Philippine kinship
Encyclopedia
Philippine kinship uses the Generational system (see Kinship terminology
) to define family. Within common typologies, the Philippine system is one of the most simple classificatory systems of kinship compared to the complex U.S. kinship system (see Cousin
). The literal genetic relationship, or whether the person being addressed is in the actual bloodline or not, is often overridden by the desire to show proper respect that is due in the Philippine culture to age and the nature of the relationship, which are considered more important.
In it, the literal differences are distinguished by generation, age, and in some cases by gender. However, non-Filipinos can be confused by apparently similar relationships being handled verbally differently by the same person, which generally occurs because of the circumstantial relationship or because some authority is represented by the addressee. Other factors that affect how a person is addressed are whether the two are familiar with each other, new to each other's acquaintance, or perhaps involved in a secondary relationship that imparts authority, such as one person being the supervisor of another at work.
As an example, a teenage girl would call her older brother "kuya". She would also tend to call her older male cousin "kuya". The fact that he is an older, blood-related male is more important than the fact that a brother is not genetically related to the same degree that a cousin is. The term "kuya" is actually likely to applied to any older male who is within her generation and should be treated with respect, perhaps even the very close friends of her brother. Thus, the terms used are often intended to show the degree of the relationship and the type of relationship, rather than literal biological relationship.
This can be seen in social settings such as Facebook when Filipino teenagers use the standard "brothers" and "sisters" categories to list any contemporary who is what USA culture would more likely call a "best friend".
, often referred to as Metro Manila
. The unofficial second language is English, and rudimentary use of English is often more successful for communication among far-flung peoples in the Philippines than any one dialect including Tagalog. The primary reasons for the prominence of English throughout the culture is the relationship with the USA since World War II and the fact that television reaches across the country and broadcasts are sent in a mix of Tagalog and English.
The Tagalog language is considered one of the Austronesian languages
, borrowing heavily from the Philippines geographical neighbors but also from Spanish, due to the Spanish colonization of the previous three centuries, adapting such terms as "Kamusta" as a greeting, taken from the Spanish "Cómo está", and also from Polynesian dialects and Cantonese. Familial greetings tend to be borrowed from Cantonese.
As a child you would refer to your parents as Ama (Tagalog formal for Father) or Tatay (Tagalog informal for Father) and Ina (Tagalog formal for Mother) or Nanay (Tagalog informal for Mother). Your parents' siblings and their cousins would be your "mga Tito" (Tagalog for Uncles) or "mga Tita" (Tagalog for Aunts) as well as "Ninong" (Tagalog for Godfather) and "Ninang" (Tagalog for Godmother).
Your "mga kapatid" (Tagalog for siblings) would be your brothers or sisters. The terms "Kuya" and "Ate" are Tagalog loanwords
titles borrowed from Min Nan
(Fukien) and Yueh (Cantonese) Chinese used to address an older brother and sister respectively as a sign of respect. Any children of your Ninong/Tito (Uncle) or Ninang/Tita (Aunt) would be your "mga pinsan" (cousins). The term "Kuya" is used in Tagalog for older brother and "Ate" is used in Tagalog for older sister.
The children of your "mga kapatid" (siblings) and "mga pinsan" (cousins) would be your "mga pamangkin" (nephews/nieces).
If you are a "Amang/Lolo" (Tagalog for Grandfather) or "Inang/Lola" (Tagalog for Grandmother), your "mga apo" (Tagalog for grandchildren) would be the offsprings not only of your "mga anak" (Tagalog for children) but also the offspring of your children's "mga pinsan" (Tagalog for cousins).
"Tito" and "Tita", used literally for uncle and aunt, can also used in reference to your parents' close friends. Again, the degree of affiliation in the relationship overrides the literal meaning.
This hierarchy of conditions would be consistently applied to other familial terms that are used for relationship of further distance, such as "Nanay" and "Ninong", which are often applied to people who have no actual blood relationship but have earned a showing of respect which also defines their age and gender and station in life.
Filipinos would generally greet each other using their title like: "Kamusta Ate Jhen", or "Kamusta Kuya Jay".
Kinship terminology
Kinship terminology refers to the various systems used in languages to refer to the persons to whom an individual is related through kinship. Different societies classify kinship relations differently and therefore use different systems of kinship terminology - for example some languages...
) to define family. Within common typologies, the Philippine system is one of the most simple classificatory systems of kinship compared to the complex U.S. kinship system (see Cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
). The literal genetic relationship, or whether the person being addressed is in the actual bloodline or not, is often overridden by the desire to show proper respect that is due in the Philippine culture to age and the nature of the relationship, which are considered more important.
In it, the literal differences are distinguished by generation, age, and in some cases by gender. However, non-Filipinos can be confused by apparently similar relationships being handled verbally differently by the same person, which generally occurs because of the circumstantial relationship or because some authority is represented by the addressee. Other factors that affect how a person is addressed are whether the two are familiar with each other, new to each other's acquaintance, or perhaps involved in a secondary relationship that imparts authority, such as one person being the supervisor of another at work.
As an example, a teenage girl would call her older brother "kuya". She would also tend to call her older male cousin "kuya". The fact that he is an older, blood-related male is more important than the fact that a brother is not genetically related to the same degree that a cousin is. The term "kuya" is actually likely to applied to any older male who is within her generation and should be treated with respect, perhaps even the very close friends of her brother. Thus, the terms used are often intended to show the degree of the relationship and the type of relationship, rather than literal biological relationship.
This can be seen in social settings such as Facebook when Filipino teenagers use the standard "brothers" and "sisters" categories to list any contemporary who is what USA culture would more likely call a "best friend".
Influences on language
Scholars generally disagree on the genetic origin of the "original" Filipino people, if there is any one dominant progenitor. For centuries there have been migrations from Asia, the Middle East, all the nearby Island countries, and Europe (primarily the Spanish) who have all given something genetically and etymologically to the Philippines. Over 170 dialects are recognized, but Tagalog, which is not spoken by the majority of the population, is the official language and is the dialect most recognized in the area of the capital, ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, often referred to as Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
. The unofficial second language is English, and rudimentary use of English is often more successful for communication among far-flung peoples in the Philippines than any one dialect including Tagalog. The primary reasons for the prominence of English throughout the culture is the relationship with the USA since World War II and the fact that television reaches across the country and broadcasts are sent in a mix of Tagalog and English.
The Tagalog language is considered one of the Austronesian languages
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
, borrowing heavily from the Philippines geographical neighbors but also from Spanish, due to the Spanish colonization of the previous three centuries, adapting such terms as "Kamusta" as a greeting, taken from the Spanish "Cómo está", and also from Polynesian dialects and Cantonese. Familial greetings tend to be borrowed from Cantonese.
Ego's generation
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Tagalog Tagalog language Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila... /Filipino Filipino language This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:... |
Bikol Bikol language Central Bicolano , is one of the individual languages of the Bikol languages. It belongs to Coastal Bikol. It is spoken in Bicol Region of the Philippines .-Bikol-Naga:... |
Bisaya/Binisaya | Hiligaynon Hiligaynon language Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,... |
Ilocano | Kapampangan Kapampangan language The Pampangan language, or Kapampangan , is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barangays of... |
Tausug Tausug language Tausūg is a language spoken in the province of Sulu in the Philippines, in Malaysia, and in Indonesia by the Tausūg people.... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | ako | akó | ako | ako | siák, ak | aku | aku | ||
| Sibling | kapatid | túgang1 agóm2 |
ígsuón | utod | kabsát1 áding2 |
kapatad | langgud taymanghud |
||
| Brother | kapatid na lalaki lalaking kapatid |
manoy | utod nga lalaki | mánong | aputul kapatad a lalaki |
langgung usog | |||
| Sister | kapatid na babae babaing kapatid |
manay | utod nga babayi | mánang | kaputul kapatad a babai |
langgung babai | |||
| Cousin | pinsan | pínsan | íg-agaw, agaw | pakaisa | kasinsín | pisan | pangtangud | ||
| Male cousin | pinsan na lalaki pinsang lalaki |
pisan a lalaki | |||||||
| Female cousin | pinsan na babae pinsang babae |
pisan a babai | |||||||
| Notes: 1 General term for older sibling. 2 General term for younger sibling. |
|||||||||
As a child you would refer to your parents as Ama (Tagalog formal for Father) or Tatay (Tagalog informal for Father) and Ina (Tagalog formal for Mother) or Nanay (Tagalog informal for Mother). Your parents' siblings and their cousins would be your "mga Tito" (Tagalog for Uncles) or "mga Tita" (Tagalog for Aunts) as well as "Ninong" (Tagalog for Godfather) and "Ninang" (Tagalog for Godmother).
