Vulgar and popular in Johnson, Webster and the OED

• Autores: Kate Wild
• Localización: Proceedings of the XIII EURALEX International Congress (Barcelona, 15-19 July 2008) / coord. por Janet Ann DeCesaris, Elisenda Bernal, 2008, ISBN 978-84-96742-67-3, págs. 1209-1214
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The use of restrictive labels is one of the most subjective features of modern lexicography, and several studies have shown that dictionaries do not always agree in their application of, for example, colloquial and informal. Labels are also a problematic feature of pre-20th century dictionaries, which did not provide lists or explanations of the labels they used. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of two labels-vulgar and popular-in Johnson's (1755) A Dictionary of the English Language, Webster's (1828) An American Dictionary of the English Language, and the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1884-1933)-in order to consider how their meanings and connotations have changed, and what their use can tell us about the relative prescriptivism of the three dictionaries.