Family in Dlémale
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 17 Mar 2015, 21:03.
[comments] dlm Speakers of Dlémale place emphasis on community. Strict family ties are not crucial, because they are essentially one large (symbolic) family. Thus the words for family members are limited and do not have the same meaning as we understand them in English.
"Sibling" is used a gender-neutral term for children who live in the same household, whether or not they are biologically related. The word for "cousin" is closer to "friend," a term used for two children who are closer to each other than they are to other children.
The words for "mother" and "father" are only temporary terms, used to indicate one's status of giving birth to a child ("mother") or helping to "make" that child ("father"). They are only used specifically in terms of the birth process. Otherwise, biological ties are not necessary to point out. This is not to say that speakers of Dlémale do not have emotional ties to biological relatives; the biological aspects are simply not important to indicate who is related and who is not.
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