Wordwatching: Field Notes of an Amateur Philologist

by Julian Burnside

We live in a torrent of words—from radio and television, books and newspapers, and now from the Internet. But, as Julian Burnside reminds us in this witty and erudite collection, words are a source both of pleasure and power, and can be deployed for good or for ill.

Some of these essays explore curiosities in odd corners of the language simply to remind us of the extraordinary richness of the English language. We learn, for example, that the word "pedigree" refers to the shape of a crane’s foot, and that "halcyon" recalls an early Greek love story. Other pieces use small matters of language to illustrate larger processes of cultural borrowing and change. Burnside’s musings remind us that we should not be alarmed at the instability of English; rather, we should be view its borrowings as a source of its strength and vitality.

Wordwatching also highlights the misuse of language in the service of sinister purposes—whether political, ideological, social, or personal. An ear well-tuned to the nuances of vocabulary inoculates the hearer against this epidemic of deception. This book truly gives us a fascinating demonstration of the power and the pleasure of the English language.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Audiobook, Essays, Linguistics, History, Reference

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for Christmas, and enjoyed it, although it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's written as a series of essays, that seem like maybe they were first published as a set of separate articles, leading to some redundancy. The story of St. Audrey's lace leading to the word "tawdry" appears in three different chapters for example. Also, a lot of his stuff isn't particularly new, it's more a compilation of bits of information I've read in a lot of other books. I really appreciated two different things about this book, however, that were less familiar to me. First, he includes a discussion of Australian slang (Burnside is Australian) with which I was mostly unfamiliar, so that was interesting. And second, while he acknowledges the point of "purists" (those who dislike the use of 'they' as a nongendered singular pronoun for example) he basically tells them to get over it, and let the language continue to adapt, which I thought was a refreshing point of view. The book also includes some interesting chapters on plural-looking singulars, word etymologies, and archaic and obsolete words that he thinks ought to be revived. The whole book is written in a very anecdotal style, which makes it both approachable and a quick read, well summed up in the subtitle "Field Notes of an Amateur Philologist". Burnside never pretends to be an expert, but the book is still instructive, a 'nice' combination.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The English language develops by many mechanisms.’

‘A bonzer (p. 288) discussion of the strange but dinkum (p. 289) pedigree (p. 224) of the naughty (p. 202), nice (p. 212), and, sometimes, obscene (p. 217) English language.’

Word Watching is a delightful collection of 48 short essays (plus an Introduction and an Afterword) on selected lexicographical examples. Some are curious, some are profound, some are funny and each of them is interesting. Words are, as Julian Burnside reminds us, a source both of pleasure and power, and can be deployed for good or for ill.

In ‘Doublespeak’, Julian Burnside suggests that George Orwell would be disappointed to find that slick political language is as powerful now as in 1933: ‘it can hide shocking truth, it can deceive a nation, and it can hand electoral victory to the morally bankrupt.’ And, of course, there are plenty of examples: who can forget ‘an incomplete success’?

There’s a chapter on the lexicography of animals (‘Beastly Words’). Amongst other things, I learned that venison was originally any animal hunted for meat, or the meat of any animal so caught.

You could, as I did, read this book from cover to cover delighting in his discussions of various topics including ‘Naughty Words’, ‘Obscene Words’, ‘Haitch’ and ‘Terminal Prepositions’. I met some old friends amongst the ‘Collective Nouns’ and met another one in the original meaning of ‘a bouquet of pheasants’ - a group of pheasant as they break cover in front of the beaters.

Some of the essays explore curiosities in odd corners of the language; others illustrate how words can shift between languages. The language we speak continues to evolve: new words are coined; others change meaning while some slip out of common use. The use of ‘so’ as an intensifier ( as in: ‘I am so not going to the party’) takes some getting used to but, as Julian Burnside says, it works.

‘When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in English.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Sunshine Biskaps · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Word Watching: Field Notes from an Amateur Philologist" by Julian Burnside

This book was definitely not what I was expecting it to be at all, and surely and interest and entertaining read. I loved the chapter on "Beastly Words". I've lived in America most of my life and have never heard many of those terms for young animals. I loved the cute poem on page 13 by Ogden Nash stating that bats have bittens as cats have kittens, of course, totally made up. Who knew baby hawks are called eyas? It puts my having a BS in Biological Sciences with a specialisation in Zoology to shame.

I also enjoyed reading about aphesis. In America, I grew up with hearing the word "opossum". Here in Australia, we saw "possums'. I actually had to google if they are the same creatures. Same concept with the American "iguanas" and the Australian "goannas". I learned that "apron" came from "a naperon" and it's obvious that "napkin" also evolved from this word.

The essay on "Naughty Words" was pretty funny. I especially liked the opening poem by Samuel Johnson that ended "So from my Lord his passions broke, He farted first, and then he spoke."

The essays had a few tautologous mentions (i.e. uncouth and couth were mentioned a couple times and so were St. Audrey-Lace and tawdry lace) as they must have been written separately before being compiled into a book. Overall, a great read for anyone who enjoys learning more about the English language!

