The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park

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The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 236 ratings · 82 reviews

For language buffs and lexicographers, copy editors and proofreaders, and anyone who appreciates the connection between language and culture—the illuminating story of “proper English.”

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers—those who have tried to regulate, or otherwise organize, the way we speak. The Lexicographer’s Dilemma offers the first narra...more

Hardcover, 326 pages

Published October 27th 2009 by Walker & Company (first published 2009)

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Dec 17, 2011 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers, Writers, and all lovers of the English Language or language in general!

Recommended to Nicole by: Jack Lynch <3 (Development of the English Language Class)

Shelves: education

So what is this book about? For its fancy appearance and title, its roots are simple: a history and explanation of the English language, and how it works and has worked.

Not too hard to understand. So why the big hype about it? Why do I flaunt and fangirl and rave like a joyous kid who got their dose of candy--and then some!--when I talk about this book? Well, that's because most of the things addressed in this book are RELEVANT and cause the most hubbub today out of countless things going on in...more

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Oct 27, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-teaching

Audio interview with the author available here.

A good reminder for those of us in the English teaching racket that our awesome pedagogical skills and overwhelming personal charisma are employed in the advancement of an arbitrary set of rules which assembled themselves more or less by accident. That might depress some people, but I find it strangely cheering and liberating.

Chapter 10, about the scandalized mutterings generated by the 1961 release of Webster's Third New International Dictionary,...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Christine Wells rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-modern, history

The Lexicographer’s Dilemma is essentially a history of standard English. Lynch anchors his text in Samuel Johnson’s eighteenth century with fairly frequent allusions to the Renaissance and occasionally to the Middle Ages. Following the development of dictionaries, thesauruses and other linguistically-focused texts intended for the general public, Lynch demonstrates the longevity of the feud between the prescriptivists and the descriptivists. [return][return]As one might expect, the prescriptivi...more The Lexicographer’s Dilemma is essentially a history of standard English. Lynch anchors his text in Samuel Johnson’s eighteenth century with fairly frequent allusions to the Renaissance and occasionally to the Middle Ages. Following the development of dictionaries, thesauruses and other linguistically-focused texts intended for the general public, Lynch demonstrates the longevity of the feud between the prescriptivists and the descriptivists. [return][return]As one might expect, the prescriptivists are largely concerned with dictating how one should speak and clearly defining “correct” usage. The descriptivists, on the other hand, argue that there is no right way to speak; the duty of the lexicographer is to describe the norma loquendi, how people actually speak.[return][return]After a few chapters, it becomes clear that reader will be captive to a recapitulation of the prescriptivist-descriptivist argument within different historical epochs and among different historical figures for the duration of the text. To be fair, this divide has structured most of the major linguistic controversies in history, but Lynch never expands the debate past its most technical parameters. Each linguistic revolutionary and reactionary begins to seem interchangeable with his (and more on this soon) counterpart from a different century because Lynch is aiming for breadth, rather than depth. [return][return]The Lexicographer’s dilemma is composed of very readable, conversational prose. [return]As alluded to above, Lynch provides narrative, rather then than an analytical engagement with his subject. He very stably focuses on the immediate conditions of “standard English” with occasional references to socio-political context. But these references never become a central concern. [return][return]Every chapter is subtitled, and each subtitle identifies a key player the domain of lexicography. It is a troubling list that goes without comment: John Dryden, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson, Joseph Priestley, Noah Webster, James Murray, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Watson Fowler, Philip Gove, and George Carlin. True, standard English has historically been within the domain white male control, but it certainly does not mean that it is reducible to white male prescriptivism. This is in part due to Lynch’s scope: he limits himself to dominant narrative. Still, for all his discussion of dictionaries, Lynch fails to mention that the first dictionaries where written (by men) for women. For more on this see “Dictionary English and the Female Tongue” by Juliet Fleming.[return][return]Despite my political reservations, The Lexicographer’s Dilemma is informative and generally enjoyable. Lynch’s narrative, while restrictive in content, is a fine introduction to the unwieldy beast of language and the futile (and often amusing) attempts to tame it.(less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Every book on language that I read becomes my favorite of the genre, simply because of my passion for language, words, etymologies, and the like. However, this stands out as a clear champion for several reasons. Firstly, he absolutely stays on message of the subtitle on the book. There's a tremendous focus from which the author does not veer. Secondly, and this represents a huge bias on my part, he lays to rest so many of the curiosities of various head-scratching spellings endemic in the langua...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, pop, z-reviewed

