MARC Record from marc_columbia

LEADER: 05040cam a2200541 i 4500
001 14251950
005 20190913133048.0
008 190517t20192019njua b 001 0 eng d
024 $a99981466534
035 $a(OCoLC)on1101621696
040 $aSDL$beng$erda$cSDL$dUAP$dCPL$dILC$dORX$dYDX$dBDX$dERASA$dBUR$dZNS$dVP@$dOCLCF$dDEBBG$dOCLCO$dTXI$dAOW$dUAP
019 $a1059269349$a1103321060
020 $a9780691188911$q(hardcover)
020 $a0691188912$q(hardcover)
035 $a(OCoLC)1101621696$z(OCoLC)1059269349$z(OCoLC)1103321060
043 $an-us---
050 4 $aPE1611$b.M295 2019
082 04 $a423.09$223
084 $aHF 831$2rvk
100 1 $aMartin, Peter,$d1940-$eauthor.
245 14 $aThe dictionary wars :$bthe American fight over the English language /$cPeter Martin.
246 34 $aDic*tion*ar*y wars
246 30 $aAmerican fight over the English language
264 1 $aPrinceton, New Jersey :$bPrinceton University Press,$c[2019]
264 4 $c©2019.
300 $ax, 358 pages :$billustrations ;$c25 cm.
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
336 $astill image$bsti$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$bnc$2rdacarrier
520 $a"A compelling history of the national conflicts that resulted from efforts to produce the first definitive American dictionary of English. ... [English professor] Peter Martin recounts the patriotic fervor in the early American republic to produce a definitive national dictionary that would rival Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. But what began as a cultural war of independence from Britain devolved into a battle among lexicographers, authors, scholars, and publishers, all vying for dictionary supremacy and shattering forever the dream of a unified American language. The overwhelming questions in the dictionary wars involved which and whose English was truly American and whether a dictionary of English should attempt to be American at all, independent from Britain. Martin tells the human story of the intense rivalry between America's first lexicographers, Noah Webster and Joseph Emerson Worcester, who fought over who could best represent the soul and identity of American culture. Webster believed an American dictionary, like the American language, ought to be informed by the nation's republican principles, but Worcester thought that such language reforms were reckless and went too far. Their conflict continued beyond Webster's death, when the ambitious Merriam brothers acquired publishing rights to Webster's American Dictionary and launched their own language wars. From the beginning of the nineteenth century to the end of the Civil War, the dictionary wars also engaged America's colleges, libraries, newspapers, religious groups, and state legislatures at a pivotal historical moment that coincided with rising literacy and the print revolution. Delving into the personal stories and national debates that arose from the conflicts surrounding America's first dictionaries, The Dictionary Wars examines the linguistic struggles that underpinned the founding and growth of a nation."--Dust jacket.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages [333]-347) and index.
505 0 $aPart one. Noah Webster's battles. British mockery and American disdain ; Noah Webster: "The wildest innovator" ; Webster's first dictionary ; Displacing Delilah ; The lexicographer's fifth column ; Tea and copyright: Goodrich takes over ; Spelling wars: the rise of Lyman Cobb ; The "common thief" ; Webster's decline -- Part two. The Merriams at war. Taking Webster out of Webster: from family feuds to the Merriam Brothers ; Waiting for Worcester ; The Bohn affair ; Converse's complaint ; Children, money, and "trash" ; High stakes: "Have we a national standard of language?" ; The "terrible rival": Worcesterian resurgence ; The Merriams triumphant: "Worcester! Worcester! all change for Webster!" -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: The "Webster" brand -- Appendix B: Four centuries of selected dictionaries of the English language -- Appendix C: Publishing terms -- Appendix D: "The spelling bee at Angels (reported by Truthful James)," by Bret Harte.
600 10 $aWebster, Noah,$d1758-1843.
600 10 $aWorcester, Joseph E.$q(Joseph Emerson),$d1784-1865.
610 20 $aG. & C. Merriam Company.
600 17 $aWebster, Noah,$d1758-1843.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst00028929
600 17 $aWorcester, Joseph E.$q(Joseph Emerson),$d1784-1865.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst00118252
610 27 $aG. & C. Merriam Company.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst00536144
650 0 $aEnglish language$zUnited States$xLexicography$xHistory.
650 0 $aEncyclopedias and dictionaries$xHistory and criticism.
650 7 $aEnglish language$xLexicography.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst00911326
651 7 $aUnited States.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01204155
650 7 $aAmerikanismus$2gnd
650 7 $aEnglisch$2gnd
650 7 $aWörterbuch$2gnd
655 7 $aHistory.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01411628
852 00 $bglx$hPE1611$i.M295 2019g