Author(s) :

Nyawal James, Daniel Taye, & Meheretu Adnew.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

The purpose of this study was to investigatethe language use on the Nuer kinship terms. The major objective of the thesis was to explore the language use on the Nuer kinship terms. To achieve the objectives of the study, the data was collected through semi-structured key informant interview, elicitation method, focus group discussion, observation checklist, and kinship questionnaire and analyzed thematically and categorically. In this study, a wordlist of kinship terms, ethnographic observation, and personal communication were also used. In the present study, basic phonemes and their distribution in the words were consulted as inputs for the analysis of kinship terms in Nuer. The study discussed the markedness theory and the review of various scholars’ works on kinship terms. The study provided the basic Nuer kinship structures, type of kinship terms, function of kinship terms and address terms are the sole for the discussion of this thesis. The kin terms used in Nuer kinship have been brought into scene for the description of the Nuer Kinship structure and the lineal structure. This study has shown that Nuer Kinship is the patrineal system. The kinship division as consanguine or affinal are considered in Nuer community but the patrineal/consanguine line is the only one considered for the genealogical presentation of the kin. The use of sociolinguistic factors on Nuer kinship terms can heavily depend on semantic interpretation, age set, gender of the addressee and the addresser. In conclusion, Nuer Kinship is complicated when it reaches the second and the third-generation kin. The terms like guar, maar, Nyimaar and demaar (Father, Mother, Sister and Brother) are all in the first generation that also represent the nuclear family. The use of ego generation kin in all its levels has greatly complicated the use of language in Nuer kinship.

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