View source for Dissertation on the English Language

{{Short description|Book written by American lexicographer Noah Webster}}
{{Italic title}}
'''''Dissertation on the English Language''''' was a book written by American [[lexicographer]] [[Noah Webster]] in 1789.  The book followed Webster's 1783 work ''Spelling Book'' and aimed to differentiate [[American English]] from [[British English]].<ref name=tottie8>Tottie (2002), p. 8.</ref>  In the book, Webster commented that "our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government.  Great Britain ... should no longer be ''our'' standard; for the taste of her writers is already corrupted, and her language on the decline."<ref name=tottie9>Tottie (2002), p. 9.</ref>  This dissertation was dedicated to [[Benjamin Franklin]].

== Footnotes ==
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== References ==

* {{citation|last=Tottie|first=Gunnel|title=An Introduction to American English|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2002|isbn=978-0-631-19792-8}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/314008.Graduate_Theses_And_Dissertations_In_English_As_A_Second_Language_1976_77?from_search=true&search_version=service Graduate Theses And Dissertations In English As A Second Language, 1976 77] by Stephen Cooper 

[[Category:Books about the English language]]


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