1806-1828
Towards an American English
Peter Stephen Duponceau
1760-1844
• 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
Cheyenne
Voenåhtóohehe
• Word for Nightingale
• Literally means:
“All Night Hollering”
• Sound & Syllables
Important
Cree
N'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 Pickering
1777-1856
• 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 Worcester
1784-1865
• 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 Wars
1828-1865
Webster
• 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
Worceste
r
• 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.)
Dictionary Wars
1828-1865
• 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.
Sequoyah
1770-1843
• 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.
Cherokee
Syllabary
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 Madison
1768-1849
• 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.