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Maybe someday
38
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
26/100Critics
50/100Scholars
Author:
Jenni Nuttall
Publisher:
Viking
Date:
August 29, 2023
Mother Tongue is 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 that 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.
What The Reviewers Say
Divided into sections about menstruation, lust, reproduction, nurturing, working and aging, Mother Tongue also explores words describing male violence and emerging feminist language.
Nuttall puts together a lexicon that, like a thesaurus, limits meaning to a few synonyms while seeming to expand it.
A nimble treatment of history that blends lexicographical analysis with personal reflections.
Scholarly and authoritative, but joyful, never dry, leavened with vivid etymological tidbits and Nuttall’s wry asides..
