The Current State of Research: Eighteenth Century Grammars

I know that there is danger in assuming, but since the topic is "Speculation in Early Research," I am going to write about the state of my annotated bibliography. Just so no one thinks they are behind, let me be clear: This is not my first annotated bibliography, and I am building on research from my grad school work from 2.5 years ago.

For that theory class (Theory I, which happened to be the last of six classes I took; yes, it would have helped to take it sooner, but the book we used is the Richter text that the Yale English class uses - yay!), I had to choose a topic to research in order to create an annotated bibliography. There was a list of topics, so I choose grammars, dictionaries, and encyclopedias of the eighteenth century (since the husband had nicknamed me The Grammar Queen), and as I researched I discovered, initially, more information on eighteenth century grammars, so I focused my research on grammar texts developed to help people speak proper English. Most texts were for British subjects, but I did find a few for Americans. I get a strange, natural high from talking about this stuff.

I recently located an incomplete draft of that annotated bibliography, and after talking with my academic advisor (Emily is fabulous!), I had to email Drs. Baldini and Lussier to determine if I risked self-plagiarism. This is a real issue I learned, and self-plagiarism is a violation of the student code. However, our professors have generously allowed me to continue my research in this area, building on what I have previously learned.

To follow the model in The Craft of Research: I am trying to learn about eighteenth century grammars because I want to find out why these grammars were created (so late, only one has been found from the 1500s) in order to help my reader understand why we have prescriptive grammar rules instead of solely descriptive grammar rules so that my students will understand that standardization allows for clearer communication within the lingua franca without having to know Latin or Greek to access knowledge.

So, as you can see, I learned a lot from my first foray into eighteenth century grammars, and I already have a partial answer from a couple sources: The British wanted to create a third classical language (after Latin and Greek) in order to continue the imperialism of the British government (on whom the sun never set).

At this point, if you so desire, I suggest you stop reading as I am going to list my sources to indicate the categories under which I have been searching for the last couple weeks.

Sources from Previous Annotated Bibliography

Beach, Adam R. "The Creation of a Classical Language in the Eighteenth Century: Standardizing English, Cultural Imperialism, and the Future of the Literary Canon." Texas Studies in Literature and Language 43.2 (2001): 117-141. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. PDF file.

Borkowski, David. "Class(Ifying) Language: The War of the Word." Rhetoric Review 4 (2002): 357. JSTOR Arts and Sciences III. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Cajka, Karen. "Ann Fisher: Reforming Education for 'the Mere English Scholar." European Romantic Review 22.5 (2011): 581-600. Taylor and Francis Online. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. PDF File.

Longmore, Paul K. "They ... Speak Better English Than the English Do": Colonialism and the Origins of National Linguistic Standardization in America." Early American Literature 40.2 (2005): 279-314. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

Mitchell, Linda C. "Johnson Among The Early Modern Grammarians." International Journal of Lexicography 18.2 (2005): 203-216. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. Full Text in OCLC FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online. PDF file.

Percy, Carol. "J. Matlock's Young Ladies Guide to the Knowledge of the English Tongue (1715): Contextualising the First Grammar of English for Ladies." Transactions of the Philological Society 111.2 (2013): 223-241. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.

Rodríguez-Álvarez, Alicia, and María E. Rodríguez-Gil. "Common Topics In Eighteenth-Century Prefaces To English School Grammars: An Application Of The ECEG Database." Transactions of the Philological Society 111.2 (2013): 202-222. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.

Schweiger, Beth Barton. "A Social History of English Grammar in the Early United States." Journal of the Early Republic 30.4 (2010): 533-555. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

Tyrkkö, Jukka. "Notes on Eighteenth-Century Dictionary Grammars." Transactions of the Philological Society 111.2 (2013): 179-201. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Yáñez-Bouza, Nuria. "Grammar Writing and Provincial Grammar Printing in the Eighteenth-Century British Isles." Transactions of the Philological Society 110.1 (2012): 34-63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Bishop Lowth

Abrahams, I. “Johnson of Columbia and the Hebrew Language.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society 25 (1917): 109–111. NEED DATABASE. Web. 13 Jan. 2016. (not Dr. Johnson!)

NO Glau, Gregory R.. “Mirroring Ourselves? the Pedagogy of Early Grammar Texts.” Rhetoric Review 11.2 (1993): 418–435. NEED DATABASE. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.

????What did I do here?????“Grammatical Analysis in the 17th and 18th Centuries”. “Grammatical Analysis in the 17th and 18th Centuries”. College Composition and Communication 13.3 (1962): 70–70. NEED DATABASE. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.

Probably not. Just an editor's page Judy, Stephen. “Editor's Page.” The English Journal 62.7 (1973): 959–959. NEED DATABASE. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Navest, Karlijn. "Marginalia As Evidence: The Unidentified Hands In Lowth’s Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762)." Historiographia Linguistica 34.1 (2007): 1-18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.

Osselton, N. E. "Bishop Lowth Converted: An English Grammar ror Catholics in the Late Eighteenth Century." English Studies 84.5 (2003): 448-452. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.

Tieken-Boon Van Ostade, Ingrid. "Of Social Networks and Linguistic Influence: The Language of Robert Lowth and His Correspondents." International Journal of English Studies 5.1 (2005): 135-157. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.

Ann Fisher

Rodriguez-Gil, Maria E. "Deconstructing Female Conventions: Ann Fisher (1719–1778)." Historiographia Linguistica 33.1/2 (2006): 11-38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.

NO John McWhorter: https://newrepublic.com/article/112896/tyranny-pronouns-fighting-singular-they

William Cobbett

This one might be fun: Moore, Michael. "On Language Wars." ETC: A Review of General Semantics 72.1 (2015): 68-74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Samuel Johnson Lindley Murray J. Matlock - fictional?

New Research from Old Authors

Beal, Joan C. "The Place of Pronunciation in Eighteenth-Century Grammars of English." Transactions of the Philological Society 111.2 (2013): 165-178. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Percy, Carol. "Robert Lowth and the Critics: Literary Contexts for the “Critical Notes” In His Short Introduction To English Grammar (1762)." Historiographia Linguistica 39.1 (2012): 9-26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Percy, Carol. "Disciplining Women?: Grammar, Gender, and Leisure in the Works of Ellenor Fenn (1743–1813)." Historiographia Linguistica 33.1/2 (2006): 109-137. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid. "Robert Lowth as a Codifier of the English Language: An Introduction." Historiographia Linguistica 39.1 (2012): 1-8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid. "The Usage Guide: Its Birth and Popularity." English Today 26.2 (2010): 14-44. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid. "James Merrick (1720–1769): Poet, Scholar, Linguist." Historiographia Linguistica 33.1/2 (2006): 39-56. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Yáñez-Bouza, Nuria. "Senses of “Grammar” in the Eighteenth-Century English Tradition." English Studies 96.8 (2015): 913-943. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

What's going on with this article title? Yáñez-Bouza, Nuria, and María E. Rodríguez-Gil. "Introduction: New Insights into Eighteenth-Century Grammar Writing Introduction: New Insights into Eighteenth-Century Grammar Writing." Transactions of the Philological Society 111.2 (2013): 141-142. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Probably not, but I’ll read it anyway McWhorter, John. "Freedom From, Freedom To." New Republic 244.8 (2013): 11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.