Have dictionaries always played a vital part in your life? Little do you know, they have actually been around for hundreds of years. Dictionaries were first introduced in 1582 – it was written by Richard Mulcaster who aimed to make the English language more accessible and respected in society.
Prior to the first dictionary, the use of the English language and spelling of words had no importance; it was simply a means of communication within an area and often wasn't used accurately. The compilation of words from the English language in one place was something of great significance at the time of production which lead to many advancements in the English language.
Inhabitants of England started to respect their language, the language developed over time, new words were introduced, meanings changed and language has become more sophisticated over time. Dictionaries meant that people started to value coherent expression and correct spellings, the changes in the values in society concerning language use were revolutionary.
Since the introduction of the first dictionary in 1582, Robert Cawdery compiled the first alphabetical dictionary which came about in 1604 and was titled 'Table Alphabeticall' - it contained about 3000 words and was something of amazement at the time of publication.
Dictionaries started becoming more prominent in society and increasingly influential in 1755, when Samuel Johnson created a dictionary which contained 40,000 words - his style influenced all subsequent dictionaries - In his dictionary, he listed the history of each word that was listed, showing all previous meanings and the origins of words; despite this dictionary being of great importance in society at the time, it was heavily criticized because it contained a lot of big words that people found hard to understand - at this time the intelligence of the English speaking population wasn't as advanced as it is in the modern day.
In the history of dictionaries, the one which was (and still is) the greatest respected of all time is the Oxford English Dictionary which was an initial idea in the 1850's - and finally manufactured in 1879. The aim of the OED was to create a vast and extensive collection of English words ranging from Middle English (1150) onwards. The Oxford English dictionary has examined the history and meaning of every English word in existence to show how it has changed over time.
English language dictionaries have always been a part of all of our lives since the first ever publication, and as times have gone on, technology has advanced and dictionaries are now more accessible as the Oxford English dictionary is now available online, making using dictionaries more accessible to specifically the younger generation, who were the least inclined to use them beforehand. The OED was put online in 2000, and has proved to have many advantages - including: it's simplicity, ease of use, it's updated frequently and we can search for words, quotations and history of words easily.
Since the introduction of the first dictionary in 1582, Robert Cawdery compiled the first alphabetical dictionary which came about in 1604 and was titled 'Table Alphabeticall' - it contained about 3000 words and was something of amazement at the time of publication.
Dictionaries started becoming more prominent in society and increasingly influential in 1755, when Samuel Johnson created a dictionary which contained 40,000 words - his style influenced all subsequent dictionaries - In his dictionary, he listed the history of each word that was listed, showing all previous meanings and the origins of words; despite this dictionary being of great importance in society at the time, it was heavily criticized because it contained a lot of big words that people found hard to understand - at this time the intelligence of the English speaking population wasn't as advanced as it is in the modern day.
In the history of dictionaries, the one which was (and still is) the greatest respected of all time is the Oxford English Dictionary which was an initial idea in the 1850's - and finally manufactured in 1879. The aim of the OED was to create a vast and extensive collection of English words ranging from Middle English (1150) onwards. The Oxford English dictionary has examined the history and meaning of every English word in existence to show how it has changed over time.
English language dictionaries have always been a part of all of our lives since the first ever publication, and as times have gone on, technology has advanced and dictionaries are now more accessible as the Oxford English dictionary is now available online, making using dictionaries more accessible to specifically the younger generation, who were the least inclined to use them beforehand. The OED was put online in 2000, and has proved to have many advantages - including: it's simplicity, ease of use, it's updated frequently and we can search for words, quotations and history of words easily.
Since the first dictionary was produced in 1582, the English language has changed beyond belief; the earlier uses of English are unrecognisable to each and every one of us. Language change has recently caused some controversy when ‘older’ words were being taken out of the latest dictionary that is due to be published.
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