The
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
standard languages (
Serbian,
Croatian,
Bosnian and
Montenegrin) have one of the more elaborate
kinship (''srodstvo'') systems among European languages. Terminology may differ from place to place. 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. The standardized languages may recognize slightly different pronunciations or dialectical forms; all terms are considered standard in all language standards, unless otherwise marked:
/sup> (Serbian), /sup> (Croatian), /sup> (Bosnian) and /sup> (Montenegrin) below.
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.
As is common in many rural family structures, 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, where parents, their son(s), and grandchildren would cohabit in a family home.''Kinship, networks, and exchange; The Grapevine Forest: Kinship, Status, and Wealth in a Mediterranean Community (Selo, Croatia)'' by Bojka Milici, Thomas Schweizer, Douglas R. White
/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.
Own generation
Diminutive forms of siblings are used for cousins.
Indirect ancestry, descendants and legal relations
There are separate terms for maternal and paternal uncles, but not for aunts. In addition, spouses of uncles and aunts have their own terms.
In-laws
There are separate terms for a man's and a woman's parents-in-law. However, the same terms are commonly used for siblings-in-law and children-in-law. There are separate terms for co-siblings-in-law.
Step-relatives
There are spouses of ancestors that are not blood relatives and their spouse's descendants, second spouse of father's or mother's siblings (paternal or maternal step-aunts and step-uncles) and their children.
Foster-relatives
Foster relations are important and have dedicated terms.
References
Further reading
*
*{{cite journal, editor=Никола Пантелић, journal=Гласник Етнографског музеја у Београду књ. 50, year=1986, author=Мирко Бaрјaктaровић, title=О сродничким називима код нас и њиховом делимичном нестајању, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeGmCQAAQBAJ, publisher=Etnografski muzej u Beogradu, id=GGKEY:1Y5P116PDB9, pages=159–171
Serbo-Croatian language
Kinship
Kinship
Kinship
Kinship
Kinship terminology
Montenegrin culture
Montenegrin language
Bosniak culture
Bosnian language
Bosnia and Herzegovina culture
Serbian genealogy