> Level 0: Blood relatives only. “Uncle”/”Auntie” is strictly for real uncles/aunts (by blood or marriage). No fictive use.
This is definitely not true for children in the USA. I believe it is common (or for sure it was common) that children use Aunt/Uncle for close friends of the family.
Agree. I’m in my 40s and used these as a kid to refer to close friends of my parents age/generation. My kids do the same. As have many other we know.
It’s sort of an informal Mister/Misses. Kids may call some adult Mister Firstname. But that seems formal for frequent use if the person is around a lot or in a houseguest.
As an example, my best friend from my teens into adulthood is more like a brother to me. His kids are more like nieces and nephews than my own, and more like cousins to my child. They qualify for “sleepover status” well before any of his friends would have slept over, they goof around and have a more deeper relationship with the family, things like that. So it feels natural for my kid to call him Uncle Firstname.
I am in Texas and this does feel like it may be a regional thing fwiw.
EDIT: to add, while this does exist, it's also completely normal and probably more common to just simply call the person Firstname even as a kid. When I think back on when/why it occurs, some people being called Uncle/Aunt, it's seems like the age the kid was introduced to them is relevant. Too old, the kid will likely say Firstname. Young enough, the kid was likely being taught manners and familial titles, so the adult was given one. Some families are more strict regarding these things. Teaching kids, and enforcing compliance, with old school manners like Mr/Mrs seems less and less common.
Maybe it's generational? I never heard it used for close friends of the family in the 1960s and 1970s. I've heard it in the last 10 maybe 20 years. (I'm not around children all that much, so I don't know how "common" it is.)
I see what you're saying, ha ha. And you're right — it's people addressing those of the same age range. I didn't realize uncle and auntie were used for older strangers.
> ” Level 2: Casual acquaintances. Used more widely for neighbors, family friends, or community members you vaguely know, but typically not for an absolute stranger.”
I would specifically add to he list of examples your school teacher when you are a child and the parents of your friends, seems the most common usage for it.
This is also common in the Italian/Greek/Indian etc. American subcultures. Immigrant cultures take their time - and sometimes never - in absorbing the larger anglo-saxon culture into their own.
In Tamil (and South Indian states), it’s common to call elders appa (dad) and amma (mom). Mama & mami is user typically by a small sect of so-called upper caste people.
In India, at least in Hindi, there is uncle and aunti for strangers and the blood relatives have their own words (mama - brother of mother, masi - sister of mother, bua - sister of father, etc). Whether these specific words are used for non-blood relatives is kinda specific to the people in question.
So I wouldn't say there is any implicit kinship there. If I call a random stranger "uncle" then there's no real meaning to it. If I call him "mama" or "chacha" then that would be implying a relationship.
> Level 0: Blood relatives only. “Uncle”/”Auntie” is strictly for real uncles/aunts (by blood or marriage). No fictive use.
This is definitely not true for children in the USA. I believe it is common (or for sure it was common) that children use Aunt/Uncle for close friends of the family.