English also doesn't have dedicated words for various familiar relationships, unlike some other languages. Older / younger brother, father's eldest brother, neighbors cousins friends neighbors dog, that sort of thing.
(Some) australian aboriginal groups "wrap around" their kinship terms, so they can use a finite (but unbounded) set of dedicated words for arbitrarily complex relationship paths.
In particular, the example which led me to learn about this system was someone traversing something like "neighbour's cousin's friend's neighbour's adopted corella" and addressing him (once translated into english) as "uncle".
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English also doesn't have dedicated words for various familiar relationships, unlike some other languages. Older / younger brother, father's eldest brother, neighbors cousins friends neighbors dog, that sort of thing.
And yet, we still struggle through life.
(Some) australian aboriginal groups "wrap around" their kinship terms, so they can use a finite (but unbounded) set of dedicated words for arbitrarily complex relationship paths.
In particular, the example which led me to learn about this system was someone traversing something like "neighbour's cousin's friend's neighbour's adopted corella" and addressing him (once translated into english) as "uncle".
https://yidakistory.com/yolngu-malk-or-skin-names/