El. knyga: Eating Is an English Word

"In Eating is an English Word Annemarie Mol works in collaboration with other scholars to build off of previous work focused on eating's application in theory to think more linguistically about eating as a theme in the English language. Considering the idiosyncratic connotations of eating as an English word, the contributors to this collection push back against the universality of language. By examining non-English equivalents of the word from languages such as Dutch, Portuguese, German, and Spanish, thebook's chapters contemplate eating's verbal and physical meanings, as well as the pleasures that accompany it. Moreover, in using eating as an example of analytical difference, Eating is an English Word explores the capabilities of language within research fields and practices. Eating thus becomes a vehicle for reorienting the act of valuing towards appreciation instead of judgment, creating a deeper form of engagement for academic conversations"--

Eating is generally understood as a human need that people satisfy in diverse ways. Eating, however, is also an English word. Other languages, using other words, order reality differently: they may fuse eating with breathing, or distinguish chupar from comer. Anthropologists flag such differences by leaving a few of their words untranslated, but what language do we think in? This isn’t necessarily English. We may be linguistically closer to those whose practices we study: them. Against this background, Eating Is an English Word argues that social scientists should let go of the dream of universal concepts. Our analytical terms had better vary. Annemarie Mol and her coauthors exemplify this in a series of material semiotic inquiries into eating practices. They employ terms like lekker, tasting with fingers, chupar, schmecka, gustar, and settling on an okay meal to explore appreciative modes of valuing. Welcome, then, to spirited stories about satisfied stomachs, love for a lamb, juicy fruit treats, and companionable lunches and dinners.

This book explores ways of appreciating eating, with the authors using lessons from their first language, even when writing in English—thus mixing us and them.