The Theory Of English Lexicography

This book serves as a welcome addition to the better known "English Dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson, 1604-1755," by Starnes & Noyes (new edition published by Benjamins 1991). Whereas Starnes & Noyes describe the history of English lexicography as an evolutionary progress-by-accumulation process, Professor Hayashi focuses on issues of method and theory, starting with John Palsgrave's "Lesclarissement de la langue francoyse" (1530), to John Walker's "A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language" (1791). This book also includes a detailed discussion of Dr. Johnson's influential "Dictionary of the English Language" (1755).