Dissertation on the English Language

Dissertation on the English Language

Dissertation on the English Language was a book written by American lexicographer Noah Webster in 1789. The book followed Webster's 1783 work Spelling Book and aimed to differentiate American English from British English.[1] In the book, Webster commented that "our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government. Great Britain ... should no longer be our standard; for the taste of her writers is already corrupted, and her language on the decline."[2] This dissertation was dedicated to Benjamin Franklin.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Tottie (2002), p. 8.
  2. ^ Tottie (2002), p. 9.

References

  • Tottie, Gunnel (2002), An Introduction to American English, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 9780631197928