Project Gutenberg 2004-04-01 Public domain in the USA. 234 Johnson, Samuel 1709 1784 Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language Reading ease score: 35.4 (College-level). Difficult to read. Steve Harris, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team "Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language" by Samuel Johnson is a foundational piece in the lexicographical field, written during the 18th century. This work serves as an introduction to Johnson's ambitious project of creating a comprehensive dictionary, devoted to the exploration and organization of the English language. The preface outlines the challenges and philosophical considerations of defining a language that is both rich and changing over time. In this preface, Johnson reflects on the lexicographer's plight, detailing the arduous task of cataloging words in a language as vibrant and chaotic as English. He discusses the historical roots and evolving nature of words, the complexities of orthography and pronunciation, and the interplay between various linguistic influences, notably Latin and Teutonic languages. Throughout, he emphasizes the necessity of maintaining stability in language while recognizing that change is inherent to living tongues. Johnson articulates his vision for the dictionary as a cumulative effort that balances reverence for tradition with the realities of linguistic evolution, ultimately aiming to create a resource that would meet the communicative needs of English speakers and scholars. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en English language -- Dictionaries Lexicology PE Text Language Education Browsing: Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference Browsing: Language & Communication Browsing: Literature 89296 89189 2024-10-03T05:17:38.253398 2023-10-03T05:30:58.029716 text/html text/html 89289 89182 2024-10-03T05:17:38.588402 2023-10-03T05:30:58.163735 text/html text/html 112840 2024-10-03T05:17:44.920352 application/epub+zip 111755 2024-10-03T05:17:42.224350 application/epub+zip 99523 2024-10-03T05:17:40.595359 application/epub+zip 234416 2024-10-03T05:17:46.766354 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 227088 2024-10-03T05:17:44.137368 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 198399 2022-09-03T07:24:22.267392 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 79443 79387 2024-10-03T05:17:37.888392 2023-10-03T05:30:57.878717 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 74456 2020-12-28T20:44:16 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 29633 2020-12-28T20:44:16 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19480 2024-10-03T05:17:47.291363 application/rdf+xml 15397 2024-10-03T05:17:41.422373 image/jpeg 3478 2024-10-03T05:17:40.947379 image/jpeg 111173 2024-10-03T05:17:38.597389 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia