The
Macedonian language
Macedonian (; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million ...
has one of the more elaborate
kinship (''сродство'', ''роднинство'') systems among European languages. Most words are common to other
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the ...
, though some derive from
Turkish. Terminology may differ from place to place; the terms used in the
Standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
are listed below, dialectical or regional forms are marked
ial./sup> and colloquial forms oll./sup>.
There are four main types of kinship in the family: biological blood kinship, kinship by law ( in-laws), spiritual kinship (such as godparent
In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...
s), and legal kinship through adoption and remarriage. Traditionally, three generations of a family will live together in a home in what anthropologists call a joint family
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem a ...
structure (reminiscent of the historical zadruga
A zadruga (, ) refers to a type of rural community historically common among South Slavs.
The term has been used by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to designate their attempt at collective farming after World War II.
History
Originally, gene ...
units), where parents, their son(s), and grandchildren would cohabit in a family home.''Family and Kinship in Western Europe: The Problem of the Joint Family Household'' by Robert Wheaton
/ref>
Direct descendance and ancestry
Words for relations up to five generations removed—great-great-grandparents and great-great-grandchildren—are in common use. The fourth-generation terms are also used as generics for ancestors and descendants. There is no distinction between the maternal and paternal line.
Ego's generation
Macedonian does not have separate terms for first cousins, second cousins and so forth, but uses ''втор братучед'' (lit. "second cousin"), ''трет братучед'' (lit. "third cousin"), etc.
Relatives
Step-relatives
In-laws
References
{{Macedonian language
Macedonian language
Kinship
Kinship terminology