naming the book: Sardinian Knotted Embroidery

At some point, you may wonder (especially if you’re Sardinian) why I didn’t put “Punt ‘e Nù” (which means “knotted stitches” in Sardinian) anywhere in the title of my book, if that is what the book is about. It is true, I didn’t. However, it was very carefully planned.

When I name a book, many things are considered including the following. It has to explain what the book is about. It has to be easy to say. It has to roll off the tongue. It has to pique the interest of the reader.

When I’m dealing with an embroidery from another culture, where it is known by a name in another language, this is where things become a little difficult. I want prospective purchasers to be able to walk into a shop and confidently ask for the book by its title. As an English speaker, would you feel confident about asking for “Punt ‘e Nù”? Do you have any idea how to pronounce that? Probably most of us wouldn’t!

Even “Teulada”, for those of us who speak English is a little problematic. How do you pronounce that? *I* know, because I’ve been there, but you haven’t (at least I’m assuming that you haven’t!). By having “Teulada” in just the subtitle rather than the title, you can ask for the book, without ever actually having to attempt to say “Teulada”, but having it in the subtitle does give more clarity about the style of embroidery than if it was not mentioned.

So that is why I have called the book “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada”. The title actually explains quite a few things about the contents of the book – that it is from Teulada in Sardinian, that it is about whitework embroidery, and that it uses a knotted technique.

As most of my readers are English speaking – the book is written in English, after all! – I have to cater for the needs of English speakers. If I had felt reasonably sure that they would know how to confidently pronounce “Punt ‘e Nù”, then I definitely would have included it in the title. However, as very few English speakers would feel confident pronouncing it without ever having heard someone else do so, I felt that it was not going to be helpful to include it in the title.

If you would like to hear these words pronounced, you can hear me say them in my book trailer.

(Found here for those who receive this post via email.) At approximately 1:18 I say “Teulada” and then at 1:20 I say “Punt ‘e Nù”.

So, “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada” it is! And I hope that you will say as much or as little of that title as you feel confident with.