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" Unlocking the English language / "
Robert Burchfield ; with an introduction by Harold Bloom.
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BL
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| Record Number
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874771
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| Main Entry
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Burchfield, R. W.
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| Title & Author
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Unlocking the English language /\ Robert Burchfield ; with an introduction by Harold Bloom.
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| Edition Statement
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1st American ed.
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| Publication Statement
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[New York] :: Hill and Wang,, 1991.
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| Page. NO
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xvi, 202 pages ;; 24 cm
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| ISBN
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0374523398
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: 0809094908
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: 9780374523398
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: 9780809094905
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| Notes
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Originally published: Great Britain : Faber and Faber, 1989.
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
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| Contents
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pt. I: The T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures, 1988. Linguistic milestones ; The naming of parts ; The boundaries of English grammar ; Words and meanings in the twentieth century -- pt. II: Eight essays on English lexicography and grammar. The treatment of controversial vocabulary in the Oxford English Dictionary ; The turn of the screw : ethnic vocabulary and dictionaries ; The point of severance : British and American English ; The Fowlers : their achievements in lexicography and grammar ; The genealogy of dictionaries ; The Oxford English Dictionary and its historical principles ; The end of the alphabet : last exit to grammar ; The OED : past and present.
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| Abstract
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As we grapple with an English language adapting and expanding faster than ever, Robert Burchfield offers a sane, humanistic, and historically illuminating account of how words enter our official vocabulary. In this lively collection of essays, he shows us that dictionaries, far from being static, are hotly contested social documents resulting from the interaction of the language, the lexicographer, and his times. Drawing on the author's thirty years' experience as the editor of the Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, this book gives us a firsthand account of the sorts of decisions lexicographers have confronted since Samuel Johnson's great dictionary (such as the uses of literary authority, the inclusion of "ethnic" vocabulary, the establishment of standard usage), as well as more contemporary issues, including the implications of compiling dictionaries in the computer age. There is also a wealth of insights into the history of our language, its rich past, and its potential future.--From publisher description.
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| Subject
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English language-- Lexicography.
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English language.
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Aufsatzsammlung
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Englisch
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English language-- Lexicography.
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English language.
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Lexikografie
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Oxford English dictionary.
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Oxford English dictionary.
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Oxford English dictionary.
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Englisch.
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| Dewey Classification
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420
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423.028
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| LC Classification
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PE1072.B795 1991
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| NLM classification
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HE 322rvk
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