Sorry, Mr. Johnson



 One of the highlights for me as an inquisitive historian has been finding out the history behind the different types of information-keeping we have learned about. The invention of databases, indexes, dictionaries, and reference works causes curiosity within me. I think, someone "way-back-when" thought that this information was so important (whether it be for daily life or to propel education) that they needed to create a system of keeping that information. That system needed to be governed by rules and follow a pattern. That system needed a name. It needed to be made public. The use of the system needed to be taught in schools. 

In our classroom lecture this week we learned about the history of the dictionary specifically. To highlight one entry, one dictionary called Dr. Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language was developed in 1755. Dr. Johnson was quoted as saying, "the chief intent [of creating this dictionary] is to preserve the purity and ascertain the meaning of our English idiom". So, was the dictionary there to maintain an upper class lexicon? It's odd to me as a 21st century educator to think of any language as "pure". To me, purity brings up idea of a right way and a wrong way. To maintain something’s purity is to keep it from being desecrated by those using said thing inappropriately. 

So isn’t it funny then that language can be used incorrectly? Language is not a set entity. It is fluid. It changes with whatever the “norm” is. The norm is changed slowly be people desecrating the language—treating it impurely—and have that usage catch on by others. I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, but in the 21st century we treat words very impurely.

For example, enough people said “That’s sick!” in an impure form that the meaning has changed from something very negative to something quite positive.

Mr. Johnson clearly took more of a prescriptive belief in dictionaries than Merriam-Webster.

We create new terms all the time. The last few weeks has shown that globally. Never has the term “social-distancing” been used by so many people. In fact, I wonder if a term has ever spread faster globally. (Insert off-colour joke about the term spreading faster than the virus).

Bibliography

Riedling, A. M., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference Skills for the School Librarian. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.




Comments

  1. Aaron MuellerApril 6, 2020 at 6:06 AM

    A good reminder about the changing and evolving nature of our language, resources, formats and collections. I think a good high level lesson to take away would be that everything, is constantly evolving, all the time. We can't hold onto things as they are, because they are going to change into something we all agree to and use in a new way. Your personal curiosity into the histories and genesis of these formats and data will serve you a long time in better understanding the intentions and motivations behind these designs and evolution. Some good connections to our course text as well.

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