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Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words
An enlightening linguistic journey through a thousand years of feminist language--and what we can learn from the vivid vocabulary English once had for women's bodies, experiences, and sexuality
So many of the words we use to articulate the experiences women share feel awkward or alien. Medical terms are scrupulously accurate but antiseptic. Slang and obscenities have shock value, yet they perpetuate taboos. Where are the plain, honest words for the experiences that women encounter in their daily lives?
Mother Tongueis a historical investigation of feminist language and thought, from the dawn of Old English to the present day. Dr. Jenni Nuttall guides readers through the evolution of words we have used to describe female bodies, menstruation, women's sexuality, the consequences of male violence, childbirth, women's paid and unpaid work, and gender. Along the way, she challenges our modern language's ability to insightfully articulate women's shared experiences by examining the long-forgotten words once used in English for female sexual and reproductive organs. Nuttall also tells the story of words likewombandbreast,whose meanings have changed over time, as well as how anatomical words such ashysteriaandhystericalcame to have such loaded legacies.
Inspired by today's heated debates about words likewomxnandmenstruators--and also by more personal conversations between her and her teenage daughter--Nuttall describes the profound transformation of the English language. In the process, she unearths some surprisingly progressive thinking that challenges our assumptions about the past--and, in some cases, puts our twenty-first-century society to shame.
So many of the words we use to articulate the experiences women share feel awkward or alien. Medical terms are scrupulously accurate but antiseptic. Slang and obscenities have shock value, yet they perpetuate taboos. Where are the plain, honest words for the experiences that women encounter in their daily lives?
Mother Tongueis a historical investigation of feminist language and thought, from the dawn of Old English to the present day. Dr. Jenni Nuttall guides readers through the evolution of words we have used to describe female bodies, menstruation, women's sexuality, the consequences of male violence, childbirth, women's paid and unpaid work, and gender. Along the way, she challenges our modern language's ability to insightfully articulate women's shared experiences by examining the long-forgotten words once used in English for female sexual and reproductive organs. Nuttall also tells the story of words likewombandbreast,whose meanings have changed over time, as well as how anatomical words such ashysteriaandhystericalcame to have such loaded legacies.
Inspired by today's heated debates about words likewomxnandmenstruators--and also by more personal conversations between her and her teenage daughter--Nuttall describes the profound transformation of the English language. In the process, she unearths some surprisingly progressive thinking that challenges our assumptions about the past--and, in some cases, puts our twenty-first-century society to shame.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2023
About the author
Jenni Nuttall
1book42followersDr Jenni Nuttall is an academic who has been teaching and research medieval literature at the University of Oxford for the last twenty years. She’s thus had a lot of practice at making old words seem interesting. She has a DPhil from Oxford and completed the University of East Anglia’s MA in Creative Writing. Mother Tongue is her first book for the general reader.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
June 23, 2023
3.5 out of 5
NetGalley provided me an ARC of Mother Tongue and I was overjoyed to read this book.
Covering the evolution of women’s words, this book examines how modern words about womanhood have changed or been warped over time. With nine chapters that examine the largest aspects of being a woman, readers are guided through Old English, Latin, and all Germanic roots to better understand how language can be influenced by more than just words. This book was overall very informative and I learned a lot. The chapters particularly on menstruation and jobs were enlightening as these areas seem to be two of the biggest that men have influenced. Throughout the whole book, the element of patriarchy and misogyny is applied to the growth of many words, and while you don’t see it with much thought, once reviewed, it is impossible to see how men haven’t influenced women’s words.
While there was a lot that I liked about this book, there were often when I felt the writing was inaccessible as the author often wrote out sentences in Old English. In many cases, Old English would be followed by the Modern English translation. Still, rather than it is helpful, I found this repetition to be disorienting (especially since it wasn’t done every time, I would often spend time trying to figure out the Old English only to realize then the Modern translation was/wasn’t there). This and the overall writing style further highlight (at least to me) that being a subject-matter expert does not mean you should be a writer. Additionally, I understand the author is British and this book focuses on the Germanic and Latin/Greek roots for many of these words, but I felt like something was missing as there was no mention of how non-European languages might have influenced or affected the growth of women’s words. This is just a note, nothing against the book as again, it is about Modern English.
I would say my largest issue came at the end of this book, and it could have just been the way I read it, however the final chapter and the “After Words” briefly mentioned the increased use/desire for gender-neutral language. This wasn’t explored very much and it felt dismissive to mostly ignore this linguistic change in modern language and society. As a non-binary individual, I would have appreciated the author’s expanded thoughts on this matter and, potentially more in the “After Words” about how this neutrality change affects language and the importance of pronouns/inclusive language.
That being said, I learned a lot from this book and did enjoy it a lot. There were some gaps and as an ARC, I assume the final product will be edited a bit more, but I’m grateful for the chance to read this book early.
NetGalley provided me an ARC of Mother Tongue and I was overjoyed to read this book.
Covering the evolution of women’s words, this book examines how modern words about womanhood have changed or been warped over time. With nine chapters that examine the largest aspects of being a woman, readers are guided through Old English, Latin, and all Germanic roots to better understand how language can be influenced by more than just words. This book was overall very informative and I learned a lot. The chapters particularly on menstruation and jobs were enlightening as these areas seem to be two of the biggest that men have influenced. Throughout the whole book, the element of patriarchy and misogyny is applied to the growth of many words, and while you don’t see it with much thought, once reviewed, it is impossible to see how men haven’t influenced women’s words.
While there was a lot that I liked about this book, there were often when I felt the writing was inaccessible as the author often wrote out sentences in Old English. In many cases, Old English would be followed by the Modern English translation. Still, rather than it is helpful, I found this repetition to be disorienting (especially since it wasn’t done every time, I would often spend time trying to figure out the Old English only to realize then the Modern translation was/wasn’t there). This and the overall writing style further highlight (at least to me) that being a subject-matter expert does not mean you should be a writer. Additionally, I understand the author is British and this book focuses on the Germanic and Latin/Greek roots for many of these words, but I felt like something was missing as there was no mention of how non-European languages might have influenced or affected the growth of women’s words. This is just a note, nothing against the book as again, it is about Modern English.
I would say my largest issue came at the end of this book, and it could have just been the way I read it, however the final chapter and the “After Words” briefly mentioned the increased use/desire for gender-neutral language. This wasn’t explored very much and it felt dismissive to mostly ignore this linguistic change in modern language and society. As a non-binary individual, I would have appreciated the author’s expanded thoughts on this matter and, potentially more in the “After Words” about how this neutrality change affects language and the importance of pronouns/inclusive language.
That being said, I learned a lot from this book and did enjoy it a lot. There were some gaps and as an ARC, I assume the final product will be edited a bit more, but I’m grateful for the chance to read this book early.
September 18, 2023
Until I was about 40% through, this was a 2-star book for me. There's already a glut of etymology books, to the point that I didn't see anything to distinguish this one from other "history of taboo words" books. It's a crowded field, and Nuttall doesn't give a case for why readers should be interested in her book in particular.
