The problem of Joseph Priestley's (1733-1804) descriptivism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3955126 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Hodson (0000-0001-5020-9724, University of Sheffield, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 57-84 |
| Publication date | 2006-07-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Historiographia Linguistica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0302-5160 • E-ISSN: 1569-9781 |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1075/hl.33.1.06hod |
| OpenAlex | W1985186244 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 8 |
Joseph Priestley's (1733-1804)Rudiments of English Grammar(1761, second revised edition 1768) has often been interpreted as demonstrating that, unlike most 18th-century grammarians, Priestley took a descriptive approach towards the study of language. This article argues that such a characterisation both of Priestley's work and that of his contemporaries is misleading. The article offers a reappraisal of Priestley'sGrammar, demonstrating that the idea of linguistic perfectibility is central to his linguistic ideas, but that it has often been overlooked by modern commentators. The two editions of Priestley'sGrammarare assessed, and it is argued that the substantial alterations that he makes for the second edition reveal a grammarian struggling to bring order to the study of the English language
Epistemology · Grammar · Linguistic description · Linguistics · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,4 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2021 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |