Johnson’s Dictionary and the language of learning Essay

Codification refers to the methods and process by which a language is standardized. These specific methods include the creation and the use of style and language guides, dictionaries and the grammar textbooks. It is Copernican to realize that codification is an on pass process. The most important period in the codification of face, is the 18th century that was characterized with the prevalentation of hundreds of grammar and mental lexicon. These included dictionaries such as Samuel Johnsons Monumental Dictionary, in 1755 among other(a) dictionaries (Johnson & Lynch, 2003). annals of English Codification in Dictionary and Grammar booksCodification of English language can be traced back in Britain, in the 18th century. During that time, perspective norms were stipulated by authors such as John Walker and Thomas Sheridan. On the other hand, in the United States, the codification of English was master(prenominal)ly initiated and undertaken by Noah Webster, on an orthographic and l exical level. Britain attributes its present lexicographical work of Samuel Johnson (Hickey, 2011).When analyzing the Englishs recent history, it is important to distinguish between the effective term standard and the notion of standard. It is important to understand that the earliest reference to the term received English in the Oxford English lexicon dates back in the year 1836 (Hickey, 2011). Standard English in the codified sense refers to the give wayment of the 18th-century development. There be several reasons as to why the English could have move up then, however, there were precursors to the 18th-century notion of English.Some researchers argue that the earliest codification of English began in the 16th century via the publication of grammars and dictionaries most of which are intended to check the English language to the rural squires principally after the Union Act of 1536 between Wales and England. The Standard English was mainly codified between the 16th and sev enteenth centuries. Ascertaining and improving the English tongue began in 1712, Bishop Lowths grammar in 1762 and the Samuel Johnson first appeared in 1755. The codification process was characterized with three main influences which were paramount (Kemmer, 2009). The kings English in the form of legal and administrative language. Literary English which was in the form of acceptable language that was mainly used by great literature and for the purposes of picture and publishing. The English of education and church or commonly referred to as Oxford English. There was no point in which the state was involved.The Codification process alike greatly affected the spoken form of the English standard language. The Received Pronunciation was mainly codified through education influence especi completelyy that of nineteenth-century public schools, followed from the 20th Century by television, radio and cinema. It is perceived that about 3 to 5 percent of the British tend to speak Received P ronunciation forthwith (Kemmer, 2009).Commissioning of DictionariesThe growing use of written language created the need for materials that presented the need for materials that portrayed the aspect of the language, in a way that could be looked up by all the individuals that desired information about the English language. This was initially meant for the non-native speakers, however, later on the English native speakers that wanted to know about the new and veritable part of the language also looked for such materials. The initial dictionaries were mainly a list of hard words. This mainly involved, the list of new loan words that were from the clear language and the new British colonies overseas. By the eighteenth century, dictionary writing was mainly a recognized activity and the learned men and scholars were being commission by various publishers to write such materials (Kemmer, 2009).Other places in Europe, language academies were being established so as to codify and also n ormalize all the aspects of the language. However, this trend was not adopted in the English-speaking lands and there was never a recognized academy for standardization in either United States or Britain. The publication of Samuel Johnsons Dictionary which was of the English language was a significant milestone in the development of a dictionary and other reference materials (DeMaria, 1986). The dictionary adopted more or less a descriptivist stance that is very modern and was at odds with the former prescriptive view of the earlier dictionary producers. Johnson recognized change as a normal process and refused to see change as a degeneration (Hitchings, 2005).By the time the Johnson dictionary was developed, the spell out system was already in place and recognizably the same as that of the modern English with relatively few orthographic peculiarities (Reddick & Johnson, 1990). On the other hand, political independence in the United States led to the push for distinguishing cultura l factors. As a result, Noah Webster, came up with a dictionary that contained regional, American based definitions