Food Lit: The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu

June 21, 2015: 
The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu by Dan Jurafsky (Sep 2014)
 
With guest author Dan Jurafsky!

Here at Food Lit we all like both words and food, so what could be better than this? Bring a menu to share if you’ve got something curious you’d like to have Dan Jurafsky explain.

Food Lit meets every third Sunday of the month for casual conversation around 18 Reasons’ table, usually featuring the author or other expert guest, led by our fearless moderator-coordinator Heather Knape. We talk about food, flavors, farming, politics, life in San Francisco and anything else that can fit into two hours and connect back to our book of the month.

Please bring a dish or drink to share for our potluck lunch. Let The Language of Food inspire you and bring something that it makes you think of. Remember, you don’t have to have finished (or even begun) the book to attend, our discussions run the gamut from sparking interest in the book’s subject to full on raging debates over writing style, flavors, the food system and other loosely related topics. If nothing else, we’re hoping to get you fired up and thinking about eating well.

What folks are saying about special read:

...[The Language of Food], with its abundance of colorful culinary and etymological history framing serious research, is a model of rigor and readability...Jurafsky is particularly skilled at connecting familiar food words with surprising linguistic patterns, and there are revelations on nearly every page...His brilliant achievement is to weave together the journey food makes through culture with the journey its name makes through language.
The New York Times Book Review - Peter Sokolowski 

"fun, fascinating, and absorbing... You don't have to be a foodie to find "The Language of Food" a high enjoyable and compelling read"
Boston Globe 

"entertaining and revealing throughout"
The Economist 

"Mix equal parts fascinating history, surprising etymology, and brilliant linguistic analysis, add a generous dollop of humor, and savor The Language of Food. You'll never think of ketchup, French fries, fish and chips, or toast in the same way" 
Deborah Tannen, author of the #1 bestseller You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation 

"Ever since I heard the phrase 'fresh frozen' I have been wondering about food language. Now Dan Jurafsky has taken on the subject with scholarship, wit, and charm, making The Language of Food a very engaging book." 
Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod