1806-1828Towards an American English

Peter Stephen Duponceau1760-1844

• American (French-born) Linguist, Jurist and Philosopher

• Lived in Philadelphia• Completed a Pioneering

study of Native American languages (1838)

• Coined the Term “Polysynthesis”

Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson to

Study Indian Vocabularies

• Educated in a French Benedictine College

• Served in the Revolutionary War

• Resigned from the Army in 1781 & Became a U.S. Citizen

• Elected President of the American Philosophical Society in 1827

Polysynthesis • Greatest Number of Ideas Comprised in the Least Number of Words

• Understood Through Grammatical Forms and their Relationship to the Concepts that the Human Mind Wants to Express

CheyenneVoenåhtóohehe

• Word for Nightingale

• Literally means: “All Night Hollering”

• Sound & Syllables Important

CreeN't'ayamihewâttikuminân

ak • Word for Cross

• Literally means:“Praying Stick”or“Holy Wood”• Verbs Important

Duponceau’s Legacy

• Illustrated the complexity of American Indian languages.• Proved that these languages were not primitive.• Showed that these languages were structurally close to

Old World Languages such as Latin, Greek, and Slavic. • Suggested that the study of American Indian languages

coupled with the study of American English could provide the foundations for a national literature. 

John Pickering1777-1856

• Lexicographer, Philologist, and Lawyer

• Lived in Massachusetts• Studied American Vocabulary

and Published the First Book on “Americanisms” (1816)

• Contemporary of Noah Webster

Interested in the Purity and Improvement of the

English Language

• Received Masters of Arts in 1799 from Harvard University

• Studied Law in Philadelphia• Secretary for U.S. Minister to

Portugal and U.S. Minister to Great Britain

• Spent Time in England before the War of 1812

On the English Language

“In the first place…there is greater uniformity of the [English] dialect throughout the United States…than is to be found throughout England; yet none of our countrymen…will contend, that we have not in some instances departed from the standard of the language. We have formed some new words; and to some old ones, that are still used in England, we have affixed with new significations: while others, which have long been obsolete in England, are still retained in common use with us.”

Americanism • “A love of America and preference of her interest.”

—Webster’s Dictionary

• …denotes “a use of phrases or terms, or a construction of sentences, even among persons of rank and education [in America] different from the use of the same terms of phrases, or the construction of similar sentences in Great Britain.”

Admire• To like very much; to be

very fond of.

• This verb is much used in New England in expressions like the following: I should admire to go to such a place; I should admire to have such a thing…. It is never thus used by the English; and among us it is confined to the language of conversation.

Handsome

An obliging correspondent observes, that “this word is here

applied to almost everything;” and then adds…that, “In England it is

used only in reference to the human countenance.” It is thus mentioned as an Americanism in the Quarterly Review: “The country thus far had presented few striking features, but was generally what the Americans call handsome.” Review of Lewis

and Clarke’s Travels.

Pickering’s Legacy

• He ultimately rejected the idea of having a unique American language.

• However, the constant flow of new words and phrases made inevitable a continuous debate about Americanisms.

• The debate over a distinct American linguistic standard was exacerbated by the steady barrage of British criticism of American speech.

• Gave rise to the notion of a uniform American language, an idea of a pure national speech.

Joseph Emerson Worcester1784-1865

• Lexicographer and Teacher• Lived in Massachusetts• Dictionary rival of Noah

Webster • Disputes over plagiarism and

British vs. American Orientations of Dictionaries

Noted Geographer

• 1811 Graduate of Yale College

• LL.D. Brown University 1847• Many publications on

geography

Dictionary Wars1828-1865

• 1828 – American Dictionary of the English Language

• 1841 – Revised Edition• 1847 – New and Revised

Edition• 1859 – Revised and Enlarged

Edition • 1864 – Merriam issued new

American Dictionary of the English Language

• 1828 – new edition of Johnson’s Dictionary

• 1829 – abridged Webster’s American Dictionary

• 1830 – Comprehensive Pronouncing and Explanatory English Dictionary

• 1846 – Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English Language

• 1860 – Dictionary of the English Language ( 4 vol.)

