American lexicography in the XVIII-XX centuries

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AMERICAN LEXICOGRAPHY IN THE XVIII-XX CENTURIES

Yasin Babazade,

Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Teacher at the Department of Foreign Languages Nakhchivan State University (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan)

Abstract

The article deals with the development of lexiccography in America in the XVIII-XX centuries. The publication of new English dictionaries in America by famous American lexicographers, such as Samuel Johnson, John Eliott, Noah Webster, Joseph Worcester, etc. and their hard work in lexicography is described. The most significant series of dictionaries currently published in the United States, such as Webster, Random House, Barnhart, American Heritage, etc. are noted. The most prominent compiler of English dictionaries Noah Webster (1758-1843) began his practical lexicographic work in this dictionary in America in the XVIII century. He had a huge impact on the development of American lexicography and at the same time on the development of the American English. Some authors argue that Noah Webster's influence on American English history was as great as George Washington's role in America's struggle for independence

N. Webster reviewed his vocabulary again and prepared a second edition in 1841 when he was over 80. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the days when his dictionary appeared in almost every American home, and the word “ Webster" became a synonym for the dictionary in the United States. Today one can hear the phrase “Look it up in the Webster" instead of the “Look it up in the dictionary".

Real success came to Webster's Dictionary only after the rights to it were sold to George and Charles Merriam. In 1847 the dictionary was published by the Merriam publishing house. Since that time, the Merriam - Webster Company has published the Webster Dictionaries. Webster's Dictionary has been reprinted dozens of times.

In 1789 Noah Webster published his “Dissertations on the English Language" where he indicated the reasons for the difference between American English and British and justified the need to create a dictionary that reflects these features. The dictionary enjoyed great influence, especially the edition called “Worcester's Large Dictionary of the English Language" in the 1860. In 1864, a new Webster dictionary was published under the title “Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language". After this publication Worcester's dictionary lost both its meaning and popularity.

Key words: lexicography, English language, British English, American English, dictionary, publication, spelling.

Анотація

Американська лексикографія у XVIII-XX століттях. Ясін Бабазаде, декан факультету іноземних мов, викладач кафедри іноземних мов Нахічеванського державного університету (Нахічевань, Азербайджан)

У статті йдеться про розвиток лексикографії в Америці XVIII-XX століть. Описано видання в Америці нових словників англійської мови відомими американськими лексикографами, серед яких Семюел Джонсон, Джон Еліот, Ноа Вебстер, Джозеф Вустер та інші, та їхню важку роботу в лексикографії. Відзначено найбільш значущі серії словників, які зараз публікуються у Сполучених Штатах Америки, як-от Webster, Random House, Barnhart, American Heritage тощо. Найвидатніший укладач англійських словників Ной Вебстер (1758-1843 роки) розпочав свою практичну лексикографічну роботу із цим словником в Америці у XVIII столітті. Він істотно вплинув на розвиток американської лексикографії і водночас на розвиток американської англійської мови. Деякі автори стверджують, що вплив Ноя Вебстера на історію американської англійської мови був таким же великим, як і роль Джорджа Вашингтона в боротьбі Америки за незалежність. american lexicography dictionary language

Н. Вебстер знову переглянув свій словниковий запас і підготував друге видання в 1841 році, коли йому було за 80. На жаль, він не дожив до днів, коли його словник з'явився майже в кожному американському домі, а слово «Вебстер» стало синонімом словника у Сполучених Штатах. Сьогодні можна почути фразу «Подивитися у Webster" замість «Подивитисяу словнику».

Справжній успіх прийшов до словника Н. Вебстера лише після того, як права на нього були продані Джорджу та Чарльзу Мерріамам. У 1847 році словник вийшов у видавництві «Мерріам». Відтоді компанія “Merriam - Webster" видає «Словники Вебстера». «Словник Вебстера» перевидавався десятки разів.

У 1789 році Ной Вебстер опублікував свої «Дисертації з англійської мови», де вказав причини різниці між американською англійською та британською, обґрунтував необхідність створення словника, який би відображав ці особливості. Словник мав великий вплив, особливо видання під назвою «Великий словник англійської мови Вустера» у 1860 році. У1864 році був опублікований новий словник Н. Вебстера під назвою «Нескорочений словник англійської мови». Після цієї публікації словник Вустера втратив сенс і популярність.

Ключові слова: лексикографія, англійська мова, британська англійська, американська англійська, словник, публікація, правопис.

