Nous avons étudié toutes les citations (aussi bien bibliques que non bibliques) utilisées pour les mots commençant par la lettre S afin de déterminer l’importance relative de la Bible sur le style et le contenu des dictionnaires. Cet article porte sur les citations pour les mots commençant par la lettre S, utilisées aussi bien par Johnson que Webster à titre d’exemples. Mais il a rarement été fait mention des citations utilisées par les deux auteurs comme exemples ou illustrations. Les analyses stylistiques se sont essentiellement portées sur les définitions dans les deux dictionnaires. La dette de Webster envers Johnson concernant les entrées d’ADEL en 1828 a été mentionnée à plusieurs reprises par les chercheurs. Les sources primaries utilisées par Noah Webster pour la première édition de son American Dictionary of the English Language (ADEL) publié en 1828 étaient la huitième édition du Dictionary of the English Language (DEL) de Samuel Johnson, publié en 1799. Though both were pious men, Johnson’s focus on the Bible was as a great literary work, whereas Webster’s focus on the Bible was as a tool for the religious and moral betterment of his readers. A study of the religious convictions of Johnson and Webster is integral to understanding both authors’ motivations in constructing their dictionaries. Results of this analysis confirmed Webster’s debt to Johnson, as a great number of Webster’s Biblical citations may be found in Johnson’s dictionary. In addition to ascertaining frequency of Biblical citations, all Biblical citations shared by both dictionaries were also identified. Results indicate that though Johnson included more Biblical citations than Webster did, Biblical citations made up a larger proportion of Webster’s total citations than they did for Johnson. All citations (both secular and Biblical) under the letter S were examined to determine the relative importance of the Bible to the style and content of the dictionaries. This article focuses on Biblical citations in the letter S used by both Johnson and Webster as examples of usage. Far less attention has been paid to the illustrative quotations employed by both authors to exemplify usage. Stylistic analyses have typically focused on the definitions included in the two dictionaries. Scholars have made much of the debt that Webster owes to Johnson for entries in the 1828 ADEL. “And people define words, as the last man who tried to define them all himself knew - in the process trying also to define and distinguish his developing nation.Noah Webster’s primary source for the first edition of the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (ADEL) was Samuel Johnson’s 1799 eighth edition of the Dictionary of the English Language (DEL). Words define languages, Janes says, and in turn languages help to define cultures and societies. “But he didn’t get away with ‘tung,’ ‘ake’ or dropping the final ‘e’ from words like ‘doctrine.'” “He had more luck there than most we have him to thank for Americanized spellings of ‘favor,’ and ‘theater’ and ‘defense'” as well as the word “Americanize” itself,” Janes says. Webster was also enthusiastic about spelling reform, Janes notes. Janes said, “This dictionary was the first serious articulation of American English as it was growing increasingly distinct from the British variety.”Īnd that was clearly Webster’s intention, as stated in the dictionary’s preface: “Language is the expression of ideas and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas, they cannot retain an identity of language.” Though the first English dictionary dates back to 1604, it was Webster and his 1828 volume that was credited with capturing the language of the new nation. Webster, who lived from 1758 to 1843, was at times a failed farmer, an uninspired teacher, a state representative, a co-founder of Amherst College, a copyright advocate and a friend of George Washington once dubbed by biographer as a “forgotten founding father.” He was also a Federalist and dedicated revolutionary who deeply loved his country. All the podcasts are available online through the iSchool website, and on iTunes, where the series has more than 250,000 downloads. In the podcasts, Janes, an associate professor in the UW Information School, explores the origin and often evolving meaning of historical documents, both famous and less known.
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