An enlightening linguistic journey through a thousand years of feminist language—and what we can learn from the vivid vocabulary that English once had for women’s bodies, experiences, and sexuality So many of the words that we use to chronicle women’s lives 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 women’s daily lives? 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. 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 like womb and breast, whose meanings have changed over time, as well as how anatomical words such as hysteria and hysterical came to have such loaded legacies. Inspired by today’s heated debates about words like womxn and menstruators—and by more personal conversations with her teenage daughter—Nuttall describes the profound transformations 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. Mother Tongue is a rich, provocative book for anyone who loves language—and for feminists who want to look to the past in order to move forward.

女书/摩尔斯电码/同担与本命，郑子宁趣味开讲人类三千年语言加密史 ◇ 绝无仅有的中式汉字加密美学！独家解密女书、反切语、戚家军方言暗码，解锁汉语加密法玩弄语言褶皱的顶级智慧！ ◇ 密码学背后的“人类高质量吃瓜史”： 从古代中国齐桓公被读唇语的“最早社工攻击”，到现代西方偷懒的电报员与傲慢的德军，用语言学视角看人类三千年加密与解密的趣味故事。 ◇ 连通古今黑话的“秘密文化寻根指南”： 从古代春典到现代社交媒体的xswl，语言学家郑子宁以口语暗号、书面密码、机器加密为轴，用一本书串联起横跨三千年的人类文字加密变迁！ ◎内容简介 只要人类还有不想公开的秘密，隐瞒与窥探的文字游戏就永远在进行。 齐桓公密谋伐莒，自以为天衣无缝，却被路人读唇语破译——这是最早的"社会工程学攻击"。江永妇女创造女书，倾斜的汉字成为闺阁密语。福州戚家军：用方言声韵编成数字暗码，倭寇截获电报也只能干瞪眼。 从江永女性社群为互助与传承而诞生的女书，到三教九流防小偷、找组织、认同类的"春典"；从宋徽宗的绝境自救时使用的专属中文加密法，到贯穿了国共内战、抗日战争和解放战争的豪密加密法；从被天才数学家图灵等人破译的德军密码机，到现代网络世界的新黑话xswl——三千年里，人类用尽一切语言的褶皱藏秘密，加密与解密的猫鼠游戏永不停息。 郑子宁以语言学家视角切入，带你拆汉字、玩方言、算数学；看人类如何隐藏与交换秘密。

🌟原来是这样啊！ 写给大众的汉语“冷知识”读本 干货满满又蕴含趣味的语言学探秘指南 🌠穿越古今中外，重新审视日常话语 在夜晚的静谧中， 走进一个博大深邃、鲜活跳动的汉语世界 -------------------- 【编辑推荐】 💡熟视无睹的奥秘： 每天都在说的话，背后竟暗藏玄机 从古音的演变到汉字的简化，从白话文的逆袭到网络流行语的兴起，我们每天都在使用汉语，却往往忽视了其中蕴藏的奥秘。语言不仅是交流的工具，更是历史的活化石与社会心理的投射。用语言学的思维去洞察周围的世界，我们能看到中外文化的激烈碰撞，看到历史的兴衰变迁，也能看到人性的幽微复杂。本书带你重新打量那些习以为常的表达，拒绝“理所当然”，在看似琐碎的日常话语中，发现支撑文明数千年的理性智慧与感性力量。 💡反直觉的“冷知识”： 颠覆常识的脑洞时刻，隐没在字词里的博物志 翻开书页，你将遇见这些奇妙的话题： ◆ 神话“祛魅”：凤凰真的会浴火重生吗？龙的英文为何要翻案为Loong？ ◆ 读音“考古”：“骑”字为什么取消了jì的读音？骰子竟然不读shǎi zi？ ◆ 词源“八卦”：“姪”为什么从女？“甥”为什么从男？ …… 全书主题丰富，内容广博，既有历史的厚重，又有生活的趣味。每一篇都是通往新世界的大门，让你直呼“原来如此”，轻松成为朋友圈里的“涨知识”达人。 💡灯下的语言夜话： 穿越迷雾，看见汉语宇宙的万千星辰 夜色深沉，本就是思考与交流的最佳时刻。古人随笔常以“夜话”为题，这种形式自带一种轻松的亲切感，仿佛围炉夜谈，全无“学院派”的严肃与拘谨。书中，作者化身“夜间向导”，以极具松弛感的笔触，将严谨高深的语言学知识拆解为一篇篇流畅精练的小短文，向读者娓娓道来。无论你是利用碎片时间信手翻阅，还是睡前灯下的沉浸式漫游，都能在解谜般的阅读快感中，自由穿梭于汉语宇宙，享受喧嚣退去后的静谧。 ------------------------- 【内容简介】 《夜晚的语言学家：发现汉语的100个秘密》透过日常语言现象，挖掘其背后深厚的历史文化、社会心理与语言学原理，帮助读者建立对汉语的系统性认知框架。内容兼具知识性与趣味性，深入浅出，意趣盎然，贯通古今，连接中外，带领读者进行一场充满惊喜的汉语与文化探秘之旅。

A fascinating study of the French-Canadian dialect, this insightful analysis examines the intimate relationship between Quebec and its heartily defended dialect, from 19th-century Parisian French to the joual of the 1960s.