In an early chapter, Nuttall talks about the history of words for cis female reproductive organs and mentions that some people find phrases like "people with uteruses," etc., to be dehumanizing. She then writes that to have this argument we should know where the words come from. That's a statement that needs justification, which Nuttall doesn't provide. There are plenty of examples of words whose history isn't relevant to how the word is used today. Christmas celebrations aren't restricted to celebrating Mass, and a fetus is not a baby regardless of the word's etymology. I don't need to be able to recite the history of the word "uterus" to notice that the phrase "people with uteruses" has the word "people" in it.
As a queer uterus owner, I'm pretty attuned to anti-trans dog whistles. I was willing to dismiss Nuttall's both-sidesing of a TERF-specific brand of respectability politics as possibly something she doesn't realize is so fraught until I got to her discussion of the etymology around words related to queerness. Nuttall tries to sneak in the same "some people have reclaimed it and some people reject it as a slur" both sidesing. My issue with Nuttall giving the opposing sides of these disagreements equal weight is they do not carry equal weight. Protests against inclusive language invariably accompany anti-trans bigotry. These complaints have always been a transparent way of demonstrating a rejection of trans people without accepting accountability for more explicit bigotry. Queer people and their allies get enough of that bullshit from Graham Linehan's online flying monkeys. We don't need Nuttall trying to sneak it into ostensibly feminist nonfiction.
In an early chapter, Nuttall talks about the history of words for cis female reproductive organs and mentions that some people find phrases like "people with uteruses," etc., to be dehumanizing. She then writes that to have this argument we should know where the words come from. That's a statement that needs justification, which Nuttall doesn't provide. There are plenty of examples of words whose history isn't relevant to how the word is used today. Christmas celebrations aren't restricted to celebrating Mass, and a fetus is not a baby regardless of the word's etymology. I don't need to be able to recite the history of the word "uterus" to notice that the phrase "people with uteruses" has the word "people" in it.
As a queer uterus owner, I'm pretty attuned to anti-trans dog whistles. I was willing to dismiss Nuttall's both-sidesing of a TERF-specific brand of respectability politics as possibly something she doesn't realize is so fraught until I got to her discussion of the etymology around words related to queerness. Nuttall tries to sneak in the same "some people have reclaimed it and some people reject it as a slur" both sidesing. My issue with Nuttall giving the opposing sides of these disagreements equal weight is they do not carry equal weight. Protests against inclusive language invariably accompany anti-trans bigotry. These complaints have always been a transparent way of demonstrating a rejection of trans people without accepting accountability for more explicit bigotry. Queer people and their allies get enough of that bullshit from Graham Linehan's online flying monkeys. We don't need Nuttall trying to sneak it into ostensibly feminist nonfiction.
September 5, 2023
For me, Chapter 6 of this book was a fascinating study in women's labor and word etymology. Did you know that the word "dairy" derives from the Old Englishdæge,meaning an enslaved woman or female servant? It originally had nothing to do with milk per se but rather with the farm-hand women who might be charged with milking the animals. Far from being a polite designation for a woman of high status, the word "lady" was actually a compound ofhlæf(loaf) anddæge(worker) and referred to a woman of low status within the household, primarily responsible for bread-kneading. So many pejorative words today are rooted in histories of women's work. While "drudge" generally means any kind of servile work, in the seventeenth century "drudge" was actually a synonym for a maid. Similarly, "wench" referred to a young female servant but came to mean, because of caricatures of lascivious young women, a prostitute. On the other hand, "spinster" meant a woman who spins wool—a common labor for single women who were precariously employed—but over time, it came to mean an unmarried older woman. Some words ameliorated (such as "lady" ) and others developed pejorative connotations (such as "wench" and "spinster" ) and others took on entirely new meanings (such as "dairy" ) but all these individual cases document the changing perceptions of women and women's work across centuries.
Overall, however, I think this book needs a lot of editing. Nuttall's book has a wide range of topics (women's bodies and anatomy, childbirth, breastfeeding, aging, work, and sexual violence) and it is a challenging task to combine all the etymologies of different words into a coherent story about womanhood in the Anglophone world. In Chapter 1, for example, there is an incisive discussion of how medieval people understood female genitalia (some saw the female anatomy as simply as an inversion of the male counterparts. Hence, if the penis is a sword-like organ, then the female body must have a corresponding sheath-like organ—the vagina, Latin for "sheath" ). But the chapter also includes many circuitous digressions. For example, a paragraph about the tragedy of breast-cancer and mastectomies leads to a discussion about the ancient folk etymology of "Amazonian" meaning "without a breast". While Latin writers did read "Amazonian" as a Greek compound (ameaning "without" andmazosmeaning "breast" ), it was unclear how this etymology was relevant to a broader history of vocabularies of female anatomy in the English language—vocabularies often based on Aristotelian idealism rather than empirical knowledge. Many chapters lost focus and became a hodgepodge of lexical curiosities and platitudes. I support the ethical call to examine the misogynistic underpinning of many words but it needed to be more clearly narrativized into a cohesive story.
This is not a well-organized book. I was fascinated to read, at different, points about 17th- and 18th-century slang terms. "Ramp" (to climb ") and" romp "(to play) were often used to describe a" rude, boisterous, awkward girl ". For example, Mary Wollstonecraft in her 1792Vindication of the Rights of Womenwould say that "a girl, whose spirits have not been damped by inactivity or innocence tainted by false shame, will always be a romp". Nuttall's discussion of words here gives a clear sense of how language has been used to police and censure women's conduct in public, and it is relevant today. But unfortunately, the words "romp" and "ramp" were not in the index and I had trouble locating the discussion again. I was interested to look up two 17th-century pamphlets about cross-dressing—but the chapter does not give any specific details about the date. It would perhaps have been useful to includeimagesin order to better aid the reader. Very often, poems and other texts are mentioned in the book, without full citation or references (there is never any block quotation either). It was difficult to follow Nuttall's reading of the poem without the full context. The book needed clearer organization, subheadings and more complete indexing.
But to return to the big picture, this is still a useful book. When we look at the longue durée of the English language, we can have a more expansive perspective on what language debates are really about. The word "girl" today is often considered a belittling term for women but it was once a gender-neutral word for children; the title "Mrs" might be sexist, implying that a woman earns her status through marriage, but prior to the 18th century, it was actually used for older women who owned businesses and had servants underneath them. Only in the 1740s did "Miss" begin to be used for an unmarried woman and "Mrs" for married women. What Nuttall's book so usefully shows is that contemporary debates about gendered language are not new—in fact, they are part-and-parcel of every reckoning with patriarchal misogyny. The fight is never about the words themselves but about the underlying prejudices and worldviews.
Overall, however, I think this book needs a lot of editing. Nuttall's book has a wide range of topics (women's bodies and anatomy, childbirth, breastfeeding, aging, work, and sexual violence) and it is a challenging task to combine all the etymologies of different words into a coherent story about womanhood in the Anglophone world. In Chapter 1, for example, there is an incisive discussion of how medieval people understood female genitalia (some saw the female anatomy as simply as an inversion of the male counterparts. Hence, if the penis is a sword-like organ, then the female body must have a corresponding sheath-like organ—the vagina, Latin for "sheath" ). But the chapter also includes many circuitous digressions. For example, a paragraph about the tragedy of breast-cancer and mastectomies leads to a discussion about the ancient folk etymology of "Amazonian" meaning "without a breast". While Latin writers did read "Amazonian" as a Greek compound (ameaning "without" andmazosmeaning "breast" ), it was unclear how this etymology was relevant to a broader history of vocabularies of female anatomy in the English language—vocabularies often based on Aristotelian idealism rather than empirical knowledge. Many chapters lost focus and became a hodgepodge of lexical curiosities and platitudes. I support the ethical call to examine the misogynistic underpinning of many words but it needed to be more clearly narrativized into a cohesive story.
