Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

An uncle is your father's brother, your mother's brother, your father's sister's husband, or your mother's sister's husband. In Chinese, there are 5 different terms for them, including the uncles on your father's side who are older and younger than your own father. Ditto for the female counterparts.


Do we simply call them paternal uncles, or uncles on your father's side, and maternal uncles or uncles on your mother's side? Since Chinese don't call real uncles Uncle Joe, etc., how do you address your father's brothers, older and younger?

How about the uncles through marriages?

Thanks.

bmo

[bud]

Very interesting, BMO!

You are correct in everything you've suggested about uncles/aunts in English.

It doesn't matter, older or youger, maternal or paternal, blood or by marriage, we call them all Uncle Joe, Aunt Mary, etc.

I don't know whether or not this is universal, but when referring to a married couple, it is usual in my family to list the blood relative first.

Aunt Betty and Uncle Don (Aunt Betty is the sister of my mother, and Don is my uncle because of his marriagge to Betty)

Uncle Bernard and Aunt Helen (Bernard is my father's brother; Helen is my aunt by marriage)

Btw, the siblings (and their spouses) of my grandparents are my great uncles and great aunts. We usually address them exactly as we do our regular aunts and uncles - Uncle Bill, Aunt Gertrude, etc.

Nice post!

[BMO]

Btw, the siblings (and their spouses) of my grandparents are my great uncles and great aunts. We usually address them exactly as we do our regular aunts and uncles - Uncle Bill, Aunt Gertrude, etc.
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I found this part interesting, and it is the first time I heard it. They are one generation apart, and yet we address them the same way.

One more question, Bud, My wife's sister-in-law (her brother's wife), is she my sister-in-law too?

Thanks again.

[bud]

It's not due to lack of repect, though. It's just that it is a bit clumsy to say Great Uncle Joe, so it gets shortened to Uncle Joe.

In my opinion, she, too, is your sister-in-law. I'm not positive that a geneologist would share that opinion, but I don't know why they wouldn't.

[BMO]

Thanks again.

BMO

[BMO]

John's father and my father are brothers. So John and I are first cousins, and our children are second cousins. Right?

Our children are also cousins once removed?

Thanks.

BMO

[bud]

I never could get that straight, until your question made me do a little research.

Your first statement is correct. First cousins share a set of grandparents, and their children, who are second cousins, share a set of great grandparents (the parents of a grandparent).

Once removed is for relatives who are one generation apart, twice removed is two generations apart, etc. So your children and John's children are NOT once removed. I think the children of your grandparent's sibling are your cousins once removed. They are one generation behind your grandparent, while you are two generations behind.

Thanks for the question.

[BMO]

Thanks. Second cousins = cousins once removed?

[bud]

No, second cousins are zero times removed. They are in the same generation, while relatives once removed are one generation apart.