Eskimo kinship terminologies ...
Seventeen complete and incomplete Eskimo kinship terminologies are examined and compared with a view to determining and assessing the nature and extent of the reported discrepancies. It is shown that the lack of a standardized orthography for the Eskimo language has contributed to the difficulties o...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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University of British Columbia
2011
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0105379 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0105379 |
| Summary: | Seventeen complete and incomplete Eskimo kinship terminologies are examined and compared with a view to determining and assessing the nature and extent of the reported discrepancies. It is shown that the lack of a standardized orthography for the Eskimo language has contributed to the difficulties of comparing the distribution of terminology. Nuances of the language, especially those relating to the use of different suffixes for 'step', 'adoptive', and 'lesser' are shown to give rise to some of the reported discrepancies. The definitions of Spier and Murdock relating to the 'Eskimo Type' of kinship system and social structure are examined and found to be invalid for the areas for which data are available. It is established that a core of terminological and structural similarity exists between the geographically isolated systems. But the importance of local variables demands that correlations between the kinship system and the associated social structure must be made within the framework of the local economic ... |
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