Noah Webster and the American Dictionary

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Noah Webster and the American Dictionary

Noah Webster—an 18th century American patriot, copyright pioneer and author of a dictionary that sustains his name centuries later. Born in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1758, Webster is known both for fighting in the American Revolution and for his position as being a strong advocate for the Constitutional Convention. His admiration of valiant creative people and their regard for the preservation of their civil ideals was surpassed by the feeling of lament at how hesitant they could be when it came to the protection of their own interests. Intensely believing in the development of the United States’ cultural independence, he realized the necessity of a fundamental element of a unique American language with its own style, pronunciation and idiom (White 5). In 1806, Webster published A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, the first true American dictionary and Webster’s first small lexicographical work. Subsequently, he went to work on his classic masterpiece, An American Dictionary of the English Language. He learned a total of 26 languages—including Anglo-Saxon and Sanskrit—in order to research the foundation of his own country's native tongue. Published in 1828, this book embodied a new pattern of lexicography. Its 70,000 entries surpassed Samuel Johnson's 1755 British masterpiece not only in scope but also in authority (King 73).

Noah Webster’s Calvinist family was typical of the colonial times; born in “modest circumstances, Noah longed for elite social status” (Bush 1508). His father farmed and worked as a weaver; his mother worked at home. Noah and his two brothers, Charles and Abraham, helped their father with the farm work while their sisters, Mercy and Jer...

... middle of paper ...

...ark on the language of this country” (363).

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Baugh, Albert C., and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 4th ed.

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993. 360-366.

Bush, Vanessa. "Noah Webster and the American Dictionary." The Booklist 96.16

(2000): 1508-1509.

King, Florence. "The Man Who Defined American Culture." The American Spectator

32.5 (1999): 72-74.

Shalhope, Robert E. "Noah Webster: The Life and Time of an American Patriot." The

Journal of American History 86.4 (2000): 1761.

White, Timothy. "Will Artists Fight for Rights as Webster Did?" Billboard 20 May 2000:

5.

"Webster, Noah," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000

http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation.

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