Johnson as a Lexicographer: Getting His Just Deserts
Samuel Johnson is often credited as the first English-language lexicographer, or more broadly as “the father of the English dictionary.” But was he? At least 25 people preceded him in making English-language dictionaries. What, exactly, were Johnson’s innovations? Among the 14 possible advances in dictionary-making, Garner will show that in fact Johnson can be credited with only 2—possibly 3. But they were important innovations, and lexicography would never be the same once Johnson introduced them. Garner will demonstrate just why Johnson merits all the accolades he has received.
The first 30 people to book will receive, at no additional charge, a copy of Garner’s book on the history of English lexicography: Hardly Harmless Drudgery (2024), coauthored with Jack Lynch (retail value £50).
Bryan A. Garner
Bryan A. Garner, chief editor of the past six editions of Black's Law Dictionary, has worked as a lexicographer for over four decades. He is the author of Garner's Modern English Usage (5th ed., OUP) and of more than 25 other language-related books. Author of the grammar-and-usage chapter of The Chicago Manual of Style, he has been called the "Herakles of English Usage" (New Yorker, 2021). He is the most frequently cited scholar in American law, with more than 55,000 judicial opinions citing or quoting his work. His library collection holds more than 5,000 dictionaries and grammars, including incunables dating to 1474, not to mention original documents handwritten by Dr. Johnson himself.
