MetroLex (Feb. 3, 2017) — Jack Lynch
Channel: Stevonnie
Date: 2017-02-22

Jack Lynch, professor of English at Rutgers University–Newark, author of You Could Look It Up: The Reference Shelf From Ancient Babylon to Wikipedia (2016) and The Lexicographer’s Dilemma (2009).

Noah Webster is famous for fighting the nineteenth century's "dictionary wars" with Joseph Worcester. But before the first shot was fired in that war, Webster was engaged in hostilities with his most important predecessor, Samuel Johnson. Webster had a complicated relationship with Johnson, eagerly disavowing him and his politics while quietly cribbing much of his work. This talk will focus on how Webster squeezed the word "American" into Johnson's title.

Dictionary Society of North America: http://www.dictionarysociety.com/
Columbia University: http://www.columbia.edu/