Samuel Johnson

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• Samuel Johnson His Dictionary
• HS im WS 2005/6 Standardization of the English
  language
• Dozent Prof. Dr. Busse
• Presented by Xiao, Mei Wu, Jiayin

2
Lifeline

• Samuel Johnson, Writer
• Born 18 September 1709
• Birthplace Lichfield, England
• Died 13 December 1784
• Best Known As Editor of A Dictionary of the
  English Language (1755)

3
Early Life and Works

• 1728 He entered Oxford but was forced to leave
  after a year for lack of funds.
• 1729-1735 He sustained himself as a bookseller
  and schoolmaster.
• 1735 He married Elizabeth Porter, a widow 20
  years his senior, and remained devoted to her
  until her death in 1752.
• 1737 Johnson settled in London and began his
  literary career in earnest. Edward
  Cave's Gentleman's Magazinepoetry and prose on
  subjects literary and political.
• 1738 Poem London published anonymously, praised
  by Pope won Johnson recognition in literary
  circles.
• 1744 Life of Savage, a bitter portrait of
  corruption in London and the miseries endured by
  writers.
• 1749 The Vanity of Human Wishes.
• 1750-1752 The Rambler, essays.

4
Later Life and Works

• 1755 Dictionary of the English Language, the
  first comprehensive lexicographical work on
  English ever undertaken.
• 1759 Rasselas, a moral romance.
• 1761 The Idler, a collection of his essays.
• 1764 Johnson and Joshua Reynolds founded The
  Club (later known as The Literary Club).
• 1765 Johnson's long-heralded edition of
  Shakespeare appeared.
• 1770s Johnson wrote a series of Tory pamphlets.
• 1773 He toured the Hebrides with Boswell and
  published his account of the tour in 1775.
• 1779-1781 Lives of the Poets, his last major
  work.

5
A Dictionary of the English Language

• Published in London
• Printed by W. Strahan in 1755
• Written in 1747-1755
• 42,773 words
• 114,000 quotations

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The Plan of A Dictionary of the English Language
(1747)

• Johnson aims to compile a dictionary by which
  the pronunciation of our language may be fixed,
  and its attainment facilitated by which its
  purity may be preserved, its use ascertained, and
  its duration lengthened.
• - Two major decisions discussed by Johnson The
  delimitation of the dictionary what to put in
  and what to leave out that of the authority and
  the basis on which his decisions are made.

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The Features of the Dictionary

• Numbered senses
• i. natural and primitive signification
• ii. consequential meaning
• iii. metaphorical sense
• iv. Any observation that arises from the
  comparison of one meaning with another

8
The Features of the Dictionary

• Illustrative quotations
• 114,000 quotations from books to illustrate the
  meanings of words
• The first lexicographer to introduce quotations
  from modern authors Shakespeare, Milton and
  Dryden into an English dictionary, and Johnson
  was making these authors into modern classics.
• Citations in Latin and Greek languages

9
The Features of the Dictionary

• Domains
• Johnson is the first to recognize that language
  is made up of multiple areas of discourse, or
  domains, each with its own specialized
  vocabulary, and each with its own specialized
  meanings for words, even if these words were
  common words of the language.

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Johnson's version

• Most frequently, Johnson quoted Shakespeare,
  Milton and Dryden. However, if he didn't like a
  quotation, or if a phrase didn't convey the exact
  meaning he required, he did not hesitate to chop,
  twist around, or rewrite a few words.
• Johnson also recognized, however, that language
  is difficult to fix.
• Unlike most modern lexicographers, Johnson
  introduced humor or prejudice into many of his
  definitions.

11
Criticism

• Johnson limited his explorations, searching only
  through the books on his own shelves, or those
  lent to him by friends and acquaintances.
• Johnson was criticized for imposing his
  personality on to the book.
• Johnson's etymology would be considered poor by
  modern standards, and he gave little guide to
  pronunciation.

12
Literature

• Tony Crowley, Proper English? readings in
  language, history and cultural identity.
• Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English
  Language, CDROM.
• http//www.fab24.net/jd100203/index_.htm

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-The End-