Introduction

The development of lexicography in America started at the end of the XVIII century. The XVIII century in the history of the English language deserves to be called the century of the regulation of language norms. The linguists of this period tried to bring the English language into the system, subject it to general rules, establish a framework for its use, fix the richness of its lexical composition.

In the late XVIII century, English dictionaries began to appear in America. In 1789 Samuel Johnson's dictionary was published. It was a school dictionary. It comprised an easy and concise method of teaching children the true meaning and pronunciation of the most useful words in the English language. In this dictionary parts of speech were distinguished and explained and a special rule was given for spelling of derivatives and compound words.

Discussion

In 1800 a dictionary of two authors, John Elliott and Samuel Johnson, was published in America under the title “A selected Pronouncing and Accented Dictionary”. The authors of this dictionary excluded many words that were included in earlier editions, since they considered these lexical units vulgar, that is, words of non-literary use. In this dictionary a lot of attention was paid to pronunciation. In the same year, the first American Dictionary was published, which established some discrepancy in the meanings of words and their use in the English language of Great Britain and America. The author of this dictionary was Caleb Alexander. It was called “Columbian Dictionary of the English language”. The mostprominent compilerofEnglish dictionariesNoah Webster (1758-1843) began his practical lexicographic work in this dictionary in America in the XVIII century. He had a huge impact on the development of American lexicography and at the same time on the development of the American English. Some authors argue that Noah Webster's influence on American English history was as great as George Washington's role in America's struggle for independence. “The most famous of all American dictionary makers and a tireless champion of American English, Noah Webster was as influential in the story of American English as George Washington was in the narrative of the American Revolution” (McCrum et al., 2003: 257)

In 1789 Noah Webster published his “Dissertations on the English Language” where he indicated the reasons for the difference between American English and British and justified the need to create a dictionary that reflects these features. “Several sircumstances render a future seperation of the American tongue from the English necessary and unavoidable <...> Numerous local causes, such as a new country, new assosiations of people, new combinations of ideas in arts and science, and some intercourse with tribes wholly unknown to Europe, will introduce new words into the American tongue. These cause will produce, in a course of time, a language in North America, as different from the future language of England, as the modern Dutch, Danish and Swedish are from the German, or from another” (McCrum et al., 2003: 259)

Noah Webster pointed out the shortcomings of the most popular and authoritative English dictionaries of the time. He believed that he could create a more perfect vocabulary, reflecting the peculiarities of American vocabulary. American lexicographers R. Lodwig and E. Barrett interpret N. Webster's opinions in the following way: “Webster believed that our language was changing from that of the British because we were isolated geographically from them. New words, new meanings for old words, differrent pronunciation, and new usages were the result of the isolation. Why should Americans have to use a British dictionary which did not take any of these factors into account? Webster let it be known that he was the man to write the great American dictionary. And he did (Ступин, 1982: 31).

Noah Webster spent the next 20 years working on his great lexicographic work “An American Dictionary of the English Language.” Webster did all the work on the dictionary practically alone. He wrote his dictionary with his own hand, all 70 thousand dictionary entries. This was an American dictionary. The dictionary contained many words of American origin that were not recorded in British dictionaries. Webster illustrated his entries with quotations from American authors. Among the most frequently used sources, along with the Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, one can mention Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Washington Irving. Webster believed that his dictionary should not only be a reference book, but also a moral guide. The dictionary was supposed to teach patriotism through quotations, selected in an appropriate way.

In the preface to his dictionary, N. Webster formulated the tasks that he tried to solve when compiling it: Firstly, he tried to give the origin and original meaning of the word. Secondly, he tried to give pronunciation norms and change spelling norms. Then he wanted to give a detailed interpretation of the words. A clear advantage ofWebster's dictionary is its clear and simple interpretation of words. Ludwig and Barrett, quoted an accurate statement about Webster in their book “The Dictionary and the language”. “He was a born definer of words” (Ступин, 1982: 33).

Undoubtedly, Webster's work had a huge impact on American spelling and consolidated its difference from British. (e.g. American spelling of words color, wagon, center, defence, tire and their British equivalents colour, waggon, centre, defence, tyre) (Моисеев, 2006: 45).

One of the innovations that Webster used in his dictionary was letter transcription. The lexicographer's attitude to make American pronunciation more distinct and correct also influenced the formation of American pronunciation. “A good articulation consists in giving every letter in a syllable its due proportion of sound, according to the most approved custom of pronouncing it; and in making such a distinction, between syllables, of which words are composed, that the ear shall without difficulty acknowledge their number” (McCrum et al., 2003: 260).

Webster's rival in American lexicography was Joseph Worcester. He published an interesting dictionary called “A Comprehensive Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary of the English Language” in 1830 in Boston. The compiler of this dictionary did not try, like Webster, to change the American spelling system. The dictionary enjoyed great influence, especially the edition called “Worcester's Large Dictionary of the English Language” in the 1860. In 1864, a new Webster dictionary was published under the title “Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language”. After this publication Worcester's dictionary lost both its meaning and popularity.

Webster reviewed his vocabulary again and prepared a second edition in 1841 when he was over 80. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the days when his dictionary appeared in almost every American home, and the word Webster became a synonym for the dictionary in the United States. Today one can hear the phrase “Look it up in the Webster” instead of the “Look it up in the dictionary”.

Real success came to Webster's Dictionary only after the rights to it were sold to George and Charles Merriam. In 1847 the dictionary was published by the Merriam publishing house. Since that time, the Merriam-Webster Company has published the Webster Dictionaries. Webster's Dictionary has been reprinted dozens of times. One of the most sensational editions of this dictionary, which caused fierce discussions, was Webster's Third New International Dictionary published in 1961.

Along with the Webster dictionaries, other successful dictionaries are being published in the United States. According to Ludwig and Barrett, Century series is one of the best American dictionaries (Ступин, 1982: 34) Thus, in the USA, in addition to Webster, another large explanatory dictionary in 6 volumes appeared under the title “The Century dictionary. An encyclopedic lexicon of the English Language”. This dictionary has gained immense popularity literally from the first days of its publication. Its distinguishing feature was the abundance of encyclopedic material included, however, very compact and reasonable. Consequently, the Century dictionary was an explanatory and encyclopedic one (Ступин, 1973: 42).

In 1911, a new edition was published, numbering 12 volumes, which was slightly revised in 1914 and received the name “The Century dictionary and encyclopedia”. This dictionary has been reprinted dozens of times. Of the 12 volumes of the dictionary, the first 10 were devoted to the lexical composition of the English language, from the XII century to the beginning of the XX century. The dictionary contained about 530 thousand entries. The eleventh volume included proper names, and the twelfth atlas of the world. According to many experts, many of the characteristics of this dictionary are synonymous with the characteristics of the famous Oxford Dictionary (Ступин, 1973: 42).

The other great American Dictionaries are the “Random House Dictionary of the English Language” completed in 1967; the “Heritage Illustrated Dictionary of the English Language”, first published in 1969.

The most significant series of dictionaries currently published in the United States are Webster, Random House, Barnhart, American Heritage. Among the dictionaries published in these series, the most successful ones can be noted: Random House Dictionary of the English Language, American College Dictionary, Webster's Tenth New College Dictionary, Webster's New World Dictionary, Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary, Macmillan Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Funk &Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary.

Conclusion

For linguists who study the history of the formation of the vocabulary of the American version of the English language, the following lexicographic works are of great importance: A Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles, edited by Sir William Craigie and James R. Hullbert; A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, edited by Mitford M. Mathews; American Glossary, edited by Richard H. Thornton.

Currently thanks to computer technologies in vocabulary science, both corpus lexicography and cyberlexicography were formed and began to develop intensively in America. Internet lexicography is becoming more widespread in America. English is the basic language of the Internet. It should be noted that the dictionary by Merriam-Webster is America's one of the most trusted online dictionaries. Other best online dictionaries are: Wiktionary, Google dictionary, Dictionary.com, The Free Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online etc.

The main advantage of electronic forms of dictionaries is the possibility of their constant updating on the Internet, and the search strategy of a user working with electronic forms of dictionaries is distinguished by greater creativity in comparison with the possibilities provided by printed products (Barnbrook, 1996: 173).

References

1. Barnbrook G. Language and Computers : A Practical Introduction to the Computer Analysis of Language. Edinburg, 1996. 381 p.

2. The Story of English : Third edition / R. McCrum et al. New York : Penguin Books, 2003. P. 468.

3. Moiseev M. V. Leksikografija anglijskogo jazyka [Lexicography of the English language]. Omsk, 2006. P. 92 [in Russian].

4. Stupin L. P. Teorija i praktika anglijskoj leksikografii [Theory and practice of English lexicography]. L. : Leningrad. un-t, 1982. P. 76 [in Russian].

5. Stupin L. P. Slovari sovremennogo anglijskogo jazyka [Dictionaries of modern English]. L. : Leningrad. un-t, 1973. P. 67 [in Russian].

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