Are our rights 'inalienable' or 'unalienable'?

[elleng]

A grammar lesson for the Fourth of July:

The final version of the Declaration of Independence declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But these rights weren’t always “unalienable.” In early drafts of the Declaration — in the handwriting of its primary author, Thomas Jefferson, as well as another writer, John Adams — our rights were “inalienable.” The quote as inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in the nation’s capital, also says “inalienable.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/04/are-our-rights-inalienable-or-unalienable/

[Aristus]

1. ...

[WePurrsevere]

13. One of my favourite scenes...

From a movie I've loved for decades and still watch this time of year.

I know it's not 100% perfect historically but it was a great tool to get my, then young, daughters interested in learning more about the founding of our country.

[elleng]

17. It's perfectly perfect for me, and I HOPE my grandkids get to watch it;

they're LITTLE, tho.

[WePurrsevere]

22. I hope your grands can too. :-) Next time mine come...

when it's raining maybe I'll see if I can get them, especially the two eldest (early/mid teens), to watch this with me. (It might be a bit too dark in spots for the 5 yo and perhaps the 8 yo.)

[elleng]

24. I hope their education(s) really do educate, and this can provide real lessons.

[Stallion]

25. Episode 2 of HBO John Adams is similarly great

they have a scene where Franklin and Adams are editing the Declaration with Jefferson and confront Jefferson on wording that "smacks of the pulpit". Franklin crosses through Jefferson's original words and replaces with unalienable-I believe-have to watch it again. Episode 2 covers the vote for Independence and writing of the Declaration. Great July 4 watching

[PoliticAverse]

2. "I'll speak to the printer about it later". n/t

[zipplewrath]

5. Incorrect

Not uncorrect.

[Laelth]

6. Good point. n/t

-Laelth

[zipplewrath]

8. Latin

I read somewhere that inalienable is more in keeping with latin structure. Of course english isn't a latin language.

[sir pball]

26. "Alien" is a Latin-derived word, so "inalienable" is the "most correct" form

English isn't really any language - yes, it's technically Germanic, but practically speaking it's Borg-esque, absorbing any and all useful words and even grammar. I had a professor once call it "three languages standing on each other's shoulders wearing an overcoat."

So practically, when we have a clear foreign etymology we go by the grammatical rules of the parent language - e.g. "cactus" is a Latin-derived word, so the "most correct" plural is "cacti", or "media" being the plural of "medium", also Latin. And, on a tangential note, since "octopus" is Greek, "octopi" is a nonsense word and the proper native plural would be "octopodes".

Of course, the real answer is that both "unalienable" and "inalienable" are entirely correct and acceptable, and were in use in the late 1700s - it's simply that our preferences have changed:

[LuvNewcastle]

7. I think you're right, but for some reason,

"inalienable" sounds better to me. I guess it's something about the way it rolls off the tongue. But I'll use "unalienable." I'm sure that's what they really meant.

[Laelth]

10. I am not sure that I am right on this one.

Frankly, I like the sound of “inalienable” better too, and there’s probably a reason for that.

zipplewrath, above, has a point.



-Laelth

[LuvNewcastle]

11. Times like these I wish I had a full OED.

Maybe one of these days I'll be able to afford one and build shelves for it. Until then, I guess we just have to do what sounds right. One of my English teachers told me years ago that if you're educated correctly in English, you should know what sounds good together. You must have a feel for the language. Guess that's why it's hard for foreign speakers to pick up.

[csziggy]

23. Well, Lexico powered by Oxford says

inalienable
Pronunciation /inˈālēənəb(ə l/ /ɪnˈeɪliənəb(ə l/
adjective

Unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor.
‘freedom of religion, the most inalienable of all human rights’
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/inalienable

As for unalienable:

unalienable
Pronunciation /ˌənˈālēənəbəl/ /ˌənˈeɪliənəbəl/
adjective
another term for inalienable
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/unalienable

I think this means that inalienable is more correct!

Here is an article about the use of each:

Unalienable vs. Inalienable – What’s the Difference?

As historical documents go, the United States Declaration of Independence is fairly accessible. It is written in a language that is still widely spoken (unlike many texts in Latin and Classical Greek) and, at less than 300 years old, it is still relevant to modern events.

One word may cause some readers to pause, though. The word unalienable (as in unalienable rights) may seem out of place to modern speakers. Isn’t the word inalienable? How could a typo slip into such an important document?

What is the Difference Between Unalienable and Inalienable?