Most reviewers call this book a history of English. It is actually a history of ‘proper’ or Standard English, the English we are taught in school, the English that people are forever complaining is degenerating into mere babble. It is also good introduction to the battle between descriptive vs. prescriptive English. In a way, this book is a rebuttal to the books like Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Those of us with more knowledge (like me) may have some com...more Most reviewers call this book a history of English. It is actually a history of ‘proper’ or Standard English, the English we are taught in school, the English that people are forever complaining is degenerating into mere babble. It is also good introduction to the battle between descriptive vs. prescriptive English. In a way, this book is a rebuttal to the books like Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Those of us with more knowledge (like me) may have some complaints but will still find it worthwhile.

It is enjoyable and easy to read. The style is that of connected magazine articles (two of the chapters actually were magazine articles) which makes it easy to pick up and put down. It covers the history and evolution of Standard English from the first conception of it (late 1600s) until today. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on spelling, a clear description of why our words are spelled so strangely and why that is not likely to change except piecemeal and slowly. For more description see the other reviews.

The book loses a star because in describing the descriptivist attitude the author mostly writes as though it is much looser than it really is, and that he agrees with this. In a way he makes it sound as though anything goes and that is not true. All styles of English has rules, and they can be very strict, whether or not there is a teacher grading it. (Try speaking slang to a teenager.) He is a college English professor, so he does know about registers and dialects (slang, ‘proper’, Australian, California casual) and he also knows why Standard English is more important (you need it to get better jobs and to succeed socially). It is not until the last chapter that he reveals that most experts are not as hard-core as it seems from the book. Actually most of the uproar comes from non-academics, which is understandable. After all, we are all experts on the language we grew up with and that can make us very emotional.

It loses another star because he only rarely discusses other languages or linguistics. This gives the impression that it is only English that has this fascination with laying down rules. Actually, by not having a governmental body like most other European languages we are far more relaxed. Also, comparison with other languages helps explain not only why certain words and forms of grammar are Standard, but where other versions come from and why they are still ‘good’ English.

Autobiographical Note: As a (volunteer) teacher of English to adult foreign students who are college educated and fairly fluent I am acutely aware of the prescriptive vs. descriptive issue. Most non-native speakers are taught formal Standard English. When they arrive here (Stanford) they find they cannot understand California casual speech. On the other hand, most of them will write in English for business or academia, both of which have strict grammatical and vocabulary rules. Much of our vocabulary is used to distinguish register (casual, formal, business) so a lot of my time is spent explaining which words are used in which situations, exactly where the prescriptive descriptive battle is being fought. (less)

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Nov 16, 2009 Grey is currently reading it

For the first time in decades, I "won" something -- one of the free books regularly offered by Goodreads (many thanks).

Just started it, but even the blurb on the back cover is interesting: "For just one third of 1 percent of the history of language in general, and for just 20 percent of the history of our own language, have we had to go to school to study the language that we already speak." (OK -- I'm going to let the numeral "1" slide just this once.)

