{"product_id":"the-dictionary-wars-the-american-fight-over-the-english-language-9780691188911","title":"The Dictionary Wars: The American Fight Over the English Language","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA compelling history of the national conflicts that resulted from efforts to produce the first definitive American dictionary of English \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Dictionary Wars\u003c\/i\u003e, Peter Martin recounts the patriotic fervor in the early American republic to produce a definitive national dictionary that would rival Samuel Johnson's 1755 \u003ci\u003eDictionary of the English Language\u003c\/i\u003e. But what began as a cultural war of independence from Britain devolved into a battle among lexicographers, authors, scholars, and publishers, all vying for dictionary supremacy and shattering forever the dream of a unified American language. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe overwhelming questions in the dictionary wars involved which and whose English was truly American and whether a dictionary of English should attempt to be American at all, independent from Britain. Martin tells the human story of the intense rivalry between America's first lexicographers, Noah Webster and Joseph Emerson Worcester, who fought over who could best represent the soul and identity of American culture. Webster believed an American dictionary, like the American language, ought to be informed by the nation's republican principles, but Worcester thought that such language reforms were reckless and went too far. Their conflict continued beyond Webster's death, when the ambitious Merriam brothers acquired publishing rights to Webster's \u003ci\u003eAmerican Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e and launched their own language wars. From the beginning of the nineteenth century to the end of the Civil War, the dictionary wars also engaged America's colleges, libraries, newspapers, religious groups, and state legislatures at a pivotal historical moment that coincided with rising literacy and the print revolution. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDelving into the personal stories and national debates that arose from the conflicts surrounding America's first dictionaries, \u003ci\u003eThe Dictionary Wars\u003c\/i\u003e examines the linguistic struggles that underpinned the founding and growth of a nation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Martin\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of numerous books, including the acclaimed biographies \u003ci\u003eSamuel Johnson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eA Life of James Boswell.\u003c\/i\u003e He has taught English literature in the United States and England and divides his time between West Sussex, England, and Spain.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50412819284242,"sku":"9780691188911","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_230d56be-5830-47bf-aec6-cb1e1fd6f381.jpg?v=1729330649","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-dictionary-wars-the-american-fight-over-the-english-language-9780691188911","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}