The Genetic Memory of Pronunciation
I pronounce “animated GIF” with a “soft G” (ʤ). I’m fully aware that the “G” in “GIF” comes from the word “Graphical”, but I’m not fully satisfied by the argument that the acronym inherits the “hard G” (ɡ) pronounciation of its components. Sometimes, to be spicy, I pronounce it as “Giraffical Image File”. Sometimes, to be very spicy, I pronounce “Animated GIF” as “Animated Glyph”. Anyway, that’s not what the post is about, and besides, the GIF vs. GIF debate is still open and better minds than mine have researched the difference.
The post is about Frank Herbert’s Dune, its universe now being adapted for cinema by the inimitable Denis Villeneuve. Specifically, the post is about the etymology of “Bene Gesserit”, an all-female quasi-religious order. Notably, the Bene Gesserit implant agents on different worlds thoughout the galaxy, tasked with influencing the cultural development of societies living there. This obvious antithesis to Star Trek’s Prime Directive is intended to give a member of the Bene Gesserit a tool for survival: in the event that a member of the Order were stranded on some far-flung world, they would have a tool for survival by manipulating the language and symbols previously ingrained therein.
The film — and, indeed, much of the fandom — pronounces “Gesserit” as having a soft “G”. It comes out sounding like “Jesserit”. The universe of Dune (or Duniverse, if you’re being silly) is quite clear about its middle eastern influences. The Arabic origins of much of the vocabulary for the Fremen is obvious, and is even discussed in the book’s appendices, with in-world explanations bridging our world with Herbert’s speculative future.
I propose an etymology with the potential to change the pronounciation of the word itself: I posit that the origin of “Bene Gesserit” is not Arabic or Latin. Specifically, I believe that the origins are Hebrew, with “Bene” coming from the Hebrew “B’nei”, and “Gesserit” coming from the word “Gesher”. I’ll explain.
“B’nei” [בני] (pronounced something like “buh-NAY”) is commonly translated as “children”. It is commonly encountered in the term “B’nei Mitzvah”, itself the gender-neutral form of the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony. It is also seen in the term “B’nei Yisrael”, meaning “the Children of Israel”- with “Yisrael” not referring to the modern State of Israel, but instead being the name taken by the Biblical Jacob after he wrestled with the angel, and meaning “the one who wrestles with G-d”.
“Gesher” [גשר] (with, it should be said, a hard “G”) means “bridge”. The suffix “-it” turns the word into an adjective for a feminine noun, or indicates a female member of a group. Note that Hebrew nouns are gendered, as with French.
So, taken together, “Bene Gesserit” could mean a group, called “the Children of the Bridge”, with exclusively female members — or that the “Bridge” itself is, in some sense, female.
This etymology is supported by the in-universe mission of the Bene Gesserit, which is to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, a semi-mythical male figure with the power to access the genetic memory of all humanity. It is commonly accepted that the etymology of “Haderach” is Hebrew, with “haDerech” [הדרך] meaning “the way”, and “Kwisatz” from the Hebrew “kefitzat” meaning “to shorten; a bridge is, after all, one method of shortening a way. Even the word “abridged” means “shortened”.
If we’re willing to accept that the Bene Gesserit’s terms of art have Hebrew origins, it is not a leap to believe that the name “Bene Gesserit” itself has a Hebrew origin and, as such, inherits the hard “G” of its progenitor.
Note: For what it’s worth, the Dune Wiki supports this interpretation — and I don’t buy Frank Herbert’s son’s proposed etymology that “Gesserit” is taken from “Jesuit” (soft G!). Either way, the author isn’t around to tell us.
Of course, the idea of a secretive society exercising shadowy influence by infiltrating cultures across the galaxy having its roots in the biblical language of the Jews opens some problematic doors. This, in addition to the fact that Bene Gesserit Sisters are often referred to as witches adds an additional layer of difficulty. We’re not going to interrogate antisemitic tropes in Dune today, but it would be irresponsible to ignore some of the cognates in our discourse.
Language changes and evolves. To what extent do words inherit the properties of their parents? Villeneuve’s work seems intensely interested in language: 2016’s Arrival is a particularly elegant example, and I would have liked to see his take on Cityspeak in Blade Runner 2049. Indeed, in Dune, we see characters using The Voice to control the actions of others, as well as sign language to communicate surreptitiously. The Bene Gesserit of Dune are obviously fictional, rather than the Jews of Earth, who I assure you are quite real — but I am ready to suspend some disbelief in Herbert’s writing which allows for the evolution of language across tens of thousands of years. Perhaps “Bene Gesserit” doesn’t inherit the properties of its components as the acronym “GIF” does, but regardless, I’m going to pronounce “Bene Gesserit” as having a hard “G” — or “B’nei Gesherit” if I’m feeling spicy.
Note: I never saw the Lynch flick, and I’ve only read the original Dune book. This extremely rigorous and academic analysis may be incomplete because of that. Dune: Part 2 drops in March 2024. I thought Villeneuve did a positively telepathic rendering of the book for Part 1, and I’m really excited to see what he has to show us next. I’m particularly stoked to see how he handles the Water of Life scene. Should be pretty wild.