I care passionately about "good English." J...more

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Nov 24, 2009 Lolly's rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, first-reads

Enlightening, enjoyable, entertaining. One might expect the first adjective, but certainly not the other two when describing a book on the subjects of linguistics and lexicography. However, I believe that this book will not only appeal to those familiar with these subjects, but also to those taking their first foray into the territory. This isn't some fusty old textbook, laying out the history of the English language, invasion to invasion, scribe to Gutenberg. Instead, it's a jolly romp through...more Enlightening, enjoyable, entertaining. One might expect the first adjective, but certainly not the other two when describing a book on the subjects of linguistics and lexicography. However, I believe that this book will not only appeal to those familiar with these subjects, but also to those taking their first foray into the territory. This isn't some fusty old textbook, laying out the history of the English language, invasion to invasion, scribe to Gutenberg. Instead, it's a jolly romp through the trials and travails of those intimately involved with the attempt to categorize, curtail, and clean up our messy, confusing English language; from the curmudgeonly to confused, from shy to boastful, from historically famous to those left behind as mere footnotes. The biggest selling point is the fact that modern contributors to English aren't ignored, glossed over, or treated as a pox upon our "noble" language. Many familiar names are referenced alongside (or, more accurately, right after) the more sedate, historical personages such as Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster: George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Quentin Tarantino--those who, in their own colorful, creative, and ofttimes controversial way, continue to shape what we know as "good" English and "bad" English. And, yes, that includes South Park. The phenomenon brought about by the Internet Age--blogging, texting, Tweeting--all those activities supported by a vast multitude of unnamed persons who support these endeavors with their own shorthand versions of English, also earns a place in the lineage of our language.

Upon reading this book, I realized something very important: Nothing is new. From the dawn of language itself, people have been bemoaning its demise. Every generation worries that the one coming up behind them is going to hell in a handbasket--and taking the English language with it. I admit, I'm a language prude. I wince at text-speak, I
rave madly when someone uses a word or phrase incorrectly, at least, incorrectly to my thinking; I try not to leave participles dangling or split my infinitives. The lesson of this book, however, is that English is a mutable language. It can be used, or abused, in the most extreme fashion, yet it will always bounce back and remain steady, if not always comprehensible to the elder generation. So, the lesson I've learned is that I, and all others who bemoan the imminent demise of English, should just chillax (a slang word I would have never deemed worth using before this point). I can't say I'll ever go out of my way to use split infinitives, dangling participles, or double (or triple or even quadruple) negatives. However, knowing that all of these grammatical "errors" have pedigreed pasts, going back to Shakespeare and Chaucer (who appears to be a master of the quadruple negative), I won't feel as though I'm committing a capital offense if one happens to slip into my writing or conversation. Even the dreaded ain't has a place in this world. English has the near-miraculous ability to be combined in almost infinite ways to create new words. Those words may only be one-offs, created as literary puns or linguistic exercises; they may end up as dictionary staples. The point is, English is flexible and fun. We can rail against its quirks, its bizarre spellings which don't match pronunciations, or, conversely, too many spellings which match a single pronunciation, but without its inherent freedom of expression, we would be lost without it.(less)

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Jan 13, 2012 Greg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2012/...

If you like words and writing, then go read Jack Lynch's The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park. It is a history of the power of words and how people have struggled to control them. He emphasizes that the book is descriptive rather than prescriptive, and in fact some of the best parts are his descriptions of others' prescriptions. There is no ruler across the knuckles here.

Lynch documents the man...more From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2012/...

If you like words and writing, then go read Jack Lynch's The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park. It is a history of the power of words and how people have struggled to control them. He emphasizes that the book is descriptive rather than prescriptive, and in fact some of the best parts are his descriptions of others' prescriptions. There is no ruler across the knuckles here.

Lynch documents the many unsuccessful efforts to codify and control the English language. Jonathan Swift wanted an academy (as exist for French, Spanish, and Italian) to control the entrance of new words. These days, fortunately we still have no rigid and elitist academy, but Merriam-Webster's Dictionary gets plenty of media attention for its decisions. In 2011, for example, new words included tweet, cougar, and robocall. Words also get removed, like snollygoster. We may get sick of new words, like sexting, but language is far beyond anyone's control so these new words go in regardless of whether they think they're unworthy:

English has been growing and changing haphazardly for fifteen hundred years and has never taken kindly to attempts at regulation (p. 70).

He gives countless examples of how language develops because of custom, yet people get very up in arms when someone breaks the rules. That includes me, since I cringe when I read student papers confusing its and it's, or there/they're/their. Read aloud they are the exact same, but they hurt my eyes. I care because it's wrong, yet being "wrong" just means that lots of people think it's wrong.

And thinking of wrong and right, who knew how much fighting there has been over what to include in the dictionary, with new dictionaries written to counteract the evils of other dictionaries? Etymology can be so odd--some words are so offensive that people have been wary of them for centuries yet we don't even know for sure where they originated or why. At the same time, some words are controversial now, yet in a generation or two we will forget there was a dispute (did you know that "finalize" was roundly denounced as indicative of English's decline back in the early 1960s?).

Of course, no discussion of word regulation can exclude George Carlin, whose stand-up routine on the seven words you can't say on television took on a life of its own as the FCC paid attention. (For something a bit less raunchy, his take on the language of football versus baseball is classic). The entire chapter on obscenities alone is worth it--both illuminating and funny.(less)

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Sep 29, 2011 Caitlin Marineau rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, linguistics, favorites

An excellent overview of the history of grammar and lexicography. The book is not so much a history of English grammar, but of the attempts beginning in the 18th century to regulate the language. Prior to this period, no native speaker would have understood the concept of studying grammar (why would they need to study a language they already know?). Once the "grammarians" got involved, however, it was a new game, which has led us to our current state of bizarre, often pointless, rules. Many of t...more

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May 22, 2011 Evan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, owned

In The Lexicographer's Dilemma, Lynch attempts to survey the development of English usage, especially as they relate to lexicography. He does a reasonable job, striking a tone somewhere between the lightest pop-linguistics titles and denser, more serious tomes. In this respect, he fills a niche, though it also means that all of this ground has been covered by others before, leaving little that is unique here. Still, it is eminently readable and a sufficient survey for someone who wants to read o...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Adrian added it

If you have ever railed on about the poor English grammar in the world today- and who hasn't?- this is the book for you. Lynch details the spectacular futility of attempts to reform English spelling and grammar as well as attempts to stop the language from changing. He divides all lexicographers- amateur or professional- into two groups; descriptivists and prescriptivists. The first describe language the second are intent on shaping it. Lynch is a descriptivist which is a little unsettling at fi...more

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May 10, 2011 Tammy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Every now and then I like to treat myself to a book from which I will actually learn something. When I'm lucky, that book is written by someone as skilled as Jack Lynch.

Each chapter was jam-packed with history and relevant examples of words and word use, with just enough humor to remind the reader that - while they are indeed learning, this is not a textbook.

It would be a lie (albeit a lie of omission) if I neglected to confess that the chapter on cussing and cursing was the easiest and most out...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Andres rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a recovering English major I still have a weakness for language histories and this book sure does hit the language history spot. While not a language history per se, it does trace the history of the ever evolving debate about what is considered proper or improper in the English language. As much a history as a biography, Lynch hits all the big language personalities and topics, from Johnson working on his dictionary up to modern day dictionary wars between Merriam-Webster and the American Her...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Elizabeth marked it as to-read Recommends it for: everyone who is frustrated with the English language

from the library
Rob is reading this and he read me many tidbits. Delicious.

from the library computer

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 (8)
Vulgarities of Speech

Homo Sapiens Learns to Speak
9 (18)
The Age in Which I Live

John Dryden Revises His Works
27 (22)
Proper Words in Proper Places

Jonathan Swift Demands an Academy
49 (22)
Enchaining Syllables, Lashing the Wind

Samuel Johnson Lays Down the Law
71 (23)
The Art of Using Words Properly

Joseph Priestley Seeks Genuine and Establishe...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, language

This book is entertaining while doing a great job of telling the history of how our language has come to be compiled--while also explaining what the "dilemma" of the title is. Lynch shows how the two camps (prescriptivists and descriptivists) have tussled ever since there was something to tussle about. Is a dictionary meant to compile and describe the language as it is spoken, or is it meant to tell us how it "should" be spoken, which is never the same thing? There is even a chapter on the "bad...more

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May 11, 2011 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating and very readable. He examines the origins of English and the historical reasons behind the ridiculous spelling. He also examines the natural changes in language over time, the origin of the grammar "rules" we're all sure we can't pass, and even includes a highly entertaining chapter on offensive words (not surprisingly, what types of words are considered offensive also changes over time).

