A Sociolinguistic History of British English Lexicography

A Sociolinguistic History of British English Lexicography traces the evolution of British English dictionaries from their earliest roots to the end of the 20th century by adopting both sociolinguistic and lexicographical perspectives. It attempts to break out of the limits of the dictionary-ontology paradigm and set British English dictionary-making and research against a broader background of socio-cultural observations, thus relating the development of English lexicography to changes in English, accomplishments in English linguistics, social and cultural progress, and advances in science and technology. It unfolds a vivid, coherent and complete picture of how English dictionary-making develops from its archetype to the prescriptive, the historical, the descriptive and finally to the cognitive model, how it interrelates to the course of the development of a nation's culture and the historical growth of its lexicographical culture, as well as how English lexicography spreads from British English to other major regional varieties through inheritance, innovation and self-perfection. This volume will be of interest to students and academics of English lexicography, English linguistics and world English lexicography. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Introduction 0.1 Latin beginnings and paradigms of British English lexicography 0.2 Deficiencies in previous diachronic studies in British English lexicography 0.3 Methodology, approaches and historical segmentation 1 The Latin roots in English dictionaries and the inception of English lexicographical culture 1.1 The origin and development of the English language – from Old English to Middle English 1.2 The socio-cultural background of the UK prior to the 16th century 1.3 The tradition of Latin lexicography and the earliest beginnings of English lexicographical culture 1.4 The Latin roots of English glossaries and bilingual dictionaries prior to the 16th century 1.5 The characteristics and academic value of English glossaries and dictionaries prior to the 16th century 2 The early development of English bilingual lexicography and its deviation from Latin traditions 2.1 The socio-political background for the development of English bilingual lexicography in the 16th century 2.2 The linguistic and cultural background for the development of English bilingual lexicography in the 16th century 2.3 The 16th-century English bilingual dictionary-making and its gradual sublation of Latin traditions 2.4 The design features and academic value of English bilingual dictionaries in the 16th century 3 The bourgeoning of the English monolingual dictionary paradigm and the extension of bilingual dictionary traditions in the 17th century 3.1 The socio-political background for the development of English lexicography in the 17th century 3.2 The linguistic and cultural background for the development of English lexicography in the 17th century 3.3 The making of the first English monolingual dictionary and its inheritance of European lexicographical traits 3.4 Robert Cawdrey and the first English monolingual dictionary 3.5 The development of English monolingual lexicography and the fading of English hard-word traditions 3.6 The continuation of English bilingual lexicographical traditions and innovations in bilingual dictionary compiling techniques 3.7 The academic and social values of English dictionaries in the 17th century 4 The termination of hard-word traditions in English lexicography and its pursuit of prescriptivism 4.1 The socio-cultural background for the shaping of British English lexicography in the 18th century 4.2 The codification of the English language and the establishment of prescriptive traditions 4.3 Samuel Johnson and his monumental Dictionary of the English Language 4.4 Other major English monolingual dictionaries in the 18th century and their adherence to prescriptivism 4.5 The extension and emergence of other types of English dictionaries in the 18th century 4.6 The humanistic and academic values of English dictionaries in the 18th century 5 The European philological traditions and the creation of the diachronic dictionary paradigm in the 19th century 5.1 The socio-cultural background for the development of British English lexicography in the 19th century 5.2 The English and linguistic background for the evolution of British English lexicography in the 19th century 5.3 The tradition of European philology and the theoretical conceptualization of New English Dictionary on Historical Principles 5.4 The Oxford English Dictionary – an epic of inheritance, innovation and perseverance 5.5 The traditional inheritance and theoretical innovation of other major British English dictionaries in the 19th century 5.6 The humanistic and academic values of British English dictionaries in the 19th century 6 The transformation of lexicographical traditions and the prosperity of British English lexicography 6.1 The social and technological background for the prosperity of British English lexicography in the 20th century 6.2 The linguistic and academic background for the prosperity of British English lexicography in the 20th century 6.3 The continuing development and prosperity of British philological dictionaries in the 20th century 6.4 The emergence and thriving development of British learner’s dictionaries 6.5 The digitalization of printed dictionaries and the booming growth of British electronic and online dictionaries 6.6 The tradition of phonetic transcription and the making of British pronouncing dictionaries in the 20th century 6.7 The changed attitude towards dialectal words and the making of British dialect dictionaries in the 20th century 6.8 The extension of slang lexicography and the compilation of British slang dictionaries in the 20th century 6.9 The continuation of the etymological tradition and usage criticism and the making of British dictionaries of etymology and usage in the 20th century 6.10 The studies in synonymous relations and the making of British thesauruses in the 20th century 6.11 The expansion of lexicographical functions and the making of British encyclopaedic dictionaries in the 20th century 6.12 The socio-cultural changes and the compilation of British dictionaries of new words 6.13 The enhancement of reference function and the making of British quotation dictionaries 7 English lexicography – accomplishments, developments and prospects 7.1 Linguistic theories in the 20th century and the diversified development of English dictionary paradigms 7.2 Theoretical innovations and developments in 20th-century English lexicography 7.3 The prospect of English lexicography in the 21st century Bibliography Major referenced websites Index "A Sociolinguistic History of British English Lexicography traces the evolution of British English dictionaries from their earliest roots to the end of the 20th century by adopting both sociolinguistic and lexicographical perspectives. It attempts to break out of the limits of the dictionary-ontology paradigm and set British English dictionary making and research against a broader background of socio-cultural observations, thus relating the development of English lexicography to changes in English, accomplishments in English linguistics, social and cultural progress, as well as advances in science and technology. It unfolds a vivid, coherent and complete picture of how English dictionary making develops from its archetype to the prescriptive, the historical, the descriptive and finally to the cognitive model, how it interrelates to the course of the development of a nation's culture and the historical growth of its lexicographical culture, and how English lexicography spreads from British English to other major regional varieties through inheritance, innovation and self-perfection. This volume will be of interest to students and academics of English Lexicography, English Linguistics and world English lexicography"-- Provided by publisher