Samuel Johnson: The Man and His Dictionary of the English Language

Abstract

On April 15, 2006, London celebrated the 251st anniversary of Dr. Samuel Johnson‘s Dictionary of the English Language; an event that gave the English language an extraordinary source of historical and literary information. For many, dictionaries have always been a source of information, mostly a reference for word meanings, pronunciation, and etymology. However, we usually do not think about the people who undertook the task of producing these dictionaries, and how they completed such task. Few of us take the time to look at dictionaries as sources of historical data on how the language has changed, from definitions of particular words, their spelling, to their usage. Our purpose is to know more about Dr. Samuel Johnson, the man, his work, and his Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755, recognized as "the standard English dictionary for a century and the basis for those that followed" ("The A-Z of Samuel Johnson," 2005).

How to cite:
Rivera-Pacheco, E. (2007). Samuel Johnson: The Man and His Dictionary of the English Language. Pedagogía, 40(1), 239-254. Retrieved from https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/educacion/article/view/16847