This paper investigates the representation of women in A New English Dictionary (1702 and 1713 editions) and Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum (1708), respectively the first English universal general-purpose and abridged dictionaries, both of them compiled by John Kersey. The words used to refer to ‘all things women’ in the English language, as they are selected and lexicographically described by Kersey, are analysed in order to provide evidence of the nature of dictionaries as cultural objects and the role played by lexicographers as propagators of the shared values and ideology of their age and society.

Lexicography as a Mirror of Society: Women in John Kersey’s Dictionaries of the English Language / G. Iamartino. - In: TEXTUS. - ISSN 1824-3967. - 33:1(2020), pp. 35-67.

Lexicography as a Mirror of Society: Women in John Kersey’s Dictionaries of the English Language

G. Iamartino
2020

Abstract

This paper investigates the representation of women in A New English Dictionary (1702 and 1713 editions) and Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum (1708), respectively the first English universal general-purpose and abridged dictionaries, both of them compiled by John Kersey. The words used to refer to ‘all things women’ in the English language, as they are selected and lexicographically described by Kersey, are analysed in order to provide evidence of the nature of dictionaries as cultural objects and the role played by lexicographers as propagators of the shared values and ideology of their age and society.
eighteenth-century lexicography; John Kersey; women in dictionaries; sexism; gender; ideology
Settore L-LIN/12 - Lingua e Traduzione - Lingua Inglese
2020
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
2020 IAMARTINO - Women in Kersey's Dictionaries.pdf

accesso riservato

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 196.77 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
196.77 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/743961
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact