Kinship Explorer¶
Run the Kinship Explorer MicroSim Fullscreen
About This MicroSim¶
The Kinship Explorer is a small family tree centered on "You." Dad's side sits on the left in teal and Mom's side on the right in marigold. There are nine relatives to explore: both grandfathers and both grandmothers, Dad's older brother, Dad's younger brother, Dad's sister, Mom's brother and Mom's sister.
Click or tap a relative (or choose one from the menu) to see the single English word for them, such as "uncle," next to the word many families use in five South Asian languages: Hindi-Urdu, Bangla, Punjabi, Tamil and Sinhala. Each word appears in its own script with a simple respelling. Notes point out where usage differs, for example between many Muslim and many Hindu Bangla speakers, or between older and younger aunts in Tamil and Sinhala. Every spelling was checked against a dictionary and is listed in the chapter's fact log.
Kinship words vary by family, region and community. If your family uses a different word, your family isn't wrong.
How to Use¶
- Look at the tree. Find "You," your parents, and the relatives on each side.
- Click or tap "Dad's older brother." Compare the English word with the five South Asian words.
- Press Next relative to step through all nine relatives, or choose one from the menu.
- Compare "Dad's older brother" with "Dad's younger brother," and "Dad's mother" with "Mom's mother." Which languages use different words? Which use the same one?
- Untick Color Dad's side and Mom's side. Pick a relative and see if you can tell which side they're on from the words alone.
Learning Objective¶
Students will be able to explain why many South Asian languages have separate words for relatives on the father's side and the mother's side, and for older and younger relatives, by comparing kinship terms in five languages.
Bloom level: Understand (compare, explain).
Iframe Embed Code¶
<iframe src="https://aaryavvatts-lab.github.io/south-asian-culture-textbook/sims/ch13-kinship-explorer/main.html" height="962px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Lesson Plan¶
Grade level: 9 to 12 (world languages, ethnic studies, sociology, or a South Asian student club meeting)
Duration: 15 to 20 minutes
Activity:
- (3 min) Students list every English word they know for relatives. Most lists will have about ten words, with "uncle," "aunt" and "cousin" doing a lot of work.
- (6 min) In pairs, students click all nine relatives and fill in a chart: relative, English word, and the word in one South Asian language of their choice.
- (4 min) Students find two relatives who share one English word but get different words in at least three of the five languages.
- (5 min) Discussion: Why might a family where married brothers live together need different words for each side? Why do Tamil and Sinhala call a father's brother "big father" or "little father"? Students who speak a South Asian language at home share the words their own family uses.
Assessment questions:
- In Hindi-Urdu, what is the difference between dadi and nani?
- Which relative is called "mama" in all five languages?
- Name one language that uses the same word for both grandmothers.
- Explain one reason a language might have separate words for the father's side and the mother's side.
- Bangla speakers sometimes use different words for the same relative. Give one example from the sim and explain why.