In my opinion, I think because the story was told by her parents and she just wrote it to share it with the world. When she addressed "my mother's brother", that part must be told to her by her mother since that time the author wasn't born yet or too young to remember such details.
When the author refers to her relatives in this way, I believe she is trying to help us distinguish between them. When she says " my mother's brother" we know right away that she is not talking about her fathers side, and we also know what relationship she has with that side of the family prior to the reference. This also helps us figure out where the author is getting her information from because if she was refering to "my father's mother" then her story could have been a memory, but if it was "my mother's brother" then she probably got her information from her mother because she didnt have a chance to meet them.
It becomes easier to tell who is who, because in English there is no distinct difference between one uncle and another uncle unlike some other languages.
If she did not wrote the way she did, we as the readers might have been really confuse when reading the story for we would not know whom she is referring to. Supposedly the American language is hard to learn but it also a lazy language unlike the other language that gives everything a specific like in Vietnamese, there is different term for which side of the family is from.
I think there were several reasons for this. I think one was that it helped distinguish between the two sides of the family and who exactly was who. I also think she wrote it this way because she was not as close and did not meet them as much as she did with the member of the family she has referred to by their name.
I also agree that it was to cause less confusion between who she was actually talking about, also maybe in her culture she actually separates the two by having two different words for them like in Chinese I call my mother's brother something different than my Father's brother.
Often, in Asian families, the term "aunt" or "uncle" is very generic and most older relative's, no matter the relation, are called "aunt" or "uncle". But by differentiating between different aunts and uncles, Yang is able to draw more clarity and meaning in her memoir since we are able to connect different characteristics with different relative's instead of one generic "aunt" or "uncle".
From my experience, the term "uncle" or "auntie" can reference a family friend, not of blood relation. For example, I call my parents close friends, not by their first name, but by Auntie or Uncle to show that I respect them as someone older than me. It also creates a sense of closeness between families because their not blood related. Similar to that of godparents. A Godparent creates a close tie between families when not related by blood.
I think she wrote it as he mother's father and her father's brother so that it would be easier for us to distinguish who she is talking about. In English we refer to both of our parents siblings as our aunt or uncle, but in many cultures including mines i refer to my mother's sister differently than my father's sister and my in laws. So in my opinion she wrote it as though she was translating it for us.
I think the author wrote that way so it would be easier for the reader to understand which family is talking about. Her mother's or father's. I think is just mere strategy to facilitate the reading.
In my opinion,the author is being descriptive about relatives because in American culture its hard to figure the exact relation with a person. In Asian culture there is a name assigned to every relationship but in the US its simple by calling uncle, aunt or cousin.
In my opinion, I think because the story was told by her parents and she just wrote it to share it with the world. When she addressed "my mother's brother", that part must be told to her by her mother since that time the author wasn't born yet or too young to remember such details.
ReplyDeleteWhen the author refers to her relatives in this way, I believe she is trying to help us distinguish between them. When she says " my mother's brother" we know right away that she is not talking about her fathers side, and we also know what relationship she has with that side of the family prior to the reference. This also helps us figure out where the author is getting her information from because if she was refering to "my father's mother" then her story could have been a memory, but if it was "my mother's brother" then she probably got her information from her mother because she didnt have a chance to meet them.
ReplyDeleteIt becomes easier to tell who is who, because in English there is no distinct difference between one uncle and another uncle unlike some other languages.
ReplyDeleteIf she did not wrote the way she did, we as the readers might have been really confuse when reading the story for we would not know whom she is referring to. Supposedly the American language is hard to learn but it also a lazy language unlike the other language that gives everything a specific like in Vietnamese, there is different term for which side of the family is from.
ReplyDeleteI think there were several reasons for this. I think one was that it helped distinguish between the two sides of the family and who exactly was who. I also think she wrote it this way because she was not as close and did not meet them as much as she did with the member of the family she has referred to by their name.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it was to cause less confusion between who she was actually talking about, also maybe in her culture she actually separates the two by having two different words for them like in Chinese I call my mother's brother something different than my Father's brother.
ReplyDeleteOften, in Asian families, the term "aunt" or "uncle" is very generic and most older relative's, no matter the relation, are called "aunt" or "uncle". But by differentiating between different aunts and uncles, Yang is able to draw more clarity and meaning in her memoir since we are able to connect different characteristics with different relative's instead of one generic "aunt" or "uncle".
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience, the term "uncle" or "auntie" can reference a family friend, not of blood relation. For example, I call my parents close friends, not by their first name, but by Auntie or Uncle to show that I respect them as someone older than me. It also creates a sense of closeness between families because their not blood related. Similar to that of godparents. A Godparent creates a close tie between families when not related by blood.
ReplyDeleteI think she wrote it as he mother's father and her father's brother so that it would be easier for us to distinguish who she is talking about. In English we refer to both of our parents siblings as our aunt or uncle, but in many cultures including mines i refer to my mother's sister differently than my father's sister and my in laws. So in my opinion she wrote it as though she was translating it for us.
ReplyDeleteI think she refers to them because she wanted us to know which side of the family that shes referring to in order to not get us confused.
ReplyDeleteI think the author wrote that way so it would be easier for the reader to understand which family is talking about. Her mother's or father's. I think is just mere strategy to facilitate the reading.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion,the author is being descriptive about relatives because in American culture its hard to figure the exact relation with a person. In Asian culture there is a name assigned to every relationship but in the US its simple by calling uncle, aunt or cousin.
ReplyDeleteI think she wrote it that way so then it could be easier for us readers to understand what we are reading and it won't get us confused.
ReplyDeleteI think she wrote that way just to make clear who is from her maternal side and who is from her paternal side.
ReplyDelete