Chapter two of Parker and Riley’s Grammar for Grammarians deals with the prescriptive period of grammar from England to the United States. For the US portion of the chapter, the authors focus on Noah Webster and Lindley Murray.
Webster is better known for his work as a lexicographer -- his dictionaries are widely used. Webster’s work on alternate spellings (changing traveling to travelling, colour to color, etc.) was crucial to establishing America’s linguistic identity separate from England and “British English.” Webster believed that “honor requires [the United States] to have a system of our own, in language as well as government” (30). He pushed for an American standard in his books.
Murray was also very influential. He is well known as a grammarian and wrote English Grammar, Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners. This book was meant for classroom use, but gained immense popularity through the years. Murray’s presentation of grammar emphasized grammatical correctness and also linked proper language to virtue and religion. It is interesting to note that Murray’s book were very similar (almost verbatim) to the works of British grammarian Lowth.
Parker and Riley briefly discuss George Perkins Marsh and William Dwight Whitney. Marsh continues Murray’s idea that grammar and morality are deeply connected. Using words and phrases in ways that were “unacceptable” suggested that a person was morally oblique. To him, speech was to be pure and clean. Whitney, on the other hand, refuted this concept. He focused more on the connection between language and sociology. For him, it was more important to observe who uses a particular word than to judge the word without regard for the user.
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Webster of course I am familiar with but I was not so familiar with Murray. Webster dictionary is an excellent reference both in a classroom setting and for personal reference when one, for example, plays scrabble.
I like the different perspectives mentioned in how Marsh held to the idea that the spoken word should be pure and clean while Whitney on the other hand found it more important to focus on the person who spoke incorrectly and to analyze why the speech is incorrect in form.
Websters dictionary is a great piece to have for any grammar specialist because its a very important tool when writing. To have information about every word help when writing because its opens up the amount of words you can use when putting sentences and paragraphs together. I myself have a set of Webster books, such as, Thesaurus and Dictionary and they have helped me write papers for many years.
I am very familiar with Webster, I actually own a few Webster materials. I believe Websters dictionary to be very helpful and it had helped me in writing papers and other school assignments. I think Websters is a great tool for anyone wanting help or wanting to know more about grammar. And it is also good for people who specialize in grammar as well.
I am very familiar with Webster, I actually own a few Webster materials. I believe Websters dictionary to be very helpful and it had helped me in writing papers and other school assignments. I think Websters is a great tool for anyone wanting help or wanting to know more about grammar. And it is also good for people who specialize in grammar as well.
I, too, have some Webster books in my collection. I use my dictionary and thesaurus on a regular basis. However, I did not know that Webster was the one who changed most of the British spellings to American spellings. I think it's awesome that he felt that Americans should have their own system as a matter of honor!
I have been using the same copy of the Merriam-Webster dictionary for about six years now (of course, I stopped carrying it and use the internet now). I did not, however, realize that he played such an important role in establishing American English spellings of certain words. I wonder if he had any idea that he would set a standard for lexicography that would last far into the future.
I couldn't agree more with the responses already submitted by my classmates about Webster. Personally, I use a Webster's dictionary almost everyday. Since I am an English major and the bulk of the work is usually to write, it is important to have a dictionary handy in case you need clarification on a word, or sometimes I even find a word I previously did not know and it fits nicely into my paper. Another thing I thought was interesting about this particualr blog was that there was a mention of American pride, which Webster believed to be essential. I guess one can even say that if it were not for Webster we as Americans may not have our own form of spelling.
I am familiar with Webster, I have used his dictionary many times while writing. It is a very important tool to use. When writing I find my self checking my spelling constantly and making sure I am using a word correctly. I thought it was very interesting that Webster thought America needed its own language so he changed the spelling of words.
I believe that dictionaries are also good tools to have no matter what for. I don't know of anyone who would disagree with me on this issue. I am sure everyone has had to use one of these dictionaries at some point in their life.
Dictionaries have gone through so many changes over the years, and it's just another testament to the evolution of language. Samuel Johnson himself even had his own version of a dictionary, and these inventions have truly proven to be invaluable in the English language.
I honestly don't use Webster's Dictionary very often. I tend to do most of my writing online, and when I need the definition of a word, I tend to just type it in some search engine and find a definition.
However, the dictionary is a useful tool when it comes to finding what part of speech a word is. However, I prefer the Oxford English Dictionary since it gives a detailed etymology of words and the history of it.
I don't know what I would do without the Webster dictionary and thesaurus that I own, especially when I like pamela play scrabble. I think it is the most common dictionary that I know of. I even use it on the internet when my hard copy is not available.
The Webster dictionary is very useful to me because as a future English teacher, which makes me a English major,word usage is very important in my field of study. I think having/putting Webster dictionaries in classroom would be very helpful to students of all ages. It would help them learn new words and also broaden their vocabulary.
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