Your "mga kapatid" (Tagalog for siblings) would be your brothers or sisters. The terms "Kuya" and "Ate" are Tagalog loanwords
Tagalog loanwords
The Tagalog language, due to its history of connections with the rest of Asia, and the influence of European colonization, has developed a unique vocabulary since its inception from its Austronesian roots. The influence of the Sanskrit, Arabic, Spanish, Greek, Latin, Arabic, English, Spanish,...
titles borrowed from Min Nan
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
(Fukien) and Yueh (Cantonese) Chinese used to address an older brother and sister respectively as a sign of respect. Any children of your Ninong/Tito (Uncle) or Ninang/Tita (Aunt) would be your "mga pinsan" (cousins). The term "Kuya" is used in Tagalog for older brother and "Ate" is used in Tagalog for older sister.
The children of your "mga kapatid" (siblings) and "mga pinsan" (cousins) would be your "mga pamangkin" (nephews/nieces).
If you are a "Amang/Lolo" (Tagalog for Grandfather) or "Inang/Lola" (Tagalog for Grandmother), your "mga apo" (Tagalog for grandchildren) would be the offsprings not only of your "mga anak" (Tagalog for children) but also the offspring of your children's "mga pinsan" (Tagalog for cousins).
Representation
The following tree represents the Philippine kinship system, focusing on YOU.Member Family
| Relation | English equivalent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lalake | Babae | Male | Female |
| Grandparent | |||
| Lolo | Lola | Grandfather | Grandmother |
| Magulang | Parent | ||
| Ama | Ina | Father | Mother |
| Biyenan | |||
| Biyenang Lalake | Biyenang Babae | Father-in-law | Mother-in-law |
| Asawa | Spouse | ||
| Husband | Wife | ||
| Balo | |||
| Biyudo | Biyuda | Widow | Widower |
| Anak | Child | ||
| Anak na Lalake | Anak na Babae | Son | Daughter |
| Manugang | |||
| Manugang na Lalake | Manugang na Babae | Son-in-law | Daughter-in-law |
| Apo | Grandchild | ||
| Apong Lalake | Apong Babae | Grandson | Granddaughter |
| Kapatid | Sibling | ||
| Kuya | Ate | Brother | Sister |
| Bayaw | Hipag | Brother-in-law | Sister-in-law |
| Pinsan | Cousin | ||
| Tito | Tita | Uncle | Aunt |
| Pamangkin | |||
| Pamangking Lalake | Pamangking Babae | Nephew | Niece |
Non-literal use of familiar terms
"Kuya" and "Ate" are also titles used to address older male and female cousins (regardless if they are the eldest or not, but older than cousin addressing them) as a sign of respect. It may also be used for people who aren't necessarily relatives but are older. The criteria would be gender (first), age (second), degree of affiliation (third), with actual blood or non-blood relationship being the least important."Tito" and "Tita", used literally for uncle and aunt, can also used in reference to your parents' close friends. Again, the degree of affiliation in the relationship overrides the literal meaning.
This hierarchy of conditions would be consistently applied to other familial terms that are used for relationship of further distance, such as "Nanay" and "Ninong", which are often applied to people who have no actual blood relationship but have earned a showing of respect which also defines their age and gender and station in life.
Filipinos would generally greet each other using their title like: "Kamusta Ate Jhen", or "Kamusta Kuya Jay".