Patrilineal vs. Matrilineal Succession

Patrilineal vs. Matrilineal Succession Patrilineal societies, those that connect generations through the father’s line, dominate the world’s culture. And most sociologists would argue that we still live for the most part under a patriarchy, in which men serve as heads of almost every important social, cultural, and political institution. But a few cultures throughout history were matrilineal and therefore connected generations through the mother’s line. These cultures included many Native Americans, certain South Americans, and the Spanish and French Basque. And although matrilineal law is not codified in the Torah, the Jewish Oral Tradition as written in the Mishnah outlines an overwhelmingly matrilineal society: a child of a Jewish mother is always Jewish, regardless of the faith of the father. Patrilineal Succession For most of history, patrilineal succession (a patrilyny) dominated family units. Names, property, titles, and other valuables were traditionally passed on through a male line. Females did not inherit, unless there were no male heirs. Even then, distant male relatives would inherit over close female relatives like daughters.  Property passed from father to daughter indirectly, usually through dowries on a daughter’s marriage, which was paid to and came under the control of her husband or her husband’s father or another male relative. Matrilineal Succession In matrilineal succession, women inherited titles and names from their mothers, and passed them down to their daughters. Matrilineal succession did not necessarily mean that women held the power and property and titles. Sometimes, men in matrilineal societies were the ones who inherited, but they did so through their mother’s brothers, and passed their own inheritances along to their sisters’ children. The Role of Women in Promoting Patrilyny While most theorists believe that patriarchal systems came to dominate both Western and non-Western cultures through the use of force, social anthropologist Audrey Smedley’s research with the Birom people of Nigeria led her to posit that it might, in fact, be women themselves who willingly invented many features of the patrilyny. Furthermore, she argues, men’s roles are actually more constricted than women’s roles, and that women have significant decision-making within such organization. Moving Away From the Patrilyny In many ways, modern western culture has adopted more matrilineal-like structures, especially in poor communities where men are marginalized for other cultural reasons- race or immigration status, for instance.  The modern American imprisonment of a large percentage of the black male population means that many children do not have as much contact with fathers and other male relatives. So too have various property rights laws over the past several hundred years served to diminish the control that men have over women’s inherited property and women’s right to choose who inherits their property. In western cultures, it has become more common for women to keep their birth names after marriage, even if a substantial percentage of those women give their husband’s name to their children. And even if adhering to some version of  Salic law  has long prevented royal daughters from becoming  queens regnant, many monarchies have or are beginning to abolish the strict patrilineal assumptions in inheriting royal titles and power.

Pronunciation of -ise in Verbs and Nouns

Pronunciation of -ise in Verbs and Nouns Pronunciation of -ise in Verbs and Nouns Pronunciation of -ise in Verbs and Nouns By Maeve Maddox The letter s represents two sounds in English, the unvoiced sound /s/ heard in sister, and the voiced sound /z/ heard in rose. Note: The â€Å"voiced† s sound buzzes, like the sound of /z/. The unvoiced s sound is â€Å"soft,† like the hiss of a snake. When the spelling combination -ise occurs in verbs and nouns, the s is usually voiced, but not always. Verbs in which the s in -ise is voiced: arise advertise apprise chastise circumcise comprise compromise (BUT: promise with /s/) demise despise devise disfranchise disguise enfranchise excise exercise improvise incise revise supervise surmise surprise While on the subject of -ise endings in verbs, a comment is probably in order on the widespread misconception that the verb ending -ize as in synthesize is an American corruption of lovely English verbs that â€Å"should† end in -ise. The OED recommends the -ize ending for verbs that derive from Greek, and, as demonstrated by the list above, Americans have not altogether abandoned the -ise ending. The usage differs only with verbs in -yze, like analyze and paralyze. OED prefers analyse and paralyse for etymological reasons. In its entry on the suffix -ize, the OED states the rationale for preferring the -ize spelling: the suffix itself, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Greek -izein, Latin -izÄ re; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic. For a fascinating comparison of views on the subject of -ize vs. -ise, see Mike Horne’s The -ize have it!† Nouns in which the s in -ise is voiced: chemise demise enterprise franchise expertise surprise valise (British) Nouns in which the s is unvoiced: anise paradise promise premise treatise (a secondary pronunciation with /z/ is given in the OED) valise (American) vise Some of you may be surprised to see expertise listed with the nouns in which the s has the /z/ sound. The pronunciation of expertise with the unvoiced s is rampant on American television, but both the OED and Merriam-Webster Unabridged agree that the pronunciation is [EK-spur-TEEZ]. Some other dictionaries now list the unvoiced pronunciation as an acceptable alternative, but Charles Elster is having none of it: †Careful speakers should make an extra effort to hold the line on this one [EK-spur-TEEZ].† –The Big Book of BEASTLY Mispronunciations, page 189. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"One Fell SwoopPrepositions to Die With