I have neighbours who were born in UK but their families are from China and Malaysia....I'm just curious..is there any other asian country call their brothers and sisters not by their name...for example...my neighbour from China call his older brother as "Tai Ke" or something similiar...and neighbour from Malaysia call their older sister as "Khaka"....why can't they just call them by their name like we do....Is there any other country have a similiar culture in calling their siblings.
2007-03-25 11:55:40 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Family & Relationships ➔ Friends
it's a sign of respect, just as you don't go around calling teachers or someone like that by their first name.
2007-03-25 12:08:27 · answer #1 · answered by cheeser 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its all down to 'Confucianism' (i think that's how it's spelt).
His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.
to refer to a senior, (someone who is older or ranked socially higher than you) by their name is a sign of disrespect to that person as well as your unbringing. it's ' like you've ingored their status'. it often causes confusion, but that's part of life!
but i have often noticed, because of this the orientals have created a tight knit family with great emphasis on family and social values.
could this be a reason why we don't see many of their youngsters causing trouble on the streets or getting into trouble?
check out this link, should clear things up ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius#Philosophy
2007-03-25 19:12:16 · answer #2 · answered by bluecow 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why do you think you have the right to influence people what they want to call each other. Allow people to be who they are.
In their own home they may simply be using the Chinese or Malaysian greeting. The name offered to the western society may simply be for convenience.
2007-03-26 06:22:06 · answer #3 · answered by Jewel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First there is the difference between term of reference (what you call a person when you're taking about him/her) and term of address (what you call a person when you are directly talking to him/her).
Examples:
"Dad, can I borrow the car tonight?" - term of address
"My father will not let me borrow the car tonight." - term of reference.
In most Asian countries, the Philippines included, we have distinct terms of address for every member of the family. What is brother to US folks is "Kuya" (eldest brother),
"Diko" (2nd eldest), "Sanko" (3rd eldest), etc....and an entirely different set of terms of address for our sisters.
2007-03-25 19:44:49 · answer #4 · answered by Inday 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In India for my brother you can call them either bhiya or dada. It is to show respect amongst family members.
2007-03-25 18:59:23 · answer #5 · answered by Indira B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
im an indian living in south africa..
its indian tradition to call brothers "bhaiya" and sisters "didi or "behen".. its a form of respect mostly to address elder siblings..
but here in south africa, we just call each other by our names..
2007-03-26 06:44:11 · answer #6 · answered by ღ♥eyeღℓash♥ღ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe those are the names in their native language?
2007-03-25 19:00:56 · answer #7 · answered by thinkpinkooo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hey you can call me anything but just remember to call me for dinner
2007-03-25 19:07:15 · answer #8 · answered by ms_debbieg 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am chinese & my mom & dad doesnt make us call ea. othr sumthng differnt. but we do b/c it shows respect (& i thnk its easier 2 keep track who's who :D)
2007-03-25 19:03:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