“As well for the entertainment of the curious, as the information of the ignorant”
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M. Victoria Domínguez-Rodríguez
Abstract
Eighteenth-century general English dictionaries have awakened scholarly interest in recent decades, but there are not many studies exploring the relevance and contents of their paratextual constituents. This paper focuses on encyclopaedic supplements particularly, a type of paratextual constituent usually prefixed or appended to eighteenth-century dictionaries that has been neglected in historical lexicographic studies so far. The paratext of a book comprises all constituents that surround the main text like title pages, prefaces, appendices or supplements, for instance, which may have different functions within the overall structure of the work. In the case of eighteenth- century general English dictionaries, those functions went from facilitating the reading and understanding of the text to complementing the information included or justifying why yet another dictionary was published in an (over-)saturated market. The appendices, in particular, were intended to enhance the value of the volume by incorporating supplementary information and thus make it more exhaustive and self-contained. By studying the nature and contents of encyclopaedic supplements, we will first establish a preliminary typology of the data in selected material (i.e. biographical, linguistic, historical, mythological, etc.). Then, we will discuss the reasons that moved eighteenth-century dictionary compilers to incorporate this extra material in the works, also taking into account the information provided in the title pages and prefaces. The results of this study will likely shed light on which contents were considered potentially appealing to the readership of such English dictionaries.
Abstract
Eighteenth-century general English dictionaries have awakened scholarly interest in recent decades, but there are not many studies exploring the relevance and contents of their paratextual constituents. This paper focuses on encyclopaedic supplements particularly, a type of paratextual constituent usually prefixed or appended to eighteenth-century dictionaries that has been neglected in historical lexicographic studies so far. The paratext of a book comprises all constituents that surround the main text like title pages, prefaces, appendices or supplements, for instance, which may have different functions within the overall structure of the work. In the case of eighteenth- century general English dictionaries, those functions went from facilitating the reading and understanding of the text to complementing the information included or justifying why yet another dictionary was published in an (over-)saturated market. The appendices, in particular, were intended to enhance the value of the volume by incorporating supplementary information and thus make it more exhaustive and self-contained. By studying the nature and contents of encyclopaedic supplements, we will first establish a preliminary typology of the data in selected material (i.e. biographical, linguistic, historical, mythological, etc.). Then, we will discuss the reasons that moved eighteenth-century dictionary compilers to incorporate this extra material in the works, also taking into account the information provided in the title pages and prefaces. The results of this study will likely shed light on which contents were considered potentially appealing to the readership of such English dictionaries.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction VII
- Reading Trench reading Richardson 1
- Did Anne Maxwell print John Wilkins’s An essay towards a real character and a philosophical language (1668)? 23
- “As well for the entertainment of the curious, as the information of the ignorant” 57
- Printed English dictionaries in the National Library of Russia to the mid-seventeenth century 95
- “A hundred visions and revisions”: Malone’s annotations to Johnson’s Dictionary 115
- The use of “mechanical reasoning”: John Quincy and his Lexicon physico-medicum (1719) 149
- Paratexts and the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘content marketing’ in the nineteenth century? 165
- The “wants” of women: Lexicography and pedagogy in seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury dictionaries* 187
- Claudius Hollyband: A lexicographer speaks his mind 211
- Subscribers and Patrons: Jacob Serenius and his Dictionarium Anglo-Svethico-Latinum 1734 237
- “Weak Shrube or Underwood”: The unlikely medical glossator John Woodall and his glossary 261
- A “florid” preface about “a language that is very short, concise and sententious” 285
- List of contributors 307
- Index 311
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction VII
- Reading Trench reading Richardson 1
- Did Anne Maxwell print John Wilkins’s An essay towards a real character and a philosophical language (1668)? 23
- “As well for the entertainment of the curious, as the information of the ignorant” 57
- Printed English dictionaries in the National Library of Russia to the mid-seventeenth century 95
- “A hundred visions and revisions”: Malone’s annotations to Johnson’s Dictionary 115
- The use of “mechanical reasoning”: John Quincy and his Lexicon physico-medicum (1719) 149
- Paratexts and the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘content marketing’ in the nineteenth century? 165
- The “wants” of women: Lexicography and pedagogy in seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury dictionaries* 187
- Claudius Hollyband: A lexicographer speaks his mind 211
- Subscribers and Patrons: Jacob Serenius and his Dictionarium Anglo-Svethico-Latinum 1734 237
- “Weak Shrube or Underwood”: The unlikely medical glossator John Woodall and his glossary 261
- A “florid” preface about “a language that is very short, concise and sententious” 285
- List of contributors 307
- Index 311