This is not a well-organized book. I was fascinated to read, at different, points about 17th- and 18th-century slang terms. "Ramp" (to climb ") and" romp "(to play) were often used to describe a" rude, boisterous, awkward girl ". For example, Mary Wollstonecraft in her 1792Vindication of the Rights of Womenwould say that "a girl, whose spirits have not been damped by inactivity or innocence tainted by false shame, will always be a romp". Nuttall's discussion of words here gives a clear sense of how language has been used to police and censure women's conduct in public, and it is relevant today. But unfortunately, the words "romp" and "ramp" were not in the index and I had trouble locating the discussion again. I was interested to look up two 17th-century pamphlets about cross-dressing—but the chapter does not give any specific details about the date. It would perhaps have been useful to includeimagesin order to better aid the reader. Very often, poems and other texts are mentioned in the book, without full citation or references (there is never any block quotation either). It was difficult to follow Nuttall's reading of the poem without the full context. The book needed clearer organization, subheadings and more complete indexing.
But to return to the big picture, this is still a useful book. When we look at the longue durée of the English language, we can have a more expansive perspective on what language debates are really about. The word "girl" today is often considered a belittling term for women but it was once a gender-neutral word for children; the title "Mrs" might be sexist, implying that a woman earns her status through marriage, but prior to the 18th century, it was actually used for older women who owned businesses and had servants underneath them. Only in the 1740s did "Miss" begin to be used for an unmarried woman and "Mrs" for married women. What Nuttall's book so usefully shows is that contemporary debates about gendered language are not new—in fact, they are part-and-parcel of every reckoning with patriarchal misogyny. The fight is never about the words themselves but about the underlying prejudices and worldviews.
October 10, 2023
I was so disappointed to rate this one so low because I was really excited to read it. Even after my initial disappointment of this being a look at words about women only in English and not a look at how women wrote about themselves from a global perspective (that one’s on me for not reading the cover copy more closely), I was willing to go with the flow. But Nuttall undermined her own premise (the varied linguistic history of English words about women) to cater to veiled gender critical whinging about inclusive language, particularly to the condescension of trans men and nonbinary individuals. English is a remarkable, magpie, language because it has *never* been static—it’s always been changing. Hand-wringing about that not only makes one look like Cnut fighting the tides, but damages feminists in the fights we have against real oppression by casting off our allies in those fights. There is so much fantastic work being done in medieval/pre-modern gender studies and linguistics—read one of those books instead.
July 22, 2023
I enjoyed the majority of this, until it came to the end.
The modern uses referred to, do not remove women from discussions, but includes others.
The modern uses referred to, do not remove women from discussions, but includes others.
July 18, 2023
Mother Tongue delves into the history of women’s words, ranging from terminology to describe women’s bodies, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, work, gender, and male harassment and violence.
It highlights the etymology of words we use now and those which fell out of fashion (I wish flowers as term for period hadn’t ended this way). It looks at different interpretations and how the words have altered their meaning through the years, words and cultures mostly shaped by men.
A great book for anyone who enjoys language and/or women’s history, which is once again being highlighted after centuries of neglect by historians pandering to patriarchal society. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
It highlights the etymology of words we use now and those which fell out of fashion (I wish flowers as term for period hadn’t ended this way). It looks at different interpretations and how the words have altered their meaning through the years, words and cultures mostly shaped by men.
A great book for anyone who enjoys language and/or women’s history, which is once again being highlighted after centuries of neglect by historians pandering to patriarchal society. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
January 7, 2024
Unfortunately, too medieval-English heavy for me.
May 29, 2023
4.5/5
Just like many of the words that have been used to describe women's activities over the past two thousand years, Mother Tongue sells itself short by its description. Jenni Nuttall weaves a fascinating history of language used in different spheres of historical women's lives. This is not only a discussion of language, but Jenni offers a fascinating insight into social, economic, cultural and medical histories and women's parts in these. While quoting directly from her sources - so as to facilitate discussion of language - Nuttall qualifies and explains these quotations for the lay reader, frequently alluding to modern-day idioms and vocabulary which are familiar to us all.
On a personal level, I was delighted to see Nuttall use so many historical sources and references to modern scholarship I came across myself in my undergraduate degree (there probably aren't many readers who get quite so giddy about references to Henry Daniel's work on uroscopy, but as someone who wrote a dissertation on the practice, I was gleeful to see his name). More importantly, Nuttall does an excellent job of explaining both scholarship and historical records and their relevance to the subject of language, for every reader.
One theme Nuttall teases out in several chapters is a discussion of how past women's own language might have differed from their male contemporaries'. This, she acknowledges, is made difficult by a comparatively tiny body of works, but it was encouraging to read comparisons where they can be drawn. I would be fascinated to read more on this, particularly on any corpus analyses of women's and men's use of language. In fact, I frequently found myself pausing to Google people and topics referred to in Mother Tongue (I was highly intrigued by the life of Moll Cutpurse), and a more detailed bibliography would have been greatly appreciated.
Mother Tongue left me, as all good books do, with a to-research list as long as my arm and curiosity for a deeper dive.
Just like many of the words that have been used to describe women's activities over the past two thousand years, Mother Tongue sells itself short by its description. Jenni Nuttall weaves a fascinating history of language used in different spheres of historical women's lives. This is not only a discussion of language, but Jenni offers a fascinating insight into social, economic, cultural and medical histories and women's parts in these. While quoting directly from her sources - so as to facilitate discussion of language - Nuttall qualifies and explains these quotations for the lay reader, frequently alluding to modern-day idioms and vocabulary which are familiar to us all.
On a personal level, I was delighted to see Nuttall use so many historical sources and references to modern scholarship I came across myself in my undergraduate degree (there probably aren't many readers who get quite so giddy about references to Henry Daniel's work on uroscopy, but as someone who wrote a dissertation on the practice, I was gleeful to see his name). More importantly, Nuttall does an excellent job of explaining both scholarship and historical records and their relevance to the subject of language, for every reader.
One theme Nuttall teases out in several chapters is a discussion of how past women's own language might have differed from their male contemporaries'. This, she acknowledges, is made difficult by a comparatively tiny body of works, but it was encouraging to read comparisons where they can be drawn. I would be fascinated to read more on this, particularly on any corpus analyses of women's and men's use of language. In fact, I frequently found myself pausing to Google people and topics referred to in Mother Tongue (I was highly intrigued by the life of Moll Cutpurse), and a more detailed bibliography would have been greatly appreciated.
Mother Tongue left me, as all good books do, with a to-research list as long as my arm and curiosity for a deeper dive.
