What are women called

Linguist Irina Fufaeva’s book “What Women Are Called: Feminine Nouns—History, Structure, and Controversy” has arrived just in time. In the media, and especially online, debates over terms like “avtorki,” “blogerki,” “spetsialistki,” and “redaktorki” show no signs of abating, and proponents and opponents of new word formations regularly clash in fierce disputes, each trying to defend their point of view. Fufaeva invites readers to view modern Russian as an ecosystem and word-formation models as a kind of habit that causes our inner linguist to instinctively resist the use of certain suffixes. The book also offers a unique look at the history of Russian feminine nouns and systematically debunks the main myths surrounding their use in modern Russian. Five Reasons to Buy 1This book has arrived at the perfect moment, as more and more communication moves online and words like “blogerka” or “kuratorka” spark heated debate. 2Irina Fufaeva, a researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities’ Sociolinguistics Laboratory and a candidate of philological sciences, has long been addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the Russian language. Readers can be confident in the accuracy of all the information presented. 3The author explains even the most complex linguistic phenomena in plain, accessible language and with a subtle sense of humor. 4Irina Fufaeva’s account of the history of these words is every bit as gripping as a first-rate thriller. It is a vivid example of how a book about language can be both serious and incredibly engaging. 5The time has finally come to find out—and, in the event of an online dispute, to clearly explain to others—how “avtorki,” “avtorkhi,” and even “avtoritsy” came to be in the Russian language.