Philippine Kinship

This is a copy of an article I wrote for one of my other sites Retire In the Philippines. I am posting this here to show potential TESOL teachers some of the cultural as well as language differences you will encounter when teaching English in another country. My apologies to readers that have seen this post in my other site.

Philippine kinship uses the Generational system to define family and is considered much more simple than the complex U.S. kinship system. In the Philippine system differences are distinguished by generation, age, and in some cases gender.

As a child your parents would be Ama (father formal) or Tatay (father informal) and Ina (mother formal) or Nanay (informal). Uncles would be mga Tito and aunts would be mga Tita. Your Godfather would be your Ninong and your Godmother would be your Ninang. Let me say that Godparents in the Philippines are important compared to most of the U.S. and in fact may be partially responsible for helping the Godchild with educational expenses and gifts on birthdays.

Your older siblings will be known as Kuya (brother) and Ate (sister) but the formal way they are known is mga kaptid. Kuya and Ate are also used to address your older male and female cousins and if they are younger they are mga pinsan. Kuya and Ate can also be used as a sign of respect for people who are older but not necessarily your cousins.

Nieces and nephews are known as mga kapatid and if you are a Amang/Lolo (Grandfather) or Inang/Lola (Grandmother) your mga apo (grandchildren) would be the offsprings of your mga anak (children) and the offsprings of your mga pinsan (cousins).

Filipinos generally greet each other using their title like: Kumusta Ate Bing. or Kumusta Kuya Bert.