English pronunciation in the eighteenth century : Thomas Spence's Grand repository of the English language / / Joan C. Beal

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910456011003321
• Autore: Beal Joan C.
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Oxford : , : Clarendon Press; New York : , : Oxford University Press, , 1999
• ISBN: 1-280-44600-5; 0-19-154394-2
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (ix, 239 p. )
• Disciplina: 423/.1
• Soggetti: English language - Lexicography - History - 18th century; English language - 18th century - Pronunciation; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Sommario/riassunto: Thomas Spence (1750-1814) was a native of Newcastle upon Tyne who is best known for his political writings, and more particularly for his radical 'Plan' for social reform involving common ownership of the land. One hitherto neglected aspect of Spence's Plan was his proposal to extend the benefits of reading and of 'correct' pronunciation to the lower classes by means of a phonetic script of his own devising, first set out and used in Spence's Grand Repository of the English; Language (1775).; The Grand Repository was one of many English pronouncing dictionaries produced in the late eighteenth century to satisfy the growing demands for a clear guide to 'correct' pronunciation. It differs from its contemporaries firstly in that it was intended primarily for the lower classes, and secondly in that it is the only eighteenth-century pronouncing dictionary of English to use a truly 'phonetic' script in the sense of one sound = one symbol.; In this fascinating and unique account, Beal pays particular attention to the actual pronunciations advocated by Spence and his contemporaries with a view to reconstructing what was felt to be 'correct' pronunciation in eighteenth-century Britain. With broad appeal to linguists and ; historians alike, this study highlights the importance of pronouncing dictionaries as a resource for the historical phonologist, and provides a valuable addition to the limited body of knowledge on eighteenth-century; pronunciation.