Key Terms for the Age of Linguistic Anxiety

These terms and dates form part of the discussion of the readings for this section, and you should become familiar with them. You can find them defined separately in the Glossary in the back of our textbook, as well as the online glossary on this site. Some of these terms may also come from our lectures, supplementary readings, and workbook exercises for the unit. You may find it helpful to continually refer back to this list as you progress through the material and lectures of this unit.

list of hard words (first dictionaries)
prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar
Inkhorn controversy
cyclical model of language history
Academy
fix, ascertain, regulate

1604 Robert Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall
1653 John Wallis's Grammatica
1712 Jonathan Swift's Proposal for an English Academy
1755 Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
1761 Joseph Priestley's Rudiments of English Grammar
1762 Robert Lowth's Introduction to English Grammar
1822 Jacob Grimm's German Grammar, 2nd. ed.