so as to distinguish it from the British English (Kemmer, 2009).Noah Webster went to the consequence of creating his own dictionary which contained some American-dialect definitions. This provides the required orthographic distinction without changing significant mutual intelligibility. He mainly incorporates the use of ize instead of ise for the verbs and the elimination of suffix u in the suffix our (Kemmer, 2009).The criteria for including words in the dictionaryEvery year, numerous English words and expressions develop and thus the major dictionaries do keep track of such words so as to determine those to add and those that are not acceptable. We are going to analyze how the Oxford dictionary carries out this initiative (Oxford University Press, 2014).The Oxford University Press has one of the largest and vast languages research program in the world (Oxford Univer sity Press, 2014). Their most important resource are the Oxford Reading Programme and the Oxford English Corpus. The Corpus mainly entails memorandums that have been sourced from the internet whereas the reading program refers to an electronic collection of extracts and quotations mainly drawn from a transformation of popular fiction, songwriting and scientific journals (Oxford University Press, 2014). This is mainly based from the contributions of the network of readers based across the globe who are constantly on the lookout for new words and nitty-gritty and also other languages.The Oxford University Press, continually keeps track of the two programs so as to be able to track new words that come into the English language. Upon having tell that a new term is used by various sources and not just by one individual or writer, the word therefore becomes a candidate for the inclusion into one of the Institutions dictionaries (Oxford University Press, 2014).In the previous centuries , most dictionaries were confined to a list of words that most writers thought would be useful, even when there was no proof that individuals had used the words before. It is important to note that this does not work in the same manner in today. in-person inventions are not allowed in the modern dictionaries and only terms that have been utilized for a period of time and by a wide group of people, can be accepted into the dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2014).Distinction between Prescriptive and Descriptive DictionaryPrescriptivism refers to the enforcement and the assertion of a specific set of rules by an mental home or a person. With regards to dictionaries, prescriptivism refers to the situation where the dictionary explains the language rules that should be followed and the norms and usages that should also be avoided (Barrett, 2012). Prescriptions and proscriptions are traditional and generally represent receipt of wisdom. On the other hand, descriptivism in a lexicogr aphical context refers to the language usage and behaviors.The fact is that basically all the English language dictionaries are descriptive in nature. The main editors always refer to it as recording the language and how the words are spelled and used. Descriptive languages, thus describe the language and include words that are commonly used even those that are non-standard and often include non-standard spelling. Prescriptive dictionaries are more concerned about the standard or correct English. In other words, they prescribe the proper spelling and usage of words (Barrett, 2012).From the analysis above, it is right to state that the prescriptive dictionaries tend to promote Standard English, unlike the descriptive dictionaries which mainly describe the language.ConclusionThe paper effectively analyses the codification of English, history of how English was codified in dictionaries and grammar books, reasons why the dictionaries were codified, and criteria used for including words in the dictionary and the extent to which dictionary is considered to be either descriptive or prescriptive.ReferencesBarrett, G. (2012, September). Comparing and Arguing About Dictionaries. Retrieved from Way Word Radio http//www.waywordradio.org/how-do-you-rank-dictionaries/DeMaria, R. (1986). Johnsons Dictionary and the language of learning. Oxford Clarendon.Hickey, R. (2011). Standard English and standards of English. 1-31.Hitchings, H. (2005). Defining the world the extraordinary story of Dr. Johnsons Dictionary. New York Farrar, Straus and Giroux.Johnson, S., & Lynch, J. (2003). Samuel Johnsons dictionary selections from the 1755 work that defined the English language. New York Walker & Co.Kemmer, S. (2009). The History of English. Retrieved from Rice University http//www.ruf.rice.edu/kemmer/Histengl/spelling.htmlOxford University Press. (2014). How do you decide whether a new word should be included in an Oxford dictionary? Retrieved from Oxford Dictionaries http//www.oxfor ddictionaries.com/words/how-do-you-decide-whether-a-new-word-should-be-included-in-an-oxford-dictionaryReddick, A. H., & Johnson, S. (1990). The making of Johnsons dictionary, 1746-1773. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.Source document