Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical; : to Which is Added, by Way of Appendix, an Essay on a Reformed Mode of Spelling, With Dr. Franklin's Arguments on that Subject

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Webster, Noah, 1758-1843

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Dissertations on the English Language, with Notes, Historical and Critical" by Noah Webster is a scholarly treatise written in the late 18th century. This work serves as a critical examination of the English language, focusing on its structure, pronunciation, and the necessity of establishing a unique American variant separate from British English. The text is likely aimed at addressing misconceptions in language use and promoting a more standardized approach to English grammar and spelling. At the start of the treatise, Webster outlines his motivations for writing about the English language, detailing his journey from an academic background to his practical observations in the real world. He expresses concern over the stiffness and errors he and his contemporaries experienced when trying to communicate effectively after formal education. Webster critiques existing grammatical principles and references his own research, hinting at a comprehensive analysis of language development and its orthography. The introduction sets the stage for the exploration of how language evolves and the influence of societal changes, while also presenting an argument for the importance of cultivating a distinct American English. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Richard Tonsing, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissertation_on_the_English_Language

Reading ease score: 58.2 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2014-05-24