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This book looks at the range of Johnson's writings on, and the complexity of his thinking about, language and lexicography. It casts new light on Johnson's life in language provides a convincing reassessment of his impact on English culture, the making of dictionaries, and their role in a nation's identity.
List of contents
- Preface
- List of figures
- 1: Journeys into Words
- 2: Writing the Dictionary: Departures and destinations
- 3: 'Excursions into books': Documenting the new world of words
- 4: The Ordered State: Power, authority, and the written word
- 5: Meaning, governance, and the colours of words
- 6: Defending the Citadel, patrolling the borders
- 7: History and the flux of time
- 8: The praise of perfection
- Appendix: 1755 - 1773
- Notes
- References
- Index
About the author
Lynda Mugglestone is Professor of the History of English and Fellow and Tutor in English at Pembroke College. She is the editor of Lexicography and the OED (OUP 2002),The Oxford History of English (OUP 2006, 2nd edn 2012) and, with Freya Johnston, of Samuel Johnson: The Arc of the Pendulum (OUP 2012). Her books include Talking Proper: The Rise of Accent as Social Symbol (OUP 1995, 2nd edn 2003), Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary (Yale 2004) and Dictionaries: A Very Short Introduction (OUP 2011).
Summary
This book looks at the range of Johnson's writings on, and the complexity of his thinking about, language and lexicography. It casts new light on Johnson's life in language provides a convincing reassessment of his impact on English culture, the making of dictionaries, and their role in a nation's identity.
Additional text
Lynda Mugglestone has given us a highly readable, fascinating account, where her high competence in the history of the English language and deep insights into Johnson's world of words get perfectly integrated with the best and most up-to-date criticism of the Dictionary.