Highly recommend this to anyone who in fascinated by words & grammar - particularly if you'r...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Lawn2000 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: large, paperback, informational

Beinig someone who reads for the sole purpose of enjoying the written word, I found this a fun and informaitonal book. It makes you remember things when you were first learning to read and write. Your parents correcting your grammer. My mother will still looks at me funny when I say the word "ain't", so the book made me laugh and brought many fond and not so fond memories of school and struggling through the english language. I would recommend it to someone who just wants to read a good and enga...more

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May 20, 2010 Dara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

A very lively, and relatively quick, read. The author takes what I think is the wise approach of taking discrete people and their work as a few select examples of changes to the language, rather than the more gradual (and more boring) exegesis that "evolution" might imply.

The only downside to my experience was that some idiot had taken a pencil and made what he or she apparently thought were corrections to the (LIBRARY) book. In all but one case, the vandalizing editor was wrong, and is no doub...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Casey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I read The Lexicographer's Dilemma by Jack Lynch, which discusses the evolution of the English language, particularly its written form. Beginning with speculation on how language originated, Lynch moves from a discussion of language to the written word. Then came most of the book: a discussion of lexicography and what qualifies as "proper" English. Some of this discussion was, well, quite dull-- I skimmed some pages on the specifics of various accomplishments of hundred year old men. But for the...more I read The Lexicographer's Dilemma by Jack Lynch, which discusses the evolution of the English language, particularly its written form. Beginning with speculation on how language originated, Lynch moves from a discussion of language to the written word. Then came most of the book: a discussion of lexicography and what qualifies as "proper" English. Some of this discussion was, well, quite dull-- I skimmed some pages on the specifics of various accomplishments of hundred year old men. But for the most part, I found this book to be very interesting. There was a chapter discussing other language's academies-- L'academie francais, etc, organizations that try to standardize rules of a language and new words introduced (l'academie francaise, for instance, enforced that the word "computer" would not be added to the French language, and instead demanded that the completely French "ordinateur" be used, to avoid simply adding English words to their lexicon). I've been taking French for five years and am familiar with the academy, and have wondered why English didn't have something similar-- an answer I finally found in this book! (Generally, English speaking countries value individual freedoms; a more absolutist government is generally necessary to establish an academy on language. And there's the fact that rules enforced by the academies generally go ignored, and linguistic changes happen regardless). It was also interesting to learn about the beginnings of rules like "never end a sentence with a preposition" and "never split an infinitive". Both of those laws of English were adapted from Latin, a language looked to throughout the beginning of lexicography as an ideal. Lynch does an excellent job of presenting multiple sides on an argument thoughout this book. An instance in which he does this is in regards to "normalizing" English spelling. There's no doubt that English uses bizzarre letter formations to overcomplicate its written form, and often the phonetics of its letters do not match the way it's actually pronounced. One of my favorite examples was the French word English adopted, "hors d'oervres"-- English pronounces the "oe" sound in a completely different way than the French, but despite that fact that it's pronounced more like "hors durv", we still use the French spelling. I also liked the example of a lingust saying the word fish should be spelled "ghoti", with the "gh" from "laugh", the "o" from "women", and the "ti" from "motion". I'd never seen the ridiculousness of English spelling spelled out for me so clearly. But I also liked Lynch's counterargument, that regulating spelling now couldn't work; not only because it would be impossible to change the spelling in the minds of millions of current English speakers, but because the way words are pronounced will continue to change. I also enjoyed the discussion of censorship and bad words in general (an interesting tidbit; most one-syllable crude words come from Germanic words, while polite euphemisms-- copulate, defecate, flatulence-- come from Latin or French). And of course, I enjoyed speculation on changes to come in our language, although, as with any prediction, only time will tell if it comes true. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and hope to find more books like it in the future.
(less)

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Sep 28, 2011 James Williams rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a fan of the English language. I'm not an expert, certainly. This review itself will show that I don't have a deft hand with a pen (or keyboard, as it were) and sometimes it takes a few tries to get the denser works of the masters through my skull. Yet, despite my own mastery of the language, I have a love for well-chosen phrases and the amusing word-play.

