Frero - brother

etc.

 

All other relationships are shown with compounds of these:

 

Pampamo - grandfather

Pamopamo - paternal grandfather

Pamipami - maternal grandmother

Pampampami - great-grandmother

Pamfrero - uncle

Zbanfreri - sister-in-law (spouse's sister)

Frerzbani - sister-in-law (sibling's wife)

Filzbani - daughter-in-law

Zbanparen - in-law (spouse's relative)

Frerfilo - nephew

 

The diminutive and augmentive prefixes, pi, ga, can be used with siblings:

 

Pifrero, Gafreri - younger brother, older sister

 

This use is limited in Western culture, but in some areas, large social distinctions are made about such things, so words like

 

Zbanpifreri, Gafrerofili - Wife's younger sister, older brother's daughter

 

can be very useful.

 

The endings can also be used with other terms:

 

Pwer - young person

Pweri - girl

Pwero - boy

 

Jin - human person

Jini - woman

jino - man

 

Kelner - wait-person

Kelneri - waitress

Kelnero - waiter

 

And animals:

 

Hyun, hyuni, hyuno - dog, female dog, male dog

Kayn, kayni, kayno, etc.

 

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