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[Baker, John]

The complaint in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is that there is no such word as “unalienable,” and that it should say “inalienable” (or “sacred rights,” which the speaker thinks would be better).

Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence said “inalienable,” so I’m not sure how that got changed to “unalienable.”  The musical 1776 suggests that John Adams had the printer make the change (although “unalienable” is also used in the signed fair copy, which was not printed).


John Baker


From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of James Landau
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"The cat owns the house.  That's why "homeowner" has "meow" in it.
Aside:  Robert A. Heinlein's novel "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" contains a short scene about someone complaining that there is no such word as "inalienable".
James Landau
jjjrlandau at netscape.com<mailto:jjjrlandau at netscape.com>

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