규범론자로서의 Samuel Johnson 읽기

Reading Samuel Johnson as a Conservative Prescriptivist

The goals of a dictionary as Samuel Johnson(1709-84) originally planned it in 1747 sounded much like those of a proposed English Academy: to ascertain, refine, and fix the English language. Johnson thought to maintain the purity of English and to ascertain the use of English words. By the time A Dictionary of the English Language(1755) was published eight years later in 1755, his purpose had become somewhat more modest. Johnson realized that not all words are correctable, since language is a reflection of imperfect human origin. The “"Preface”" to the dictionary stated that it was impossible for a lexicographer to “"embalm”" the language and keep it from “"corruption”" and “"decay.”" Through a thorough textual analysis of Johnson's “"The Plan”" and his “"Preface”" to the Dictionary, the present study, contrary to the statement of Lynch(2009), shows that Johnson's attitudes towards language and a dictionary can still be construed as prescriptive, though he acknowledges the futility of trying to embalm the language by means of a dictionary.