The cells are colored to reflect the classification given by Ward H. Goodenough*.
A level of classification is defined by the prefixes and suffixes that may be added to the base kinship term to form derivative groups. Note that the definitions depend on their use in American English. The concepts might not apply to the subject language, but are used here merely to group the terms in categories that are intuitive to American English speakers.
| Group I: These terms can take the adjective "foster", the prefix "step-", and the suffix "-in-law". They cannot take the adjective "grand". This fact is not contradicted by the kinship terms as "grandmother", which are single terms, and not in adjective + noun constructions. They also cannot take degree constructions with "first", "second", etc. |
| Group II: These terms can take the adjective "grand" or "great", but cannot take the adjective "foster", the prefix "step-", or the suffix "-in-law", nor can they take degree constructions with "first", "second", etc. |
| Group III: These terms cannot take the adjectives "foster" or "grand", the prefix "step-", or the suffix "-in-law", but they can take degree constructions with "first", "second", etc., and the prefixal phrases "once removed", "twice removed", etc. |
| Group IV: These terms are used for kinship based on marriage (so-called affinal kin-types). |
"Yankee Kinship Terminology: A Problem in Componential Analysis" in Cognitive Anthropology, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1969, pp. 255-288