Prejudice Lives
In
last week’s post I mentioned my fascination with a prejudice we English
speakers appear to have. Indulge me by considering each set of four synonyms,
then speedily categorizing them into two lists, one labeled “classy” & one
labeled “not classy.”
big large vast great
compact miniature little small
thin slender gaunt skinny
chubby stout fat obese
clever astute smart intelligent
Next,
compare your lists with these:
big vast
great large
small compact
little miniature
skinny slender
thin gaunt
chubby stout
fat obese
clever astute
smart intelligent
The
words on the left are words derived from Norse, Frisian, Dutch, and various
Germanic sources. The words on the right mostly come through French from Latin,
though one comes directly from Latin, one is Latin through Italian and stout
is a Middle Low German word that came to English through French (that last
stage being salient to this topic).
If
you placed most of the words on the left in the “not classy” column and most of
the words on the right in the “classy” column, like me, you have absorbed a
prejudice that linguists attribute to the events following the Battle of
Hastings in 1066. After the big win, the Norman nobles who supported William
the Conqueror (formerly known as Guillaume, since he was born in Normandy, France)
became the ruling class of England. French became the language of the courts
and royalty. This set French and its mother language, Latin, far above the
everyday Germanic, Anglo-Saxon & Celtic tongues spoken by the lowly
peasants. This system lasted for centuries, as have the prejudices born of it.
This
prejudice has some intriguing applications for those who write. Precise
application of classy vs. non-classy words can subtly influence readers’
impressions of characters & events, encouraging or discouraging trust or
likability.
Dang,
those authors are tricky cusses, aren’t they?
Please
let me know whether any of this rings true. Did your lists look mostly like my
lists or am I just some nutcase who puts too much time into thinking about
words?
My list was indeed predominantly on the right! "Chubby", "great", and "clever" were my exceptions; I've always been fond of the word "clever."
ReplyDeleteI've known the importance of word choice for some time, since I write; I didn't realize where it gained that importance!
My lists were identical to yours, with the exception being the word "clever." Matt's list was entirely different because he was thinking of the words as descriptors rather than judging their class level. However, he's an architect not a writer so that makes sense :)
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel6 & Heather,
ReplyDeleteThanks to both of you for coming by. The architect vs. writer thoughts are intriguing, & clever is particularly intriguing. I've always wondered whether the more conniving connotation was a reflection on this prejudice, but I don't have a clue how to research something so subtle.
That is fascinating. The only one that was different for me was "great" and "large". Never knew I was a common word snob. I wonder if the French are aware of this phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteThose pesky Normans. It's because of them that we eat "pork" (Fr word) while farmers raise a "pig" (Anglo-Saxon word) Ditto "beef" vs. "cow." Fascinating discussion from the ever-classy Wordmonger!
ReplyDeleteGreetings Anne,
ReplyDeletePerfect! I should do a post on prejudice in food names. Thanks for popping by.