“I love how much there is still to learn”: An interview with Susie Dent
When Michael Gove infamously declared that the British people “have had enough of experts”, he must have forgotten about Susie Dent. An expert in language, its etymology and lexicology, does not sound a likely candidate for the affection of the British people. But Dent wears her knowledge lightly, traversing history, politics and science without once sounding stuffy, exclusive or boring.
Perhaps natural for someone so engrossed in words, Dent speaks with remarkable speed and fluency, belying the humble statement that “I can be as inarticulate as the next person”. There is an energy in her voice, arising from an excitement to tell me about what she knows. And boy, does she know it – there are no gaps or hesitations.
Trying to excuse her supposed inarticulacy, she ironically offers a study which showed that fillers in language – ums and ahs – are in fact necessary for the listener to make full sense of the message.
In a further boost to the vocally unconfident, she also reveals that “linguistically speaking, those with the greatest fluency in language are actually the most adept at texting. You have to know your language before you can play with it.”
Dent wears her knowledge lightly, traversing history, politics and science without once sounding stuffy
This singles her out from many purists who are horrified at the rise of text language. What about – dare I ask it – emojis?
Dent drily acknowledges the “antipathy towards emojis” and the outcry in 2015 when Oxford Dictionaries made the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ its Word of the Year. But in her characteristic openness to everything, she points out that it “is notoriously difficult to find words that explain real nuances of emotion. For all of its richness, English does have linguistic gaps.” If emojis are able to fill those gaps, then so much the better.
Dent is not one to try to preserve language in stasis. “We’re experiencing a fear about the decline of English, but we’ve had that fear for centuries.” She cites the example of the telegram, which many thought would bastardize the language. “English is incredibly robust and versatile, and it will move as we want it to.”
“English is incredibly robust and versatile, and it will move as we want it to”
But who that ‘we’ is, is not as obvious as it might seem. “English is very much in the hands of non-native speakers,” she explains – they now outnumber native speakers. As a result, the language is “evolving very very quickly.” The English of the future “won’t be the language we know now. There will be new versions. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
‘Not a bad thing’ becomes a refrain, suggesting again the openness of Dent’s mind. Yes, native speakers “still have a sense of ownership [of the language] but I think that’s not necessarily a bad thing unless lots of other impulses come into play.”
It is a rare skill to be able to make a political comment so benignly. Similarly, she raises the existence of a petition to ban all French words from the post-EU British passport. With utter gentleness, she points out that ‘passport’ is itself a French word; using only linguistic fact, she has torn an ill-considered political action to shreds.
It is a rare skill to be able to make a political comment so benignly
She explains that, “There is no way you could ever isolate entirely Anglo-Saxon vocabulary from the way we are using language today.” The sheer quantity of influences on the language makes English “haphazard, chaotic”, but that to her is the joy of it.
Every word, every possibility is a source of delight. Take the origin of her love for language: shampoo bottles. Completely mundane, and yet to young Susie, a bridge to other peoples and tongues. “I would look at the ingredients in other languages and think that babies or toddlers in other countries could understand them, but they were completely impenetrable to me.”
I ask if ‘shampoo’ itself has interesting roots, and in a few quick strokes she has given me a couple centuries’ overview of the word. A Hindi word meaning ‘press’, brought back probably by the military in the 19th century, it evolved to mean ‘washing’ and then to washing a particular part of oneself. Dent observes, fascinated, that shampoo has made “quite a journey.”
Dent is unusual in making the leap from expert to celebrity. But she defies the usual connotations of the word: here is a celebrity beloved for what might otherwise be called nerdiness. Her skill is immense; her interest in her subject even greater; and her dedication to and enthusiasm for her craft are refreshing, infectious even.
Dent observes, fascinated, that shampoo has made “quite a journey”
So it behoves me to ask to learn some new – or, in fact, old – words. Which words should we be bringing back to life?
Dent immediately offers ‘scurryfunging’, meaning to rush around the house in a frenzy before visitors arrive. A “pithy” way to describe a universally familiar feeling, I can see why Dent thinks it “deserves another outing”.
I ask speculatively if there is a fun West Midlands word or phrase she could share and, true queen of Dictionary Corner, she does not fail. In Warwickshire or Stratford, if it looks like rain, listen out for locals commenting that it’s a bit “black over Bill’s mother” – probably a reference to our very own Bard.
Her dedication to and enthusiasm for her craft are refreshing, infectious even
What about a word she wishes we could import wholesale from another language, to fill one of our “linguistic gaps”? Perhaps a hopeful question too far, but she looks for a connection and finds ‘schadenfreude’, “which got an outing in the World Cup!” There is an old English word which means the exact opposite: confelicity, meaning to take pleasure in another’s happiness. “I’d love to bring that back,” says Dent. “I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
Which it is. But it is also perfectly apposite to Dent herself – at the end of 15 minutes with her, I cannot help but feel her same excitement at the wonders of language. It is also joyous to realise how eager she is to share her knowledge, to make it a common good.
And she is not done yet. “I love how much there is still to learn,” she says. How lucky we are to be able to learn from such a teacher.
Susie Dent commences her UK tour on September 17th. http://susiedentlive.com.
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