June 5, 2024
As a casual lover of etymology and narrative nonfiction that leans academic, Mother Tongue was an excellent read for me. It's cleverly structured around women's bodily experiences, starting with anatomy, then menstrual language, terminology around intercourse, childbearing, care (of children and old) and the economic burden, women's jobs, stages of life, male violence, and vocabulary of feminism. It builds from the physical to the personal to the experiential.
At the beginning of May, I read the book "It's Not Hysteria" by Dr Karen Tang which has detailed medical explanations about women's health. The first half of Mother Tongue that discusses the language of women's feels like it could be an expanded version of that introduction to that book. The rest is a deep dive into our collective conception of the words that describe women's bodies and work, and the history around it.
For scholars of old and middle English, this may not feel revolutionary, but for the casual former-academic with a background in sociology and the impact of religion on women's roles in society, this hit and absolute sweet spot.
Words matter. But words have not always been the same over time, and tracking their history can be helpful to shed new light on contemporary feminist movements and the understanding of gender and sex and the roles of women and those who inhabit bodies with with female anatomical parts.
At the beginning of May, I read the book "It's Not Hysteria" by Dr Karen Tang which has detailed medical explanations about women's health. The first half of Mother Tongue that discusses the language of women's feels like it could be an expanded version of that introduction to that book. The rest is a deep dive into our collective conception of the words that describe women's bodies and work, and the history around it.
For scholars of old and middle English, this may not feel revolutionary, but for the casual former-academic with a background in sociology and the impact of religion on women's roles in society, this hit and absolute sweet spot.
Words matter. But words have not always been the same over time, and tracking their history can be helpful to shed new light on contemporary feminist movements and the understanding of gender and sex and the roles of women and those who inhabit bodies with with female anatomical parts.
August 9, 2024
Interesting book with a lot of cool fun facts and stuff, but I was begging for it to be over
January 25, 2024
A really enjoyable read. I generally like etimology books and this is no different. There is some surprising history, but the most interesting aspect of the topic to me is the shift that happened in relation to certain language being considered obscene and how many words were lost that way. It is interesitng to think of an alternative history where we had as many words and phrases for 'menstruation' as there are for 'masturbation'. If mamography was a part of popular culture and speech similar to 'prostate exam' and so on.
What is also interesting is how much of it applies to other languages. Most of the words are similar or basically the same because the come from latin and medical terminology and are introduced in the last century or two. There is also an overlap in how the words are used, and what are the assumptions and prejudices surrounding certain words.
Only bits I wish were either skipped or clarified were the TERFy stances around certain phrases - in my opinion the author should have clarified more clearly how they feel about the recent trends in inclusive language. The way it's left it feels either as an unnecessary addition to dicussion or as dogwhistle phrases.
4/5 would recommend to anyone interested in etimology and feminism.
What is also interesting is how much of it applies to other languages. Most of the words are similar or basically the same because the come from latin and medical terminology and are introduced in the last century or two. There is also an overlap in how the words are used, and what are the assumptions and prejudices surrounding certain words.
Only bits I wish were either skipped or clarified were the TERFy stances around certain phrases - in my opinion the author should have clarified more clearly how they feel about the recent trends in inclusive language. The way it's left it feels either as an unnecessary addition to dicussion or as dogwhistle phrases.
4/5 would recommend to anyone interested in etimology and feminism.
September 12, 2023
3.5-3.75 stars. Fascinating and entertaining, but the organization makes it hard to follow the threads of thought a lot of the time. Felt somehow incomplete, which I know is a by-product of the lack of sources relevant to the research itself, but it felt very narrow in scope and explanation. Much of it just seemed like the author's interpretations of things (albeit extremely knowledgeable and based in fact, I'm sure), rather than straight-up history.
May 14, 2024
Impressively erudite, Nuttall wears her learning lightly in this highly engaging and entertaining book, which is as much a history of feminism as it is a history of the English language. Read it to find out exactly what “willy nilly” first meant…
August 27, 2024
Recommend if you’re into Women’s history and linguistics!
February 27, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's a bit etymology, a bit feminist history, and a whole lot of fascinating.
January 23, 2024
This book was well on its way to four stars, but then it kind of fizzled out. I'm going to call this one 3.5, since I did stay up til 1:00 a.m. to finish it. I wasn't tired, but I should have gone to sleep by 11. But I figured I only had about 100 pages left, why not go for it?
This is Nuttall's first non-academic book. I haven't read any of her academic work (that I remember) but that idea is stressed frequently at the beginning of the book. It's surprisingly engaging, tho the use of first person and inserted opinions might still be a little too far from something that bills itself not as the pop-etymology of Bill Bryon'sThe Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way,but as something closer to the informative, accessibly academicJohn McWhorter.Nuttall is not as witty as either of them, but her choice of subjects demands to be taken very seriously.
The "women's words" she chooses are categorized according to function/event, then according to stage of life. I suppose you could also say it goes from essentialist to comprehensive. It starts with those words we use for female anatomy (and anatomy that only women have). And Nuttall does an interesting job of noting some of the histories where the historical record shows great variation in word choice. How did we get from "stones" to "ovaries?" Well, prior to the Enlightenment, most people believed that a woman was an inside-out man. He had testicles, referred to as his "stones" on the outside. They knew, for whatever reason/method/happenstance/don'tthinkaboutittoohard that women had a similar stone shaped organ near her womb, so those were probably her testicles. Same function, just inside-out (or in this case, gone outside-in). Then we get the Enlightenment and people willing to perform autopsies and while it's probably more of a coincidence that ovaries are women's gamete factories and analogous to men's testicles as gamete factories, they didn't take any chances with it and changed the name to refer to the function, not the shape. No note on whether or not the same thing happened for men, and I can't remember that much ofThe Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two: The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Common and Not-So-Common Words,only that "testicle" comes from the Latin for "witness" and "avocado" is the Nahautl word (or near enough) for testicle.
From there it goes in more functional stages: menstruation and menopause; sex; birth, breastfeeding, and babies; mothering, nurturing, and other forms of work; ages and stages (I did not know that "ghyrl," from which we derive girl, reserved for pre-pubescent females now was formerly a catchall term for prepubescent anybody. Nuttall doesn't tell us how things eventually shook out in a vernacular ofboyandgirl,but it makes you want to reread your Shakespeare and double check you understood); and finally violence, with a fairly comprehensive read of rape and its various synonyms, roots, and associated language of justice.
