The Lexicographer's Dilemma

The Evolution of 'Proper' English, from Shakespeare to South Park

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Grammar, Linguistics, History
Cover of the book The Lexicographer's Dilemma by Jack Lynch, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jack Lynch ISBN: 9780802719638
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: November 3, 2009
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Language: English
Author: Jack Lynch
ISBN: 9780802719638
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: November 3, 2009
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers--those who have tried to regulate or otherwise organize the way we speak. *Proper Words in Proper Places offers the first narrative history of these endeavors and shows clearly that what we now regard as the only "correct" way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As historian Jack Lynch has discovered, every rule has a human history and the characters peopling his narrative are as interesting for their obsession as for their erudition: the sharp-tongued satirist Jonathan Swift, who called for a government-sponsored academy to issue rulings on the language; the polymath Samuel Johnson, who put dictionaries on a new footing; the eccentric Hebraist Robert Lowth, the first modern to understand the workings of biblical poetry; the crackpot linguist John Horne Tooke, whose bizarre theories continue to baffle scholars; the chemist and theologian Joseph Priestly, whose political radicalism prompted violent riots; the ever-crotchety Noah Webster, who worked to Americanize the English language; the long-bearded lexicographer James A. H. Murray, who devoted his life to a survey of the entire language in the Oxford English Dictionary; and the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who worked without success to make English spelling rational.

Grammatical "rules" or "laws" are not like the law of gravity, or even laws against murder and theft--they're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change. Witty, smart, full of passion for the world's language, Proper Words in Proper Places will entertain and educate in equal measure.*

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers--those who have tried to regulate or otherwise organize the way we speak. *Proper Words in Proper Places offers the first narrative history of these endeavors and shows clearly that what we now regard as the only "correct" way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As historian Jack Lynch has discovered, every rule has a human history and the characters peopling his narrative are as interesting for their obsession as for their erudition: the sharp-tongued satirist Jonathan Swift, who called for a government-sponsored academy to issue rulings on the language; the polymath Samuel Johnson, who put dictionaries on a new footing; the eccentric Hebraist Robert Lowth, the first modern to understand the workings of biblical poetry; the crackpot linguist John Horne Tooke, whose bizarre theories continue to baffle scholars; the chemist and theologian Joseph Priestly, whose political radicalism prompted violent riots; the ever-crotchety Noah Webster, who worked to Americanize the English language; the long-bearded lexicographer James A. H. Murray, who devoted his life to a survey of the entire language in the Oxford English Dictionary; and the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who worked without success to make English spelling rational.

Grammatical "rules" or "laws" are not like the law of gravity, or even laws against murder and theft--they're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change. Witty, smart, full of passion for the world's language, Proper Words in Proper Places will entertain and educate in equal measure.*

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Britain, Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book The Arden Shakespeare Miscellany by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Wake Up Missing by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book M48 Patton vs Centurion by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book The Residue Years by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Weathering by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Everything About Corporate Etiquette by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book God and Evil by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Panzer 38(t) vs BT-7 by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book The Splintering of the American Mind by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book RSPB Spotlight: Badgers by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book I Went to the Supermarket by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Shiverton Hall by Jack Lynch
Cover of the book Seeking Security by Jack Lynch
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy