Hardcover ISBN: 0-8027- ISBN 13: 978-0-8027-1700-9 Price: $25.00 272 pages Size: 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 November 2009
Paperback ISBN: 0-8027- ISBN 13: 978-0-8027-7769-0 Price: $16.00 336 pages Size: 5-1/2" x 8-1/4" November 2010
The Lexicographer's Dilemma The Evolution of English from Shakespeare to South Park Jack Lynch
Reviews of The Lexicographer's Dilemma
"Lynch weaves the familiar with the obscure, to the delight of the
reader."—Post and Courier. Read full review.
"Literary historian Jack Lynch’s The
Lexicographer’s Dilemma: The Evolution of ‘Proper’ English, from Shakespeare to
South Park (Bloomsbury) is a jolly and therefore readable account of those fussy
people. From 17th-century Englishmen Jonathan Swift and Samuel Johnson to English’s
Americanizer Noah Webster, Lynch draws the battle lines between the prescriptivists,
who prescribe a correct approach, and descriptivists, who analyze how language
works. Lynch enlivens the narrative on a subject otherwise unglamorous to many
readers."—The Morning News.
"Lynch writes in funny and engaging prose about the human side of language
history and the people who have helped make English so darn complex. VERDICT Lynch's
highly readable book will appeal to all users of the English language, from word
buffs to scholars alike."—Carol Gladstein, Library
Journal.
In the Washington Post'sstory about 'the word of the decade', Jack Lynch is quoted
and THE LEXICOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA mentioned.
“An entertaining tour of the English language.”—New York
Times. Read
full review.
An excellent review from Laura Miller in
Salon... "Memo to grammar cops: Back off! A new book on the history of
"proper" English says you're just stuck up!" Read full review.
