LINGUISTIC PEDANTRY IS BORN
Where would we be without words? Until the mid-18th century English spelling wasn’t uniform: words were regularly spelt in any number of ways with few rules. Tat was until writer Dr Samuel Johnson published his first dictionary in an attempt to curb the unruly language – he later realised this was a mammoth task as languages constantly evolve. Although there had been earlier dictionaries, Johnson’s was the most comprehensive list of English words and their meanings. Unlike others, he also included quotations to demonstrate how words should be used, including excerpts from Shakespeare and Milton as well as his own definitions. It took him eight years to compile, but the dictionary made him one of the most quoted men in English literature.
Johnson completed his dictionary in record time: it took 40 French scholars 40 years to finish theirs
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