1. our changing english The Dictionary
By: Bailey Hurst, McMillen Colburn, Josie Williams,
and Gabriel Tharpe

2. Background information
1857- Members of the Philological Society of London decided that the existing English language dictionaries were incomplete.
1857- They called for a complete re-examination of the English language from Anglo-Saxon times onward.
1884- Oxford’s Old English Dictionary came out.
Webster’s Dictionary first came out in the late 1900s.

3. Important People Samuel Johnson: Noah Webster: James Murray:
Lexicographer (people who want to stop the invention of new words)
Published his dictionary in 1775
Admired for his witty definitions
Ex. Definition of “oats” is “a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people”
Noah Webster:
Published his first dictionary in 1806.
Gave us the first American Dictionary
Learned 26 languages to effectively research more origins
Made spelling easier
Taught 5 generations how to spell and read
James Murray:
Became editor of the Oxford English Dictionary
Gave words more than one meaning/definition
On March 1st of 1879, he was told to replace Johnson’s Dictionary and edit a new English one. It ran 12 volumes.

4. How The dictionary Changed the english language
Johnson’s Dictionary created standard spelling.
While Shakespeare’s writing became the standard example of how to write, the dictionary then gave people a standard of spelling and understanding for english words.
For the first time people knew what words mean’t.
More words kept being invented.

5. How The dictionary Changed the english language pt 2
Webster’s dictionary made spelling easier.
The way you spell things have changed, such as “f” in fantom to now “ph” in phantom.
Webster discovered that the more phonetic and logical the spelling, the better it became.
Added j and v to the alphabet.
Made American English the “standard” english.

6. How The dictionary Changed the english language pt 3
The Oxford English Dictionary is a history of how the english language has changed.
Since new words are always being invented the book itself got to be too big, so the dictionary went digital.
It is still being updated to this day.

7. *Write down how the definition of your group’s word changed!*
Demonstration
Each group will be given a word to look up on each of the three dictionaries: Johnson’s Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary, and Webster’s Dictionary
Group 1: admire
Group 2: penny
Group 3: babe
Group 4: monkey
Group 5: onion
*Write down how the definition of your group’s word changed!*

8. Admire

9. Penny

10. Babe

11. Monkey

12. Onion

13. Activity!

14. Works Cited
“A Brief History of English Spelling.” The English Spelling Society, TESS 2018 The English Spelling
Society, spellingsociety.org/history#/page/1.
" - A Dictionary Of The English Language - Samuel Johnson " Johnsonsdictionaryonline.com. N. p.,
2018. Web. 27 Sept
Adams, Michael. “What Samuel Johnson Really Did.” National Endowment for the Humanities, 2009,
“Johnson's Dictionary - A Changing Language.” The British Library, The British Library, 24 Nov. 2005,
“Noah Webster and Moving Away from British English.” Today I Found Out, 8 Oct. 2014,

15. Works Cited pt 2
"NPR Choice Page." Npr.org. N. p., Web. 27 Sept
"Page View, Page 1." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by
Samuel Johnson. Edited by Brandi Besalke. Last modified: December 6, 2012.