The Theory of English Lexicography 1530–1791

Download or read book The Theory of English Lexicography 1530–1791 written by Tetsuro Hayashi and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1978-01-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book serves as a welcome addition to the better known English Dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson, 1604-1755, by Starnes & Noyes (new edition published by Benjamins 1991). Whereas Starnes & Noyes describe the history of English lexicography as an evolutionary progress-by-accumulation process, Professor Hayashi focuses on issues of method and theory, starting with John Palsgrave’s Lesclarissement de la langue francoyse (1530), to John Walker’s A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language (1791). This book also includes a detailed discussion of Dr. Johnson’s influential Dictionary of the English Language (1755).