In this post, I will compare unalienable vs. inalienable and use each of these words in at least one example sentence. This way, you will be able to see the words in their proper context.

Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that will make choosing either unalienable or inalienable much easier in your own writing.

More: https://writingexplained.org/unalienable-vs-inalienable-difference

[LuvNewcastle]

32. Thank you!

Looks like the ear knows.

[Aristus]

15. I'm an 'inalienable'' partisan.

[sir pball]

31. Jefferson wrote "inalienable" in the draft.

It's tomato/tomato, use whichever you prefer!

[Jim__]

4. I can't read that article at The Washington Post. Do they say why this is?

I've wondered about that before.

[elleng]

19. Sorry. Here's a bit:

Ushistory.org cites a footnote in “The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas” by Carl Lotus Becker, published 1922:

The Rough Draft reads “[inherent &] inalienable.” There is no indication that Congress changed “inalienable” to “unalienable”; but the latter form appears in the text in the rough Journal, in the corrected Journal, and in the parchment copy. John Adams, in making his copy of the Rough Draft, wrote ” unalienable.” Adams was one of the committee which supervised the printing of the text adopted by Congress, and it may have been at his suggestion that the change was made in printing. “Unalienable” may have been the more customary form in the eighteenth century.

[Jim__]

28. Thanks.

[sir pball]

27. It's purely a matter of popularity.

"Unalienable" was more popular in 1776, "inalienable" is more popular now. They mean the exact same thing, it's literally just which one is in more common use.

[Jim__]

30. Thanks.

[marybourg]

9. I remember it being in- from my long ago

childhood.

[The Wizard]

12. That section of the Declaration

was used by Ho Chi Minh on Vietnam's first Independence Day after booting the French colonialists. He was educated in Boston and wanted the US for an ally, but the red scare prevented that and the result was a war that broke the nation, both spiritually and monetarily. When will they ever learn?

[Jim__]

14. It doesn't really seem to make any difference.

A note from US History org

...

According to The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style from Houghton Mifflin Company:

The unalienable rights that are mentioned in the Declaration of Independence could just as well have been inalienable, which means the same thing. Inalienable or unalienable refers to that which cannot be given away or taken away.

Here is a listing of known versions of the Declaration, showing which word is used:

The Declaration on parchment, now in the Department of State unalienable
The Declaration as written out in the corrected Journal unalienable
The Declaration as printed by Dunlap under the order of Congress unalienable
The draft of the Declaration in the handwriting of Jefferson now in The American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia inalienable
The Declaration in the handwriting of Jefferson now in the New York Public Library inalienable
The draft of the Declaration in the handwriting of Jefferson now in the Massachusetts Historical Society, in Boston inalienable
The copy in the handwriting of John Adams of the "Rough draught" of the Declaration, now at the Massachusetts Historical Society. unalienable

In a footnote in "The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas" by Carl Lotus Becker, published 1922, we learn:

The Rough Draft reads "[inherent &] inalienable." There is no indication that Congress changed "inalienable" to "unalienable"; but the latter form appears in the text in the rough Journal, in the corrected Journal, and in the parchment copy. John Adams, in making his copy of the Rough Draft, wrote " unalienable." Adams was one of the committee which supervised the printing of the text adopted by Congress, and it may have been at his suggestion that the change was made in printing. "Unalienable" may have been the more customary form in the eighteenth century.

[FirstLight]

16. dumb paywall....

[elleng]

20. a bit:

Ushistory.org cites a footnote in “The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas” by Carl Lotus Becker, published 1922:

The Rough Draft reads “[inherent &] inalienable.” There is no indication that Congress changed “inalienable” to “unalienable”; but the latter form appears in the text in the rough Journal, in the corrected Journal, and in the parchment copy. John Adams, in making his copy of the Rough Draft, wrote ” unalienable.” Adams was one of the committee which supervised the printing of the text adopted by Congress, and it may have been at his suggestion that the change was made in printing. “Unalienable” may have been the more customary form in the eighteenth century.

[FirstLight]

21. interesting, thanks!

are the words truly interchangeable, or is there other meaning/connotations in each?

Etymology is so fascinating

[sir pball]

29. They're literally identical, no connotations or implications different between the two.

Apparently in some archaic legal texts, one means something that can never be taken while the other means something that cannot be non-consensually taken, but that's such a hoary, pedantic variation that I can't even find out which one is which!

[dmr]

18. When I was in school it was inalienable

This was back in the 60s.

I heard someone today on TV say unalienable and I cringed. Guess I'm old school.