Kinship terms in English and Arabic : a contrastive study

Abstract EN

This paper investigates the nature of kinship terms according to various views in both English and Arabic.

Kinship is the most basic principle of organizing individuals into social groups, roles, and categories.

Some form of organization based on parentage and marriage is present in every human society.

However, the nuclear family household is still the fundamental institution responsible for rearing children and organizing consumption.

In nonindustrial contexts, kinship units normally have a much wider array of functions.

They often serve as basic units of production, political representation and even as religious bodies for the worship of spiritual beings, who are themselves considered members of the in-group.

Many societies construct kinship groupings, roles, and relationships by tracing descent exclusively through the male-patrilineal-or female-matrilineal- line.

Thus this paper will shed light on different views that are related to kinship terms in different societies according to the linguistic and / or religious point of views.