By Fiona Hurley

Hi there, Auntie! Or should I say täti (Finnish), ciocia (Polish), or doda (Hebrew)? There are many ways to say "Auntie" around the world, although it's not always as simple as a direct translation.

The English word aunt derives from the Old French ante. This shares the same root as tante, which is used in French, German, and Dutch today. Another group of related Aunties are zia (Italian), tía (Spanish), and tita (Filipino). Young Spaniards also use tía as a slang term for a girl; Hola tía! is a friendly greeting to your female pal, while a tía buena is a sexy lady!

In Russian, your Auntie is your tjotja, or more familiarly your tetushka. However, these terms extend far beyond the family; your tjotja could be your parent's friend, your friend's parent, your neighbor, or even (especially when used by children) a stranger of the right age. In Japan, you address your Auntie as oba-san, but oba-san is also a respectful term for any middle-aged woman; although you might offend someone by calling her oba-san if she doesn't think she's old enough!

While English uses one word for aunt, some languages have more. The most common distinction is between maternal and paternal sides of the family. In Arabic, your mother's sister is your khaalah and your father's sister is your ammah. In Danish, you can have a faster (father's sister), moster (mother's sister), or tante (uncle's wife or parent's friend). Your Serbian Auntie is your tetka if she's a blood relation on either side of the family, but your ujna is married to your mother's brother while your strina is married to your father's brother.

Malay doesn't differentiate between mother's and father's sides, but it does distinguish between your parent's eldest sister (mak long), youngest sister (mak su), and all the sisters in between. Fortunately Malay has a generic word (mak cik), which can also be used for stepmothers and Aunties by Choice.

Mandarin Chinese has four words: father's sister (gugu), mother's sister (yíma), father's brother's wife (shenshen), and mother's brother's wife (jiùma). Cantonese is even more complicated, distinguishing whether the aunt is related on your mother's or your father's side, and whether she is an older or younger sister or married to an older or younger brother! The Cantonese word for mother's younger sister (ayì) is also used as a more general term.

Many languages of India also have different words for aunts depending on their place in the family. However, Indians commonly use the English word Auntie similarly to the way Russians use tjotja, referring to more distant relatives, friends of parents, and sometimes women they've just met. You might refer to your neighbour as Sunita-Auntie or your doctor as Doctor-Auntie.

In Korean, your mother's sister is your emo, your father's sister your gomo, and your mother's brother's wife your sookmo. However, because your father's older brother is your "big father" (keun appa), his wife becomes your "big mother" (keun umma). It naturally follows that your father's younger brother and wife are your "little father" (jak-eun appa) and "little mother" (jak-eun umma). By contrast, in Swahili your "big mother" (mama mkubwa) and "little mother" (mama mdogo) are your mother's older and younger sisters (the more general Swahili word is shangazi).

Hawaiian, on the other hand, uses the same word (makuahini) for "mother" and "aunt". Among the Lakota people, your father's sister (t'unwín) and your uncle’s wife (t'unwíla) get their own words, but the term for your mother (iná) is also used for your mother's sisters and some of her female cousins. A Hawaiian or Lakota child can have lots of mothers!

But whether Aunties are called tante, khaalah, gugu, or shangazi, they share a common bond: their love for their nieces and nephews.

Photo: phanlop88
Published: June 4, 2013