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Uncle but not a family relative | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Baracuda Groupie United States Joined 5586 days ago 53 posts - 81 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French, Russian, German | Message 9 of 27 24 July 2012 at 4:49am | IP Logged | ||
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In my family we called some close friends of my grandparents uncle and aunt. This seems more like an
exception though. Edited by Baracuda on 24 July 2012 at 4:59am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6378 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 10 of 27 24 July 2012 at 4:54am | IP Logged | ||
In Finnish and Russian this form doesn't always work well without a name. So the difference isn't necessarily stranger vs friend, but it may depend on whether you know the name of the person. The main difference between the two languages here is that Russian kids are expected to be more formal than that when addressing strangers, while Finnish kids can easily be less formal than that. With Russian kids this may well extend to family friends, but I'm less sure about Finnish ones. The variation isn't just between languages but also within them. Edited by Serpent on 24 July 2012 at 4:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6160 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 11 of 27 24 July 2012 at 5:01am | IP Logged | ||
If the person's name was John, the greeting would be "Hello, Uncle John." It wouldn't be confusing or awkward because it is a culturally acceptable way to call a family friend. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5613 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 12 of 27 24 July 2012 at 5:11am | IP Logged | ||
I think Brazil would fit the first scenario, with tio/tia being used to address strangers. I never noticed this use of tio/a in Portugal. And in Spain tío, as well as meaning uncle, is slang meaning guy/bloke, so it's not used to address strangers in quite the same way. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| yong321 Groupie United States yong321.freeshe Joined 5323 days ago 80 posts - 104 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 13 of 27 24 July 2012 at 5:21am | IP Logged | ||
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> in the US we often use "brother" or "sister" with strangers and acquaintances
> alike, usually when we're agreeing with them about something in a conversation. I know. But let's not consider that usage, which is informal (almost like "man" or "dude" as in "hi man"). > In Finnish and Russian this form doesn't always work well without a name A good point! In Chinese, there's no such requirement (a name can be omitted). > Russian kids are expected to be more formal than that when addressing strangers This makes me think your case is the same as using "brother"/"sister" when agreeing with him/her in a conversation, and it's probably only in an informal conversation, isn't it? If so, I would not consider it for now. > If the person's name was John, the greeting would be "Hello, Uncle John." It > wouldn't be confusing or awkward because it is a culturally acceptable way to call a > family friend. I guess some families in the US do that. My neighbor's kids always call me by the first name and I moved several times in the past 20 years. Hmm, no kid ever called me an uncle! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Majka Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic kofoholici.wordpress Joined 4438 days ago 307 posts - 755 votes Speaks: Czech*, German, English Studies: French Studies: Russian | Message 14 of 27 24 July 2012 at 9:38am | IP Logged | ||
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In Czech, "Uncle John" and "Aunty Mary" are used by the children too. The difference may be that a child won't address an adult "Uncle John" unless the parents will introduce their friends as such.
Less often, there are even "Grandma Jane" and "Grandpa Peter". Often, they are either friends of the grandparents or were once "Uncle" or "Aunty" to the parents. My nieces have several uncles and aunties outside the real familiar connection, as well as at least two extra grandmas... Again, the parents or grandparents decide if a person gets addressed as such. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5313 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 15 of 27 24 July 2012 at 12:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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Northeastern US here. I can confirm that several families
had honorary uncles and aunts when I was growing up. This was typically a close friend of the parents who had an ongoing and affectionate relationship with the kids. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6378 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 16 of 27 24 July 2012 at 3:15pm | IP Logged | ||
I said "doesn't always work well without a name". Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it isn't. That's not a requirement. And why are you deciding what to consider and what not to? Yeah it's different from Chinese, so what? I found this thing about brother/sister fascinating for example, because I've rarely seen them used so casually, without a spiritual/religious undertone. (apart from "cool story, bro"). Please stop dismissing examples just because it works differently than in Chinese. That's a great topic so the more the merrier!!! Edited by Serpent on 24 July 2012 at 3:18pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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