Webster Worcester

Dictionary Wars1828-1865

• Worcester had worked as Webster’s assistant and was accused by Webster of having stolen many of the definitions Worcester included in his dictionary; stating that Worcester had "pilfer[ed] the products of the mind, as readily as... the common thief."

• Rivalry between their publishers continued long after both men had died; ending with the noteworthy publication of Webster’s International Dictionary in 1890 and 1900.

Worcester’s Legacy

• Unlike Webster, Worcester adhered to British pronunciation and spellings, calling them "better," "more accurate,” and "more harmonious and agreeable.”

• He opposed Webster's spelling reforms (e.g., tuf for tough, dawter for daughter), to Webster's disapproval.

• The commercial rivalry between the two built up significant public interest in lexicography and dictionaries.

Sequoyah1770-1843

• Native American (Cherokee), Linguist, Silversmith, and Soldier

• Lived in Oklahoma• Formulated Cherokee

Syllabary, Providing Path to Literacy for Thousands

• Sequoyah’s mother Wut-teh was known to be Cherokee

• His English name was George Gist or Guess

• An early hunting accident left him crippled, so he developed a talent for craftsmanship, making silver ornaments and blacksmithing

• Sequoyah married several times and had a large family

• In Alabama, he became captivated by the white man's ability to communicate by making marks on paper and reading from "talking leaves."

• After the War of 1812, Sequoyah began in earnest to create symbols that would make words.  

• He and his daughter Ayoka played games using the symbols.  • Sequoyah became a recluse in his obsession to perfect the writing

system. • He endured constant ridicule by friends and even family members, who

said he was insane or practicing witchcraft. 

CherokeeSyllabary

After  twelve years, he finally reduced the complex language

into 86 symbols, each representing a unique sound of

Cherokee speech.

In 1821, the Cherokee Nation adopted his alphabet, now

called a 'syllabary'.  

Sequoyah’s Legacy

• Within a year after its introduction, 90 percent of the Cherokee people could read and write the syllabary because it was so logical to the native speaker. This rate of literacy was unheard of at that time, or even today. Sequoyah was rewarded for his achievement with a silver medal in 1824 from the General Council of the Cherokee Nation. Sequoyah’s syllabary enabled the Cherokees to communicate in a more widespread and permanent fashion during a very serious moment in their history. They began publishing a newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix, in 1828; it was printed in both English and Cherokee. It was the first bilingual, native newspaper in the United States.

Dolley Madison1768-1849

• US First Lady and Socialite

• Hosted White House gatherings for bachelor President Thomas Jefferson as well as for her husband President James Madison

Reputation

She gained a reputation as a charming hostess, frequently entertaining large gatherings at the White House. In fact, the night she left the White House, the dinner table was

set for 40 guests.

The War of 1812

• Hostilities in the War of 1812 made it necessary for Dolley to finally flee the White House.

• After defeating the Americans at Bladensburg, Maryland, the British advanced toward Washington in 1814.

• Taking with her the full-length portrait of George Washington that had been torn from a White House wall, Dolley fled the city.

Letter to Her Sister just before leaving the White House

• Dolley wrote in a letter to her sister:  “I insist on waiting until the large picture of General Washington is secured, and it requires to be unscrewed from the wall. This process was found too tedious for these perilous moments; I have ordered the frame to be broken, and the canvass taken out. It is done, and the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York, for safe keeping.”

Fleeing the White House

The night after Madison had penned the letter to her sister and

fled the White House to safety, the British arrived. After

consuming the meal that had been prepared for American

military and cabinet officers, the British soldiers looted and set fire

to the White House.

Madison’s Legacy

• A vivacious woman with an astute political mind, Dolley Madison became the first president's wife to carry the title "First Lady.”

• Dolly Madison was a political icon in the new nation. • While women did not vote and did not hold political

office during the early years of the new republic, by Dolley Madison's time they had taken on a political role the "Founding Fathers" never envisioned.