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal!!!

[C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, it is impossible to know both the exact position and the exact velocity of any particle at any one time. This has nothing to do with experimental limitations; even a hypothetically 'perfect' experiment would not be able to simultaneously determine these two physical properties with precision.

Instead, the existence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is due to the inherent properties of the particles in question; the wavelike properties of matter, as described by the equations of quantum mechanics. WOO exciting stuff, right?

So anyway, books like this - popular books written for the layperson with a passing fascination with language, about words, about interesting little titbits of language, have an inherent limitation for me: due to their bitty and necessarily choppy-and-changey style (jumping from one topic to another, NO sense of narrative arc, I mean really), I can't really enjoy them. I am keen to meet a word book that transcends these limitations; unlike knowing the position and velocity of a particle with arbitrary precision, I do believe it is possible. Unfortunately, however, no matter how much I worship and adore Julian Burnside (he is my idol; he should be yours too) I can't give this book - or any other word book I have encountered thus far - more than three stars.

[Celebrilomiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun, as linguistic escapades usually are, though a bit dated (most of the essays seem to have been written in the 90s and early 2000s) and unexpectedly regional — the author, unbeknownst to me at the outset of the book, is Australian, which provided both a piquancy and an interesting perspective, given that Australian English hews closer to British English in many ways than American English does but also diverges from them both, especially in colloquialisms. Several of the essays go into the Australian politics of the time, and many of the more modern usage examples given were from Australian legal cases, which mildly amused me since that source was so unexpected.

My favorite acquisition from the book is hendiadys, though I also liked apagogical and I discovered asyndeton through my assiduous googling to try to find, via related linguistic terms, how to spell "hendiadys," which I had only heard pronounced in the audiobook (googling "indyadous" on its own was supremely unsuccessful).

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more like a 3.75. Burnside is an exceptional writer and makes philology entertaining (though, it should be noted that this is written for an Australian audience, so some examples are not culturally relevant to other English speakers). Some essays are better than others, as some are drier. I think he could have made this better if the conclusion drawn in the afterword was a thesis throughout the collection of essays. Specifically, had Burnside taken the opportunity to explore the exploitation language in power, it would have given this book a sense of purpose. As it reads now, it is fun and light. It is highly educational but lacks substance in terms of central theme.

[Rillene · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a word geek, you will like this book. Who can't get enough of the history of words.

Writer warns that we should not be so much concerned with words changing meaning as with words becoming meaningless. I couldn't help drawing parallels to 2016-2020 in the US.

NOTE: The author is Australian and couches a lot of his explanation in that country's culture and history. I found some references confusing, but not enough to stop reading. Made me realize I need to know more about this country.

[Edy Gies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are words important? While this book takes a lighthearted tone at times Burnside illustrates the importance of words and the dangers we put ourselves in when we allow our language to be corrupted and abused. When people accuse others of abuse or violence because of a word spoken in disagreement, the world becomes a dangerous place. "I almost died," doesn't apply unless there truly was a near-death circumstance. While this book is really just about words I was reminded of the dangers of excessive hyperbole and the general importance of words.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with interesting facts on literary history and words. For example, octopus comes from Greek (not Latin) and the Greek plural is octopodes. And tome comes from the Greek for volume, specifically one volume from a larger set. The Greek root tom means to slice or cut. The word tom also appears in cutting procedures: gastrectomy, hysterectomy, lithotomy, and anatomy (learned by cutting up bodies). Sometimes the content gets pedantic with pages on the many definitions and history of one word.

[Chris Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful addition to the bedside table, offering short and sweet essays on all things about the English language. Enlighten your mind each morning with some really quirky facts about words and their fantastical etymology. And it's rather perfect to have been written by an Australian, where words, idioms and slang have all been shaken about.

If you've got a slight curiosity for words, I highly recommend buying. This is especially true for those wanting to develop a writing career.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm ... I generally like these books about the evolution of words, but this one didn't interest me as much as others. I also took a star because this author devoted a significant section on the word "fuck," and my feeling was that he knew how dry his book was and was trying to get some interest back by appealing to base language.

Avoid. There are better options out there.

[. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the essays were a bit too scattered to form a different purpose. Well written, but not as compelling as it could've been and the only thing I know to compare it against is Pinker's 'Sense of Style,' which is positively phenomenal. For that reason, 3 seems most reasonable.

[Sapphira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant book to dip into for those interested in etymology. It's written by an Aussie, so this influences some of the content, but I really enjoyed the audiobook and learning new bits of etymological information while driving around.

[Kay-Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny, sharp and politically relevant. Brilliantly narrated. This was really a great read!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read with fascinating facts and lots of humour

[Karo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny how words lose and gain meaning throughout time.

[Donny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Due to a library deadline and an overload of tasks, I decided to return this book without completing it, intending to pick it up again eventually. A collection of essays on various aspects of the English language, loosely themed, the volume makes an excellent springboard for further investigation of many less common words and roots; however, it is not meant to be read quickly, and does not lend itself to independent reading. When I return to its pages I shall do so with an unabrdiged dictionary close at hand.