Irish Kinship - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia 5/28/10 2:59 PM

Irish Kinship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5/28/10 2:59 PM

Irish Kinship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Irish Kinship is a system of kinship terminology (descended from the original Celtic practices) which shows a Bifurcate Collateral pattern. This system is used by a minority of people living in the Gaeltacht regions of Ireland. Irish kinship terminology varies greatly from English kinship as it focuses on Gender and Generation, with less emphasis on differentiating lineal vs. collateral.[1][2]

Contents

1 Terminology 2 Use of Terminology 2.1 Aintin and Uncail, Nia and Neacht 2.2 Col Gaolta 2.3 Mo Mhuintir 3 References

Terminology

Irish Kinship is limited to a small number of words of Gaelic origin used in identifying relatives.

Máthair - Mother Athair - Father Mac - Son Iníon - Daughter Deantháir - Brother Deirfiúr - Sister Aintin - Aunt Uncail - Uncle Nia - Nephew Neacht - Niece Seanmháthair - Grandmother Seanathair - Grandfather Garmhac - Grandson Gariníon - Granddaughter Col Gaolta - Cousin[3] Use of Terminology

A majority of the terms used in the kinship system are similar to the English kinship system, but the terms for aunty, uncle, nephew, niece and cousin have a far vaguer and different use. These terms however varying in degree of use as this system is confined to the Gaeltacht regions of Ireland, and hence are not widely used

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Kinship#Terminology Page 1 of 2 Irish Kinship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5/28/10 2:59 PM among other members of Irish society[4]

Aintin and Uncail, Nia and Neacht

Aintin is the word for Aunt and Uncail for Uncle but in the Irish kinship system Aunt and Uncle have a wider definition, in common kinship an Aunt/Uncle is the sister/brother of either the mother or the father. However, in Irish kinship Aintin and Uncail is used for not only the siblings of the parents, but as well as any relative whose age is of a great distance from the child. This effectively makes cousins of the parents, Aunts and Uncles. While those who are aged or in their seniour years being termed Seanaintin and Seanuncail, great aunt and great uncle. Using this system, this makes distant cousins the Nephew and Nieces of the distant relatives, using the terms Nia and Neacht[5]

Col Gaolta

Col Gaolta is a word for cousin, in the Irish Kinship system, this word is used for all relatives in your generation or those near your age (Exc, brother and sister). The word actually means Related by Blood.[6]

Mo Mhuintir

Mo Mhuintir being Irish for My People is a vague term used for relatives people believe they are related too, but do not have enough information to determine how.[2] References

1. ^ A Guide to Early Irish Law, by Fergus Kelly, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (January 2005), ISBN 0901282952 2. ^ a b http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/Gaels-Irish-Kinship.html 3. ^ http://www.phouka.com/irish/ir_family.html 4. ^ http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/Irish-Kinship-Marriage-and-Family.html 5. ^ The Celts: Second Edition (Penguin History), by Nora Chadwick, Penguin (Non-Classics); 2 edition (January 1, 1998) ISBN 0140250743 6. ^ Power, Politics and Status, Timothy Champion published in The Celtic World, edited by Miranda J. Green, Routledge; New edition edition (May 8, 1996), ISBN 0415146275 Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Kinship" Categories: Irish society

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