Throughout my life, I've moved from being a strict prescriptivist to being a more forgiving descriptivist more times than I can count. I...more I'm a fan of the English language. I'm not an expert, certainly. This review itself will show that I don't have a deft hand with a pen (or keyboard, as it were) and sometimes it takes a few tries to get the denser works of the masters through my skull. Yet, despite my own mastery of the language, I have a love for well-chosen phrases and the amusing word-play.

Throughout my life, I've moved from being a strict prescriptivist to being a more forgiving descriptivist more times than I can count. I suppose that sort of thing was the inevitable result of coming up in a strict conservative private primary and secondary school (among other things, we studied sentence diagramming every year from at least 3rd grade through 12th grade) while being raised by unashamedly Southern [American] parents.

From that context, this is an incredibly engrossing book. As it details the evolution of modern Standard English, it also tells the story of the war between those who simply sought to describe English-as-it-is and those who sought to legislate the language they though everyone should be speaking. Since I've been fighting this war in my head for most of my life [NOTE: I'm now a firm descriptivist and hope to stay that way, if only because I enjoy ending sentences with prepositions.], the whole thing is fairly fascinating.

Most of the book is devoted to the lives, ideas, and writings of those who worked to compile the great dictionaries of our tongue; but some of the text discusses the development of the language itself. This is where it seems to fall down a bit. For example, the author spends a good deal of time discussing English infinitives and the splitting (or not) of such constructions.

At one point, he discusses how Old English had its infinitives wrapped up in a single word (like Latin or French) and eventually migrated to the to- form that we know today. He writes, "Historical linguists know where the two-word infinitive came from, but the overwhelming majority of speakers have never thought about the question, and probably wouldn't care if the answer were offered." And, based on that assumption, he doesn't offer the answer. So I had to do the research myself, which is surprisingly difficult for someone who doesn't actually know the terminology or science of linguistics. (As near as I can sort out, Old English did have a gerund form that used a "to" prefix. Eventually, this migrated to be the infinitive form and we found a new suffix to create gerunds. Or something like that.)

Which is to say, my chief complaint about this book of pop-linguistics is that it spends a little too much time on the "pop" and not enough on the "linguistics". It's a small complaint, perhaps. But! If you're interested enough in language to pick up this book in the first place, you're probably interested enough to want to know a little more detail about the historical developments it purports to talk about.

Let me sum up: I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would (and I was expecting to like it from the moment I found out it existed). I wish it were a little meatier, but that's a small complaint and this book is well worth reading and sharing.(less)

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Apr 20, 2011 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-of-ideas, linguistics

"Words, words, words." - Hamlet.
Thus Hamlet answered Polonius' question as to what he was reading. Our reading can range from the sublimity of Beckett's arid yet vivid prose to the Rabelaisian abundance of words, bordering on the ridiculous, that one finds in books like Infinite Jest. In The Lexicographer's Dilemma, an all too short book considering the subject, Jack Lynch attempts an history of the English language - a history of words. His focus is on what is considered "proper" English and w...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Ryan Mishap rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

English is approximately 1500 years old and no one suggested there should be rules for spelling, grammar, or what words one chooses to use until recently. Indeed, until the printing press came along and writing began its conquering march over language, how one spoke was only governed by how everyone spoke--common usage, in effect. Even as writing gained prominence, spelling was left to individuals (and printing shops made their own decisions) and grammar remained organic--until the 18th century....more

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Jun 11, 2010 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: culture, history, language

This is the sort of book I just eat up. And the author takes just the right approach, carefully outlining the development of English spelling and grammar, while reveling in all the variations we English speakers come up with. (And yes, I just ended that sentence with a preposition. Get over it.)

