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Martin, Peter, 1940-
Subjects
Webster, Noah, 1758-1843.
Worcester, Joseph E. (Joseph Emerson), 1784-1865.
G. & C. Merriam Company.
English language -- United States -- Lexicography -- History.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- History and criticism.
Browse Catalog
by author:
Martin, Peter, 1940-
by title:
The dictionary wars ...
by call number:
423.092 M382d
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Martin, Peter, 1940-
Webster, Noah, 1758-1843.
Worcester, Joseph E. (Joseph Emerson), 1784-1865.
G. & C. Merriam Company.
English language -- United States -- Lexicography -- History.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- History and criticism.
MARC Display
The
dictionary
wars
: the
American
fight
over
the
English
language
/ Peter Martin.
by
Martin, Peter, 1940-
Princeton University Press, 2019.
Call #:
423.092 M382d
Subjects
Webster, Noah, 1758-1843.
Worcester, Joseph E. (Joseph Emerson), 1784-1865.
G. & C. Merriam Company.
English
language
-- United States -- Lexicography -- History.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- History and criticism.
ISBN:
9780691188911 (hc.)
Description:
x, 358 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
Bibliography:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-347) and index.
Contents:
Part one. Noah Webster's battles. British mockery and
American
disdain ; Noah Webster: "The wildest innovator" ; Webster's first
dictionary
; Displacing Delilah ; The lexicographer's fifth column ; Tea and copyright: Goodrich takes
over
; Spelling
wars
: the rise of Lyman Cobb ; The "common thief" ; Webster's decline -- Part two. The Merriams at war. Taking Webster out of Webster: from family feuds to the Merriam Brothers ; Waiting for Worcester ; The Bohn affair ; Converse's complaint ; Children, money, and "trash" ; High stakes: "Have we a national standard of
language
?" ; The "terrible rival": Worcesterian resurgence ; The Merriams triumphant: "Worcester! Worcester! all change for Webster!" -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: The "Webster" brand -- Appendix B: Four centuries of selected dictionaries of the
English
language
-- Appendix C: Publishing terms -- Appendix D: "The spelling bee at Angels (reported by Truthful James)," by Bret Harte.
Summary:
"A compelling history of the national conflicts that resulted from efforts to produce the first definitive
American
dictionary
of
English
. ... [
English
professor] Peter Martin recounts the patriotic fervor in the early
American
republic to produce a definitive national
dictionary
that would rival Samuel Johnson's 1755
Dictionary
of the
English
Language
. But what began as a cultural war of independence from Britain devolved into a battle among lexicographers, authors, scholars, and publishers, all vying for
dictionary
supremacy and shattering forever the dream of a unified
American
language
. The overwhelming questions in the
dictionary
wars
involved which and whose
English
was truly
American
and whether a
dictionary
of
English
should attempt to be
American
at all, independent from Britain. Martin tells the human story of the intense rivalry between America's first lexicographers, Noah Webster and Joseph Emerson Worcester, who fought
over
who could best represent the soul and identity of
American
culture. Webster believed an
American
dictionary
, like the
American
language
, ought to be informed by the nation's republican principles, but Worcester thought that such
language
reforms were reckless and went too far. Their conflict continued beyond Webster's death, when the ambitious Merriam brothers acquired publishing rights to Webster's
American
Dictionary
and launched their own
language
wars
. From the beginning of the nineteenth century to the end of the Civil War, the
dictionary
wars
also engaged America's colleges, libraries, newspapers, religious groups, and state legislatures at a pivotal historical moment that coincided with rising literacy and the print revolution. Delving into the personal stories and national debates that arose from the conflicts surrounding America's first dictionaries, The
Dictionary
Wars
examines the linguistic struggles that underpinned the founding and growth of a nation."--Dust jacket.
Holds:
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Copy/Holding information
Location
Collection
Call No.
Item type
Status
Captain William Spry Public Library
Adult Nonfiction
423.092 M382d
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