Nuttall may or may not hamper herself by reserving her analysis to documents and literature written in earliest English, as its Saxon-ness was waning in favor of the new Angle hotness, with all its Germanic syntactical tomfoolery, to the Georgian or Victorian era, depending on what she wanted to say. The Norman conquest gets the briefest gloss and I assumed it was because she assumed her reader would know all about its effect on language change; to that end she discussed a lot more of the variants in syntactic choice, the what and how of suffixes, for instance, than she did the when and why. And that's all well and good. It would have bloated the book and distracted from her larger overall point that English is, in so many ways, a remarkable language. The history of language evolution has ever been one of conquer: two groups have different languages. The two groups meet. They beef! The winners eventually override the loser's language, saving convenient syntax and vocabulary along the way, leaving little breadcrumbs of interest for anyone who cares to look. Yet Latin and French and More Latin and More French couldn't conquer the bizarre offshoot of a Germanic tribal tongue mixed with an already punchdrunk Saxon-Angle language that said, sure, we'll take some of your syntax but not all; some of your vocabulary but not all; we'll keep our own stuff when we feel like it, or not, our choice; we'll hang onto our thorn and wynn until we don't feel like it anymore; and as for the Church and the conquerors on the coast? Yeah, we'll grab that, too. We tend to think of the dramatic ascent of English as the world's powerhouse lingua franca as something that happened because America (for all values thereof). After all, English stands around in dark alleys in a trenchcoat, waiting for hapless languages to wander by so it can beat them up and take their vocabularies (and wallets, and oil) and stand over their mangled bodies chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" But no. It's always been like this. So, from Beowulf to the Industrial Revolution's end-- and most of the stuff after 1750 is euphemisms, because, jeezopete did people used to say and write the word "cunt" a lot.
There are a lot of women's words that come to mind that Nuttall doesn't talk about, but I understand that she's painting a picture, more impressionist than photo-realistic and 238 pages of this is already a lot for the average Patterson fan. And lot of those words are Third Industrial Revolution and Internet inspired. And again, her opinion on vocabulary and usage is always there to give you a little nudge toward what she thinks is best. She never does settle on a term for all the complexities of menstruation that she likes, bemoaning the fact thatfluxsounded great, but Shakespeare took it and made everybody understand it was only for bloody diarrhea that will kill you and 5000 of your men. I was like, "Cycle, babe. Cycle is a great word for it." But I guess that came along after the 1890-1910 cutoff. And by the time cycle came into a vogue as a polite way to discuss the topic in mixed company, flux was both a noun and a verb meaningto flow(I mean, I get it, Jenni; I do), but most often to the point of exclusively used within male spaces: physics and welding.
Okay! So, now that this review is half as long as the actual book, I will edit it up to four total stars. If you like etymology, chances are you'll like this book. If you don't know if you do or not, I don't know if this is the book I'd start with (start with Bryson), but definitely make your way back here, preferrably after you readKory Stamperand can appreciate Nuttall's dictionary collection.
This is Nuttall's first non-academic book. I haven't read any of her academic work (that I remember) but that idea is stressed frequently at the beginning of the book. It's surprisingly engaging, tho the use of first person and inserted opinions might still be a little too far from something that bills itself not as the pop-etymology of Bill Bryon'sThe Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way,but as something closer to the informative, accessibly academicJohn McWhorter.Nuttall is not as witty as either of them, but her choice of subjects demands to be taken very seriously.
The "women's words" she chooses are categorized according to function/event, then according to stage of life. I suppose you could also say it goes from essentialist to comprehensive. It starts with those words we use for female anatomy (and anatomy that only women have). And Nuttall does an interesting job of noting some of the histories where the historical record shows great variation in word choice. How did we get from "stones" to "ovaries?" Well, prior to the Enlightenment, most people believed that a woman was an inside-out man. He had testicles, referred to as his "stones" on the outside. They knew, for whatever reason/method/happenstance/don'tthinkaboutittoohard that women had a similar stone shaped organ near her womb, so those were probably her testicles. Same function, just inside-out (or in this case, gone outside-in). Then we get the Enlightenment and people willing to perform autopsies and while it's probably more of a coincidence that ovaries are women's gamete factories and analogous to men's testicles as gamete factories, they didn't take any chances with it and changed the name to refer to the function, not the shape. No note on whether or not the same thing happened for men, and I can't remember that much ofThe Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two: The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Common and Not-So-Common Words,only that "testicle" comes from the Latin for "witness" and "avocado" is the Nahautl word (or near enough) for testicle.
From there it goes in more functional stages: menstruation and menopause; sex; birth, breastfeeding, and babies; mothering, nurturing, and other forms of work; ages and stages (I did not know that "ghyrl," from which we derive girl, reserved for pre-pubescent females now was formerly a catchall term for prepubescent anybody. Nuttall doesn't tell us how things eventually shook out in a vernacular ofboyandgirl,but it makes you want to reread your Shakespeare and double check you understood); and finally violence, with a fairly comprehensive read of rape and its various synonyms, roots, and associated language of justice.
Nuttall may or may not hamper herself by reserving her analysis to documents and literature written in earliest English, as its Saxon-ness was waning in favor of the new Angle hotness, with all its Germanic syntactical tomfoolery, to the Georgian or Victorian era, depending on what she wanted to say. The Norman conquest gets the briefest gloss and I assumed it was because she assumed her reader would know all about its effect on language change; to that end she discussed a lot more of the variants in syntactic choice, the what and how of suffixes, for instance, than she did the when and why. And that's all well and good. It would have bloated the book and distracted from her larger overall point that English is, in so many ways, a remarkable language. The history of language evolution has ever been one of conquer: two groups have different languages. The two groups meet. They beef! The winners eventually override the loser's language, saving convenient syntax and vocabulary along the way, leaving little breadcrumbs of interest for anyone who cares to look. Yet Latin and French and More Latin and More French couldn't conquer the bizarre offshoot of a Germanic tribal tongue mixed with an already punchdrunk Saxon-Angle language that said, sure, we'll take some of your syntax but not all; some of your vocabulary but not all; we'll keep our own stuff when we feel like it, or not, our choice; we'll hang onto our thorn and wynn until we don't feel like it anymore; and as for the Church and the conquerors on the coast? Yeah, we'll grab that, too. We tend to think of the dramatic ascent of English as the world's powerhouse lingua franca as something that happened because America (for all values thereof). After all, English stands around in dark alleys in a trenchcoat, waiting for hapless languages to wander by so it can beat them up and take their vocabularies (and wallets, and oil) and stand over their mangled bodies chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" But no. It's always been like this. So, from Beowulf to the Industrial Revolution's end-- and most of the stuff after 1750 is euphemisms, because, jeezopete did people used to say and write the word "cunt" a lot.
There are a lot of women's words that come to mind that Nuttall doesn't talk about, but I understand that she's painting a picture, more impressionist than photo-realistic and 238 pages of this is already a lot for the average Patterson fan. And lot of those words are Third Industrial Revolution and Internet inspired. And again, her opinion on vocabulary and usage is always there to give you a little nudge toward what she thinks is best. She never does settle on a term for all the complexities of menstruation that she likes, bemoaning the fact thatfluxsounded great, but Shakespeare took it and made everybody understand it was only for bloody diarrhea that will kill you and 5000 of your men. I was like, "Cycle, babe. Cycle is a great word for it." But I guess that came along after the 1890-1910 cutoff. And by the time cycle came into a vogue as a polite way to discuss the topic in mixed company, flux was both a noun and a verb meaningto flow(I mean, I get it, Jenni; I do), but most often to the point of exclusively used within male spaces: physics and welding.
Okay! So, now that this review is half as long as the actual book, I will edit it up to four total stars. If you like etymology, chances are you'll like this book. If you don't know if you do or not, I don't know if this is the book I'd start with (start with Bryson), but definitely make your way back here, preferrably after you readKory Stamperand can appreciate Nuttall's dictionary collection.
August 26, 2024
*3.5 stars*
I enjoyed how this book blended etymology and history, with some of Jenni Nuttall's own personal experiences. It was fascinating to read about the origin of words related to the female experience and how it evolved over time. The final chapter had me raging that some girls who achieved high grades in the 11-plus exam were excluded from grammar schools to make way for some lower scoring boys in order to bring about more gender balance.
The reason I didn't rate this higher is that I found some parts of it a little dry, and my attention did drift occasionally, I'm sorry to say. I was ready for the book to end about 100-150 pages in. However, I persevered, and I am glad I did.
I enjoyed how this book blended etymology and history, with some of Jenni Nuttall's own personal experiences. It was fascinating to read about the origin of words related to the female experience and how it evolved over time. The final chapter had me raging that some girls who achieved high grades in the 11-plus exam were excluded from grammar schools to make way for some lower scoring boys in order to bring about more gender balance.
The reason I didn't rate this higher is that I found some parts of it a little dry, and my attention did drift occasionally, I'm sorry to say. I was ready for the book to end about 100-150 pages in. However, I persevered, and I am glad I did.
August 7, 2024
When my grandfather was alive, he would always ask us if we had any “tidbits” for him. The tidbits I gained from reading this book would have absolutely destroyed him and his sexist mentality.
Since he is no longer with us, I will instead have to share these “tidbits” to unsuspecting people who simply wanted to have a normal conversation but made the questionable decision to have a conversation with me. Etymology has always fascinated me and I’m so glad I read this book.
Since he is no longer with us, I will instead have to share these “tidbits” to unsuspecting people who simply wanted to have a normal conversation but made the questionable decision to have a conversation with me. Etymology has always fascinated me and I’m so glad I read this book.
September 11, 2023
I was REALLY disappointed by this, partially because I was so excited to read it! It didn't seem to have a full thought. It traced back where the word came from, and occasionally gave an example of it's use, but nothing else. I was looking to understand how that word shaped thinking, the discourse on women and their roles in culture, and particularly WHY some words become so offensive. No such luck.
I don't recommend this. I'm a linguistics nerd and I really didn't enjoy this, and this is just short of popular linguistics IMO.
I don't recommend this. I'm a linguistics nerd and I really didn't enjoy this, and this is just short of popular linguistics IMO.
January 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this deep dive into the English language and extraction of the origins and meanings behind women's words.
June 1, 2024
A fascinating look at the way the language used by and about women has changed through the centuries. Both entertaining and informative, but a bittersweet read as Jenni Nuttall sadly died in 2024.
Read
July 10, 2024I was excited about this one but I just couldn’t get into it
November 8, 2023
This was super informative- I read so much of it aloud, randomly- to my husband 😂
I read the hardcover version- however- many times I wished I had done the audiobook because I would’ve liked to have heard the proper pronunciation. I’m certain I was not getting them right!
I read the hardcover version- however- many times I wished I had done the audiobook because I would’ve liked to have heard the proper pronunciation. I’m certain I was not getting them right!
September 14, 2023
An erudite delight!
May 1, 2024
I was surprised to learn that "slut" originally meant lower class servant and had no sexual connotation. My suspicion is that lower class servants had no choice about giving in to sexual overtures from their employers if they wanted to remain employed. The employers would justify predatory behavior on the grounds that they were only "sluts". That's probably how the word came to have a sexual implication.
It bothered me that people once believed that a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape must have really consented. This is another case of predators trying to justify themselves. I'm glad that feminists have fought to establish that rape is rape. We are still fighting for the rights of victims.
If I were grading this book I'd give it an A-. The minus is for tedious or repetitive content.
For my blog version of this review seehttps://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/2...
It bothered me that people once believed that a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape must have really consented. This is another case of predators trying to justify themselves. I'm glad that feminists have fought to establish that rape is rape. We are still fighting for the rights of victims.
If I were grading this book I'd give it an A-. The minus is for tedious or repetitive content.
For my blog version of this review seehttps://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/2...
April 16, 2024
idiosyncratic! I was drawn to this book because what a premise - how do words and women intermingle, correlate, impact one another throughout time. There were times the author seemed to dive into tangents or pockets that may or may not have connected to the rest of the book, but, ultimately, I found the history to be engrossing.
March 8, 2024
Although the premise and some parts of this book really were interesting, any good in it was quickly covered up by incredibly heavy political screeching.
Slowly, the book seemed to focus less and less on words and interesting facts, and focused so much on how the author felt about this and that (down with the evil patriarchy!!! Gahhhh!!!!)... that I quickly felt the need to get back into the kitchen and make a man a sandwich.
Calm down. I'm joking.
The truth is, the first time Jenni Nuttall said "phallusies," it got me to snicker. It was funny.
But I feel like we've all dealt with that one person who gets everyone to laugh at their joke - and then repeats it until everyone wants to unalive themselves.
The unfortunate part of all of this, is that while this book had lots of potential, it falls hilarously short - and, does so in a very stereotypically toxic feminine way. While I assume that all of her ranting and raving somehow makes Jenni Nuttall feel like she's tearing down the "evil patriarchy," it comes off as a snobbish feminist lacking all emotional intelligence and blubbering in your face. Unnecessarily emotional and immediately on the offensive.
I don't really care what the men did to "silence" our words (the past is in the past) - I just want to know what the words were, what they meant, and how to say them. But alas, I didn't even see any detailed notes on pronunciation (and how it changed, etc.) at all. That is such a shame.
In truth, I had picked up this book hoping for words that I could possibly reintroduce into my vocabulary, and also a fun deep dive into the history of said words. So my disappointment is most likely my own fault for hoping for something of a textbook instead of a rant.
Slowly, the book seemed to focus less and less on words and interesting facts, and focused so much on how the author felt about this and that (down with the evil patriarchy!!! Gahhhh!!!!)... that I quickly felt the need to get back into the kitchen and make a man a sandwich.
Calm down. I'm joking.
The truth is, the first time Jenni Nuttall said "phallusies," it got me to snicker. It was funny.
But I feel like we've all dealt with that one person who gets everyone to laugh at their joke - and then repeats it until everyone wants to unalive themselves.
The unfortunate part of all of this, is that while this book had lots of potential, it falls hilarously short - and, does so in a very stereotypically toxic feminine way. While I assume that all of her ranting and raving somehow makes Jenni Nuttall feel like she's tearing down the "evil patriarchy," it comes off as a snobbish feminist lacking all emotional intelligence and blubbering in your face. Unnecessarily emotional and immediately on the offensive.
I don't really care what the men did to "silence" our words (the past is in the past) - I just want to know what the words were, what they meant, and how to say them. But alas, I didn't even see any detailed notes on pronunciation (and how it changed, etc.) at all. That is such a shame.
In truth, I had picked up this book hoping for words that I could possibly reintroduce into my vocabulary, and also a fun deep dive into the history of said words. So my disappointment is most likely my own fault for hoping for something of a textbook instead of a rant.
April 30, 2024
Enlightening and entertaining.
The author biographical statement on the back flap of the jacket says that Nuttall has "had a lot of practice at making old words interesting," and it shows. I'd dare say reading this was even fun, along with being fascinating and very pointedly feminist. In this book, she explores the history of English words relating to women, to their bodies, social roles, and more. Specifically, she explores how our language has been shaped by patriarchal attitudes and has in turn worked to reinforce sexism.