I really enjoyed Lynch's description on the rise of spelling and grammar "normalization" that began in the late 17th century. Before that time, spelling and grammar weren't anything that anyone seemed to...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Paul Fidalgo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jack Lynch's fascinating book, The Lexicographer's Dilemma, is full of original insights, refreshing perspective, and delightful trivia about our mother tongue. Itspans history and academia to lend understanding to what it means for a word to be considered an "official" part of the English language. The gist, as you might surmise, is that there is no such thing as the official version of the language. Dictionaries and pedants have over the centuries set down guidelines about propriety, some more...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Meghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pleasure-reading

Jack Lynch’s The Lexicographer’s Dilemma is an entertaining introduction to the history of the “rules” of English language and those that attempted to develop those rules.

The book addresses the arguments of the prescriptive and descriptive linguists in a way that is conversational and anecdotal. Interesting examples are provided from the past as well as the present in a really great attempt to bring this linguistic argument down from the often unavailable rhetoric of academics and into the hand...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

Stars: 4.5/5

If you like words--their history, the fights they cause and their creation--then give this book a gander.

The "Average Joe" probably isn't going to willingly pick up this book, although it's written to be easily accessible and enjoyable. And how many books discussing and analyzing the history of English can make that claim? Lynch uses a sense of humor, dry wit, and a balanced perspective in his writing, so that what could be long and tedious is educational and fun.

Yes, fun.

Some parts...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Shirley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, language, 2011

Overall this is an accessible, nontechnical introduction to the history of the (attempted) regulation and evolution of the English language. More like a 3.5-star read. (Could have been four stars, but hard to say because I read most of it sometime between 3 and 5 am during these last weeks of pregnancy...) In the prescriptivist-descriptivist divide in linguistics (where prescriptivists are more, well, prescriptive/rule based and descriptivists lay out - with less judgment - the way language is o...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Elaine Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, non-fiction, writing

If you are a language nerd of any sort, you'll enjoy this book. Lots of weird tidbits about the attempts to wrangle the English language into place beginning with the printing press.

Which, as it turns out, is when consistent spelling actually starts to matter. Also, as it happens, is when there was some sort of huge shift in English pronunciation, so that the written form preserves (kinda) a different English than the one we actually speak. That explains a lot!

Some fascinating characters in her...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Tiffany Loudermilk rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating look at the English language with all its rules, quirks, and evolutions. It's a very interesting discussion about whether the changes we see happening in our language are "bad English" or just a natural response to our changing world. As a self-professed grammar nerd, I found myself reexamining taking the hard line on things like ending sentences with prepositions, who vs. whom, and words like "ain't." I'd definitely recommend this book to language lovers with open minds.

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Dec 27, 2011 Ami rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

My friend Adrian wrote a brilliantly concise & astute review that I can't get out of my head when I'm reading, so I'd recommend checking that out too.

An intelligent & fun meander through the history of the English language, and the (mostly) men who attempted to shape it through dictionary-making and other means. The conclusion, however, is that English is shaped by the way its speakers and writers use it, for good or bad. Lynch comes down as a smooth blend of descriptivist (language is a...more

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“To this day, good English usually means the English wealthy and powerful people spoke a generation or two ago.” — 5 people liked it

“People of very different opinions--friends who can discuss politics, religion, and sex with perfect civility--are often reduced to red-faced rage when the topic of conversation is the serial comma or an expression like more unique. People who merely roll their eyes at hate crimes feel compelled to write jeremiads on declining standards when a newspaper uses the wrong form of its. Challenge my most cherished beliefs about the place of humankind in God's creation, and while I may not agree with you, I'll fight to the death for your right to say it. But dangle a participle in my presence, and I'll consider you a subliterate cretin no longer worth listening to, a menace to decent society who should be removed from the gene pool before you do any more damage.” — 4 people liked it

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title link	preview: The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park
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The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park

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