The dictionary wars : the American fight over the English language /
Martin, Peter, 1940-
The dictionary wars : the American fight over the English language / Dic*tion*ar*y wars. Peter Martin. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2019] - x, 358 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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.
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.
9780691188911 0691188912
2019931238
Webster, Noah, 1758-1843.
Worcester, Joseph E. 1784-1865.
G. & C. Merriam Company.
English language--Lexicography--History.--United States
English language--Lexicography--History.
English language--Lexicography.--United States
English language--Lexicography.
English language.
PE1611 / .M295 2019
The dictionary wars : the American fight over the English language / Dic*tion*ar*y wars. Peter Martin. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2019] - x, 358 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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.
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.
9780691188911 0691188912
2019931238
Webster, Noah, 1758-1843.
Worcester, Joseph E. 1784-1865.
G. & C. Merriam Company.
English language--Lexicography--History.--United States
English language--Lexicography--History.
English language--Lexicography.--United States
English language--Lexicography.
English language.
PE1611 / .M295 2019