Chapter topics include:
- Words for Female Anatomy
- Menstrual Language
- Sex and its Terms
- The Womb's Words
- The Language of Care
- Working Words
- Words for Ages and Stages
- Naming Male Violence
- Finding Feminism's Vocabulary
In writing about how the wordshysteriaandhystericalhave been used to dismiss and punish the emotions of women, Nuttall proposes the word "testerical,meaning 'driven by testes and/or testosterone' "to give equal treatment to male emotions. She calls male misunderstandings of women's bodies and capabilities" logical phallusies. "Here are some longer examples:
"Language is fossil poetry," Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote.
It's thoroughly, enjoyably enlightening and entertaining.
The author biographical statement on the back flap of the jacket says that Nuttall has "had a lot of practice at making old words interesting," and it shows. I'd dare say reading this was even fun, along with being fascinating and very pointedly feminist. In this book, she explores the history of English words relating to women, to their bodies, social roles, and more. Specifically, she explores how our language has been shaped by patriarchal attitudes and has in turn worked to reinforce sexism.
Chapter topics include:
- Words for Female Anatomy
- Menstrual Language
- Sex and its Terms
- The Womb's Words
- The Language of Care
- Working Words
- Words for Ages and Stages
- Naming Male Violence
- Finding Feminism's Vocabulary
In writing about how the wordshysteriaandhystericalhave been used to dismiss and punish the emotions of women, Nuttall proposes the word "testerical,meaning 'driven by testes and/or testosterone' "to give equal treatment to male emotions. She calls male misunderstandings of women's bodies and capabilities" logical phallusies. "Here are some longer examples:
The history of the wordclitorisshows us that its function was more or less understood from antiquity, though medical men were not always able to put their finger quite on the part itself. According to a dictionary of rare Greek words made by a grammarian in Alexandria in the fifth century AD,kleitorisreferred to the skin covering female genitals--roughly in the right area if not exactly on the spot.Enlightening and entertaining.
-----
Violence within marriage was acknowledged to be sexual as well as physical. During most of the history of English, being married created an ongoing, irreversibleimplied consent(a loathsome phrase) to sex. Appalling, and yet not some ancient common-law principle long since disowned. This legal opinion stayed with us, at least in theory, until it was finally overturned in Britain by the Sexual Offences Act of 2003. A husband couldn't (according to the law) rape his wife. Generally hidden from sight, marital rape thus appears in the oldest English only in the darkest hints. One medieval medical book describes what we would callbirth injuriesin labour. Women suffering from prolapses, where organs in the pelvis bulge into the vagina, often can't bear to have penetrative sex. But, says the writer, 'summe tyme they be constreyned to suffer, wyl they nyl they'. Sometimes they'll be forced to endure sex whether they want to or not. Likewise, the twelfth-century pamphlet written to put girls off getting married so that they might consider becomeing religious recluses says that a wife must put up with whatever a husband wants to do in bed 'wulle ha, nulle ha', will she, nill she, whether she wants to or not.Willy-nilly(as that little bit of rhyming grammar becomes in Modern English), a married woman's non-consent counts for nothing.
-----
By the time of the medieval and Renaissance English Bibles, translators had settled on the more familiarhelporhelperto describe Eve's purpose in life. But in the middle of the seventeenth century, Eve gets rebranded as Adam'shelpmeet,that sickly-sweet description used for the ideal Protestant wife and mother, a handy appliance which every Early Modern home should have. It turns out thathelpmeetis a grammatical misunderstanding, a word which was never meant to be.Helpmeetis spawned by English translations of the Bible verse in Genesis Chapter 2 which say that God made Adam 'a help meet for him'.Meetin this sense means 'fitting' or 'suitable', i.e. she's an appropriate assistant. The phrase got sandwiched into a single word by the addition of a wayward hyphen, ahelp-meetbecoming ahelpmeet.Whatever its origins,helpmeetmade it clear that women were supposedly intended to be ancillary, not the boss but the assistant, not centre-stage star but supporting actress. And, after Adam and Eve's disobedience in eating the apple, God said that husbands should have power over their wives by way of punishment for Eve. Women were not only helpers but subordinates.
-----
In 1798, in her anonymously publishedAppeal to the Men of Britain,Mary Hays said with uncompromising candour that the gendered socialisation which shapes women's minds and controls their behaviour was 'perhaps the most completely absurd' system which human nature had dreamt up in a moment of madness, 'if indeed a bundle of contradictions and absurdities may be called a system'. Such glorious snark, giving patriarchy's dangly bits more and more of a well-deserved kicking.
"Language is fossil poetry," Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote.
The poets made all the words, and therefore language is the archives of history, and, if we must say it, a sort of tomb of the muses. For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture. Language is fossil poetry. As the limestone of the continent consists of infinite masses of the shells of animalcules, so language is made up of images, or tropes, which now, in their secondary use, have long ceased to remind us of their poetic origin. But the poet names the thing because he sees it, or comes one step nearer to it than any other.This book is a wonderful way to reflect on all of the forgotten and implied meanings to the words we use every day relating to women.
It's thoroughly, enjoyably enlightening and entertaining.
July 3, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Viking for an advanced copy of this book on language and how word and definitions have been changed or weakened dealing over the years as it pertains to woman.
Words have power. Using words allow people to communicate, to share ideas, and to share what they are truly thinking. Words can also convey truth, which again aids in communication and helps people of shared ideas, shared lives and shared genders. When people control the language, they not only control the message, they make that message very hard to convey, mangling meaning, definition, even what the words are supposed to mean. Even in art, when say a group of people are uncomfortable with earthy language, words can be changed, their meaning lost, humor stripped away, and make future generations wonder what was so controversial about an author. Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words by Dr. Jenni Nuttall is a look at how the vocabulary for woman has changed over the decades, why, and what the future might hold for language.
Dr. Nuttall begins with her reasons why she has chosen to write a book like this, mentioning her students and her child asking questions about words, their origins and how they words and meanings have adapted over the years, and how they have been changed, or even worse stricken from the language. Nuttall describes the idea of a mother tongue, language learned from the women around a child, while Latin was considered the father tongue, for its importance in education and thought. The book is broken into nine chapters and an afterword, dealing with the language of medical ideas, sex, nursing and care, industry, aging and more. Nuttall traces the origins of words from Old English, Germanic roots, and how they came to be. Nuttall also looks at the various prudery of various ages, the Victorian and Edwardian eras especially where a lot of terms, became almost taboo, given a sense of impropriety that the language does not deserve. Another aspect is that the humor from a lot of works was removed, which enforces the belief that classic books are boring and staid.
A book that is really about much more than language. To see how many words, and ideas have been stripped of their feminine meaning is very surprising. Nor did I ever contemplate how this kind of control of language could make things difficult for women to convey. Especially sense so many words had practical origins, and practical meanings, especially dealing with health and sexual issues. Nuttall is a very good writer, able to discuss and share the etymology of words, while not making the reading seem like a lecture on paper. Also Nuttall is quite funny, and if one is not snorting a little during some of the chapters, well readers aren't reading to closely. More than a few words made me blush, but I could understand there inclusion, and reading it made me understand what could happen when words are made taboo, or not approved for polite conversation.
A very interesting book for readers who enjoy words, and enjoy works about women and their lives. This would also be a very good book for writers, especially writers of historical fiction, to see how words have adapted, and if one wishes to write a shocking scene with language, this will give a writer much to work with.
Words have power. Using words allow people to communicate, to share ideas, and to share what they are truly thinking. Words can also convey truth, which again aids in communication and helps people of shared ideas, shared lives and shared genders. When people control the language, they not only control the message, they make that message very hard to convey, mangling meaning, definition, even what the words are supposed to mean. Even in art, when say a group of people are uncomfortable with earthy language, words can be changed, their meaning lost, humor stripped away, and make future generations wonder what was so controversial about an author. Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words by Dr. Jenni Nuttall is a look at how the vocabulary for woman has changed over the decades, why, and what the future might hold for language.
Dr. Nuttall begins with her reasons why she has chosen to write a book like this, mentioning her students and her child asking questions about words, their origins and how they words and meanings have adapted over the years, and how they have been changed, or even worse stricken from the language. Nuttall describes the idea of a mother tongue, language learned from the women around a child, while Latin was considered the father tongue, for its importance in education and thought. The book is broken into nine chapters and an afterword, dealing with the language of medical ideas, sex, nursing and care, industry, aging and more. Nuttall traces the origins of words from Old English, Germanic roots, and how they came to be. Nuttall also looks at the various prudery of various ages, the Victorian and Edwardian eras especially where a lot of terms, became almost taboo, given a sense of impropriety that the language does not deserve. Another aspect is that the humor from a lot of works was removed, which enforces the belief that classic books are boring and staid.
A book that is really about much more than language. To see how many words, and ideas have been stripped of their feminine meaning is very surprising. Nor did I ever contemplate how this kind of control of language could make things difficult for women to convey. Especially sense so many words had practical origins, and practical meanings, especially dealing with health and sexual issues. Nuttall is a very good writer, able to discuss and share the etymology of words, while not making the reading seem like a lecture on paper. Also Nuttall is quite funny, and if one is not snorting a little during some of the chapters, well readers aren't reading to closely. More than a few words made me blush, but I could understand there inclusion, and reading it made me understand what could happen when words are made taboo, or not approved for polite conversation.
A very interesting book for readers who enjoy words, and enjoy works about women and their lives. This would also be a very good book for writers, especially writers of historical fiction, to see how words have adapted, and if one wishes to write a shocking scene with language, this will give a writer much to work with.
April 14, 2024
Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words
The author, Jenni Nuttall takes us on a wonderful and sometimes wacky journey into the world of words, women, and life in the not-so-distant past. How many of us learnt our first language with our mothers?
Mothers can be adopted, biological, grandparents, and even caregivers. It has always, we think, been that way. And yes, a mother can be the person that birthed you. What does that have to do with language? Perhaps everything. Mothers can teach us that there are good answers to ‘why’. Mothers can teach us that we don’t always have to know the reasons ‘why’. But we can find out. Books, reading, study, and libraries often come from our ‘mothers’.
The author also reminds us that English was “the vulgar tongue (from vulgas, Latin for the ‘general public’ or the ‘common people’).” The educated often spoke French, Latin, or even Ancient Greek. They could read the texts in their original languages. Women, the mothers, were not so fortunate. Education, especially formal higher learning, was hard to come by. Hence, “Women made up the majority of this growing demand to learn about every subject under the sun in their mother tongue.”
So, it was women’s desire to learn, and their necessity of using English, that helped propel English to a dominant and eventually a global status. “English today is many Englishes…” And the evolution of words from their initial sense or “etymological origins” that must determine its current meaning – well, that is pretty well passe. Not that it was ever the rule – not for long anyway. Otherwise, English would have remained, to paraphrase the first woman author whose name we know, the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich, “‘al in general and nothing in special’. Instead, English has become the most spoken language – when including English as a second language speakers – on this Earth. That is quite a journey over the last few centuries.
The book is full of interesting facts. Quirks and knowledge abound. It is not all trivial – by any stretch. In fact, it is quite insightful. Remember, that meek is not a condition that implies hysterical as the norm. Too often hysterical has “has always been the catch-all that explained everything that was wrong with women.” Luckily, “English itself is porous, sucking in words from other languages whenever it makes contact with them.” That is important. With words come concepts, ideas, and insights. Words open windows to better understanding our world.
It would be useful if we remembered that, “Fellow, by the way, comes to English from Old Norse, and was originally gender-neutral, meaning ‘companion’, ‘associate’ and ‘co-worker’ – once upon a time we could all be fellows.” Why can’t we all be fellows? The world would be a better place.
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2024...
#Blogging #Books #BookReview #Montreal #BusinessEnglish #LinoMatteo #MotherTongue #Feminism
The author, Jenni Nuttall takes us on a wonderful and sometimes wacky journey into the world of words, women, and life in the not-so-distant past. How many of us learnt our first language with our mothers?
Mothers can be adopted, biological, grandparents, and even caregivers. It has always, we think, been that way. And yes, a mother can be the person that birthed you. What does that have to do with language? Perhaps everything. Mothers can teach us that there are good answers to ‘why’. Mothers can teach us that we don’t always have to know the reasons ‘why’. But we can find out. Books, reading, study, and libraries often come from our ‘mothers’.
The author also reminds us that English was “the vulgar tongue (from vulgas, Latin for the ‘general public’ or the ‘common people’).” The educated often spoke French, Latin, or even Ancient Greek. They could read the texts in their original languages. Women, the mothers, were not so fortunate. Education, especially formal higher learning, was hard to come by. Hence, “Women made up the majority of this growing demand to learn about every subject under the sun in their mother tongue.”
So, it was women’s desire to learn, and their necessity of using English, that helped propel English to a dominant and eventually a global status. “English today is many Englishes…” And the evolution of words from their initial sense or “etymological origins” that must determine its current meaning – well, that is pretty well passe. Not that it was ever the rule – not for long anyway. Otherwise, English would have remained, to paraphrase the first woman author whose name we know, the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich, “‘al in general and nothing in special’. Instead, English has become the most spoken language – when including English as a second language speakers – on this Earth. That is quite a journey over the last few centuries.
The book is full of interesting facts. Quirks and knowledge abound. It is not all trivial – by any stretch. In fact, it is quite insightful. Remember, that meek is not a condition that implies hysterical as the norm. Too often hysterical has “has always been the catch-all that explained everything that was wrong with women.” Luckily, “English itself is porous, sucking in words from other languages whenever it makes contact with them.” That is important. With words come concepts, ideas, and insights. Words open windows to better understanding our world.
It would be useful if we remembered that, “Fellow, by the way, comes to English from Old Norse, and was originally gender-neutral, meaning ‘companion’, ‘associate’ and ‘co-worker’ – once upon a time we could all be fellows.” Why can’t we all be fellows? The world would be a better place.
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2024...
#Blogging #Books #BookReview #Montreal #BusinessEnglish #LinoMatteo #MotherTongue #Feminism
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