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LOGIQUES TERMINOLOGIQUES

À quoi servent les terminologies de parenté ?

Georges Augustins
p. 573-598

Abstracts

What is the use of kinship terminologies? – From its inception, ethnology has never ceased wondering whether kinship terminologies serve some kind of end and what might be their purpose. Diametrally opposed positions have been championed, ranging from that which consists in construing kinship terminologies as the outcome of alliance rules, to that which considers them as unadulterated linguistic phenomena. We here propose testing these different standpoints by using a tool that bears some likeness to componential analysis: the more a terminology is organized according to the principle of equivalence sets, the less firmly it is rooted in social organization rules, and conversely. Finally, in light of Western examples, it is suggested that principles of social organization always have an effect on kin designation systems, but that the terminology is but one of several possible reference systems.

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References

Bibliographical reference

Georges Augustins, “À quoi servent les terminologies de parenté ?”L’Homme, 154-155 | 2000, 573-598.

Electronic reference

Georges Augustins, “À quoi servent les terminologies de parenté ?”L’Homme [Online], 154-155 | avril-septembre 2000, Online since 18 May 2007, connection on 16 April 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/lhomme/50; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/lhomme.50

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About the author

Georges Augustins

CNRS, Laboratoire d’ethnologie et de sociologie comparative, Université Paris X-Nanterre.

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Copyright

CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.

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