Rhoda Sutherland (1907 – 6 January 1989) was an academic who studied the French language and specialised in

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

and Old Provencal.

Life

Rhoda Clarke was born in

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire w ...

in 1907 and attended Nuneaton School for Girls. In 1929 she was Lecturer and in 1935 Fellow of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She studied the French language and was quoted for her views on the history of the language. Sutherland lectured on

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

which was a subject she defended against those who would like to have seen its scope subsumed into

Literary Studies Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. T ...

. The American Chinese studies academic Richard Baum credited Sutherland with inspiring him to specialise in linguistics. In 1938 she married the Oxford librarian

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

. She retired in 1971 and died in 1989.

Work

* (with Will Moore and

Enid Starkie Enid Mary Starkie CBE (18 August 1897 – 21 April 1970), was an Irish literary critic, known for her biographical works on French poets. She was a Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, and Lecturer and then Reader in the University. Early life ...

) The French Mind. Studies in honour of Gustave Rudler, Oxford 1952The French Mind
Studies in honour of Gustave Rudler, Oxford 1952 * The language of the troubadours, in: French Studies 10, 1956, S. 199-215 * The love meditation in courtly literature, in: Studies in medieval French. Presented to Alfred Ewert in honour of his seventieth birthday, Oxford 1961, S. 165-193

References

1907 births 1989 deaths People from Atherstone Linguists from the United Kingdom Women linguists Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford 20th-century linguists {{Academic-stub