On The Principles And Practice Of Noah Webster's Lexicography

Noah Webster is the Father of American lexicography. He is the Samuel Johnson in America. His American Dictionary of the English Language is one of the monumental works in English lexicography, marking the beginning of the flourish of American lexicography. For nearly two centuries, repeatedly revised and edited, it has been developed into a large family of Webster's dictionaries. His reform in spelling and pronunciation has still been effective now, not only in America but also in other English speaking countries. His compiling principles influenced the practice of English dictionary-making at his time and have been influencing the compilation of later English dictionaries. This thesis mainly studies Noah Webster's lexicographical principles and explores their development and influence on lexicography in English.The thesis falls into six parts: Introduction; Chapter One: The Birth of Noah Webster's Lexicography; Chapter Two: The Principles and Practice of Noah Webster's Lexicography; Chapter Three: The Development of Webster's Principles and Practice; Chapter Four: The Influence of Webster's Lexicography; and Conclusion.The thesis begins with a brief introduction of English lexicography and Webster's lexicography with the following research questions posed: What are Webster's principles and practice? How do they develop and influence the English lexicography? Meanwhile, the necessity and significance of the study are expounded.Chapter One is a general description of the birth of Webster's Lexicography, Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language and the "Dictionary War" in America.In Chapter Two the writer probes Webster's lexicographical principles and practice in detail. The writer summarizes them under the following topics: 1) Principle of Prescriptivism, 2) Inclusion of a Large Number of Americanisms, 3) Simplified Spelling and Pronunciation, 4) Precise and Fuller Definitions, 5) Richer Citations, 6) Inclusion of Encyclopedic Information, 7) Etymologically Arranged Senses. Among them 2, 3, 6 are the contribution made by Webster, and the remaining 4 features, number 1, 4, 5, 7 are viewed as his improvement of the existing dictionaries, especially Johnson's Dictionary.Chapter Three illustrates the development of Webster's principles, in mainly explaining how Webster inherited and improved Johnson's principles and how Webster's principles and practice were developed.Chapter Four focuses on the influence of Webster's principles and practice on American English dictionaries, British English dictionaries as well as English-Chinese dictionaries.The final part is a conclusion, in which the main ideas of this thesis are boiled down to the following statements: Webster's principles are kept on developing and improving. They have been influencing the English lexicography ever since their birth. Besides, it is also pointed out that the purpose of this thesis is to present people with a clear picture of the characteristics of American dictionaries by inquiring into Webster's principles and practice. Such work will be helpful for English lexicography study, English language teaching and English dictionary-making.