Johnson's Dictionary Flashcards
Give me 2 contextual facts about this dictionary.
It was produced in 1755.
Took only 8 years to complete and it listed 40,000 words and included over 114,000 quotations that covered “every branch of learning”.
Which two intended auidences were the dictionary aimed for?
Audience will have been those who were literate in the 1700s and those who could afford dictionaries. Would have been suitable for most people as it was the most “extensive” compared to other dictionaries and it’s the most famous dictionary in history.
What were the 3 reasons Johnson created the dictionary?
London booksellers hoped it would stabilise the rules that govern the English language.
Language was a mess, English language was in desperate need of some discipline “whenever I turned my view, there was perplexity to be disentangled, and confusion to be regulated.”
He later realised that language was impossible to “fix” because it constantly changes and that his role was to record language “of the day”, rather than form it.
Explain how Johnson dictionary holds a descriptivist attitude
He had a Descriptivist attitude in that he identified that language “is impossible to fix” because it consistently changes and that the “unruliness of the English tongue” was ‘energetic’, but another attitude was Prescriptivist as he thought he could only “record” words rather than form new ones
Explain how Johnson’s dictionary hold prescriptivist attitudes
He wanted to create a book that created a level of “discipline” that helped to clean up words
What were 2 notable features in this dictionary?
He was humorous – his definition of ‘oats’ is very rude to the Scots “A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.”
He was the first lexicographer to include quotations that helped him explain the meanings of words he listed which influenced styles and genres of future dictionaries. Quotations came from Shakespeare and other well-respected writers of literature.
Explain how the first notable feature helped his dictionary.
he was criticised for imposing his personality into his dictionary, but it was very popular and was respected for its “epic sense of scholarship”.
Give 3 examples of recognisable words.
“Oats” - a Grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
“Cough” - a convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity
“Dull” - not exhilaterating (sic); not delightful; as, to make dictionaries is dull work
“Pension” - an
Give 2 examples of obscure/obsolete words and their examples.
“Deosculation” - A kissing
“Odontalgick” - Pertaining to the tooth-ach.
