ID Number 500504
2
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Family
From a linguistic perspective, it would be possible to understand a particular culture
based solely on understanding its language, just as much as a socialist would view culture as
being an effective source of understanding a society’s language. The two perspectives make it
clear that a significant relationship exists between language and culture, to the extent that it
would be important for one to understand either one of them if he or she seeks to explore the
other. In particular, while culture may be constant over time as long as it remains unaffected by
changes in its environment, language is often dependent on the culture and social aspects of the
society. Consequently, it would be possible to observe a consistent relationship between the use
of language and the culture in which the said language is applied. An evaluation of the
contextual use of the word family reveals that culture within the world society and history
therein are all critical aspects that have shaped its use to the extent of undergoing significant
changes across centuries.
Understanding any particular issue requires that one proceeds from what he or she knows
about a particular concept, and delves into exploring that which is foreign. In this case, the
contemporary Oxford dictionary’s definition of family includes two parents and their children,
Commented [TM1]: Your thesis is too vague. You need to
make a claim about how the definition of “family” has
changed over time due to specific historical, social and/or
cultural events.
Commented [TM2]: Your writing tends to be vague. You
need to use concrete language. Review this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVMcrchUpts
ID Number 500504
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who live together as a unit. However, the definition has evolved significantly over the
years, which explains why the dictionary also includes the organization of a criminal group
such as the Carlo Gambino crime family. In both of these cases, the definition provided is
one which one would understand depending on the context in which the word is applied.
However, the word has been used differently across generations based on different cultures,
to the extent that the meaning could have been more extensive meaning than is applied in the
modern contexts.
The use of a word to the extent of having a universal meaning results from a high
frequency of its use within a particular context. As long as a word is used frequently, it is likely
to develop into part of the language irrespective of possible morphological anomalies present in
the said word (Pagel et al. 717). Most of the modern English words are derived from their Latin
forms, and family is no different. With Latin being one of the oldest languages, different
societies borrow their words from Latin forms, with the original Latin form of a family being
famulus. The similarity between the two forms is striking, which explains the borrowing aspect
in the use of language. However, the definition of famulus in its Latin context infers servant.
Commented [TM3]: Source?
Notably, language often develops from a particular social perspective of a particular
society, and the roles of different members of the fumulus in the Latin context explain the
evolution in its use. According to Everett, culture is so consequential to language development to
the extent that children could understand aspects of their culture before they can master the
ultimate use of language within the said cultural environment (356). Consequently, the fumulus
setting had the father as the head, and every other being within the domain of is fumulus was
subject to him. Incorporating the concept of slavery into the setting, then it becomes clear that
the relationship between servant and what would be the modern-day American version of the
Latin word are strikingly similar.
Commented [TM4]: Who is Everett? Always introduce
your source fully including their credentials.
In any case, borrowing a particular word from an alternate cultural society would require
some form of similarity in the use of the word. Therefore, the application of the word fumulus in
the Roman society must have had some striking similarity to what existed in the English society
at the time. Noticing that a unit consisting of a male head of the unit, in which he lived with his
wife and children, and in control of property was a fumulus, then a similar unit would have a
word that was similar and easier to pronounce within the English context. In essence, the
differences in language between Latin and English led to an alteration in the morphology of the
word, resulting in its pronunciation as a family within the English society. However, its
extensive use within the English context was only realized in the fifteenth century, during which
period it was appropriately defined and used as one of the Basic English words.
Commented [TM5]: Off focus.
According to basic definition standards, one cannot use a word in its own description,
which led to the replacement of the word family with household, in the fifteenth-century
definition of family. A household is clearly an environment surrounding a particular unit of
Commented [TM6]: What is your source for this?
control and would include different entities within the said area. Most importantly, the fifteenthcentury society had much appreciation for slavery as it was the primary sources of labor for most
households. Therefore, as much as the source of the word family had been a society in which
slavery was part of the culture, the contemporary application of slavery included people who
were unwilling to work as slaves and their treatment was in high disregard to their positions in
the society as people. Consequently, the family had evolved to include the entirety of property,
and people with whom one was related.
Over time, however, there was an end to slavery as the society moved closer to
modernization, and family was primarily used in reference to blood ties. In the nineteenth and
twentieth century’s application of the word, family evolved in the context of people sharing a
Commented [TM7]: Where?
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particular name. In this case, the family evolved in its use to use within the context of
extended families, in which case it was closer to the modern definition of family. Ultimately,
the use had evolved in the context of its application, primarily due to the cultural aspects of the
society at the time. Alternatively, the family would have disappeared from the application
within the English context as slavery was no longer as extensive as it had been in the previous
centuries. However, since the word was still centered on the basic unit of a community, it
evolved and followed a unit in which a male member of the unit made decisions that everyone
else within the unit followed.
With economic and industrial development, people disintegrated and no longer lived their
entire lives within the areas in which they were born. One could have been born in
Wyoming, and end up living in Florida as he or she had greater opportunities in the Southern
State. With this development, the ties within the extended units were bound to change. In
some cases, it could be possible for one to only see his or her extended family during the
summer or Christmas holidays when they all congregated at home to see their parents.
Ultimately, the ultimate authority of the family patriarch reduced and the extended family
was no longer of as critical importance in the definition of the term. Therefore, the near kin,
with whom one lived, would then be viewed as family, without reference to the extended
family tree. In this case, although the definition deviated from the extended family, it was
not as limiting as the contemporary definition of the word.
With time and in the modern 21st century, the definition of family has morphed enough
to include people with whom one lives with, comprising of two adults and their children. In this
context, there is no clear definition of the source of authority as was the case in the inclusion of
“household” in earlier definitions. Gender balance and shared responsibilities between the adults
within the family leads to the existing level of liberalism in the definition, which could also be
Commented [TM8]: Disintegrated? Do you mean
dispersed?
viewed to take note of the existing same-gender parent families. Such a situation may have been
unimaginable in earlier centuries but it is a cultural development in the contemporary society that
people have grown to accept and incorporate as being part of the daily experiences
and observations within family units.
The use of family within the context of organized crime is another clear indication of the
level of liberalism in use of the word in the contemporary era. Family in the modern society is a
word used in the description of close relationships in addition to blood ties. Crime families are
best known for the loyalty of their members, in which case some of the members of such groups
of organized crime may even choose to experience adversities such as going to jail if only such
an adversity will help protect other members of the group. Ultimately, the family within this
context implies a personal commitment to a particular course and the relationship between the
individuals therein.
In conclusion, the family definition is largely dependent on culture, and the changes in
such cultural aspects over history have led the word to be dependent on the period in history
in which it is applied. Such emphasizes the relationship between culture, history, and language,
in which they are all dependent on each other. Therefore, as long as one wishes to explore
and understand language, he or she would need to understand the culture and history of the
word's usage as well.
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