Elaboration of English:
So the idea was to significantly increase the amount of words. How could this be done? By using some elaborating techniques including; polysemy, synonyms, bringing back words that were not used anymore, inventing new words & borrowing words from Greek or Latin. During 1500-1700 more than 30,000 new words may have been added to English. Polysemy & homonymy often cause difficulties for dictionary makers. There are often differences depending on connotation. Take the word “plain”. In one dictionary this could be recorded as “something drab or dull” as the first meaning in one dictionary, & “a large area of flat ground” as the first meaning in another.
By the end of the sixteenth century, the vocabulary of the English language had grown abundantly, grammar books were written, there were pronunciation books & there was a growing literary trend. In the following seventeenth century, the effects of the Reformation were felt more profoundly throughout English society. The Protestant culture of intellectual independence promoted incredible growth in scientific discovery & English was developed further to replace Latin for the new scientific writings.
By the eighteenth century, there were those who wanted to take English to a level of correctness & excellence, on a par with the classic languages. One of those was Jonathan Swift. He also, unsuccessfully, felt the need to protect English and set up a language academy, like in France or Italy. He believed protecting ones language was on a parallel of protecting ones constitution. In contrast, the opinion of 18th century Dr. Johnson opposed an academy as he felt English should have more linguistic freedom, unlike French.
Another approach was to write a definitive dictionary, thus appearing Johnson’s Dictionary in 1762. As well as listing vocabulary it recommended certain grammatical uses as correct.
