SEMANTIC FEATURES OF KINSHIP TERMS IN MACEDONIAN, ENGLISH AND GERMAN

Abstract

This paper describes the semantic features of kinship terms in Macedonian, English and German and attempts to make a complete analysis in these languages. The paper compares the semantics of kinship terms from a perspective of a comparative analysis of Macedonian, on one hand with English and German on the other, as they belong to different language groups. These terms have proven to have specific particularities which differ in system structure. The comparison between these three languages will show both similarities and differences in the lexical fields of kinship terms, especially in Macedonian to English and German. Kinship terms have been a subject of interest from various perspectives and analyses since these terms show unique national features. Additionally, they have been discussed and researched from a cultural aspect as well, since they seem to convey information about the cultural life of the people who speak a certain language. Therefore, kinship terms can also be seen as a social symbol. The paper provides an insight into the comparative analysis presenting similarities and differences in the lexical fields of kinship terms and, finally, draws a few conclusions and insights concerning their cultural peculiarities.