08-13-2012, 05:01 PM | #1 |
Wizard
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What do you call...
Ok, So say I have character named Patty who is married to someone named James. Patty has a brother named Bill. I know that makes James, Bill's brother in law. That is easy, but if James has a father named Doug, what is Doug's relation to Bill? Father in law seems like the logical fit, but I do not think I have ever heard that used that way?
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08-13-2012, 05:08 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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There's no recognized relationship that I know of. Informally he might be called an Uncle, I suppose.
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08-13-2012, 05:54 PM | #3 |
Zealot
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I've met the fathers-in-law of my sisters, but I barely know them. There's no relationship there. If there exists a language with a specific kinship term for that, it must be in a culture very different from mine.
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08-13-2012, 06:03 PM | #4 |
Philosopher
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Techically, there's no relationship there at all. Your sister's husband's father isn't your father-in-law, at least not officially. There might be an actual social relationship there, even if there is no legal relationship. It really depends on the people involved. If Bill is close to Patty's father-in-law, Bill might use the term father-in-law even if it doesn't technically apply, just as some people might use aunt and uncle for people who aren't technically your aunts and uncles.
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08-13-2012, 10:08 PM | #5 |
Grand Master of Flowers
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There's not an actual relationship. I would probably say "My sister's father-in-law."
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