Etymological Collections of English Words and Provincial Expressions

White Kennett
Edited by Javier Ruano-Garcia

The first transcription and critical edition of Kennett's manuscript
Contains a comprehensive introduction situating the work in its historical and social context
Offers detailed editorial notes comparing Kennett's work with other dialect compilations
Provides extensive critical apparatus showing alterations made in the process of compilation

Etymological Collections of English Words and Provincial Expressions

White Kennett
Edited by Javier Ruano-Garcia

Description

This book is the first critical edition of White Kennett's Etymologicon Anglicanum (British Library, MS Lansdowne 1033), a long forgotten etymological compilation of the late 1690s with a substantial amount of regional dialect material. The work drew the attention of dialect lexicographers of the nineteenth century, such as Joseph Wright, and serves as documentary evidence for the OED.

This new scholarly edition of Kennett's glossary is divided into two parts. The first includes a detailed introduction that situates Kennett in the context of his time and of historical antiquarian scholarship. Javier Ruano-Garcia also describes the manuscript and Kennett's method, paying close attention to the regional dialect element and its lasting lexicographical impact. Part II contains the annotated edition of the text with a substantial commentary on its dialect material. The edition also offers a critical apparatus that records Kennett's many alterations to the glossary so that readers are able to see him at work and make sense of the process of compilation.

Etymological Collections of English Words and Provincial Expressions

White Kennett
Edited by Javier Ruano-Garcia

Acknowledgements
List of illustrations
Abbreviations and symbols
Part I: Introduction
1. White Kennett in the context of his time
2. White Kennett in the context of historical antiquarian scholarship
3. British Library, MS Lansdowne 1033
4. The non-dialect material
5. The dialect material
6. The legacy of Kennett's dialect words
7. Editorial policy
Part II: Etymologicon Anglicanum
References
Index

Etymological Collections of English Words and Provincial Expressions

White Kennett
Edited by Javier Ruano-Garcia

Author Information

Javier Ruano-Garcia is Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics in the Department of English Philology at the University of Salamanca. His main research interests include historical regional lexicography, historical dialectology of the early and late modern English periods, and corpus linguistics. He is the author of Early Modern Northern English Lexis: A Literary Corpus-Based Study (Peter Lang, 2010) and is one of the compilers of The Salamanca Corpus: A Digital Archive of English Dialect Texts.

Etymological Collections of English Words and Provincial Expressions

White Kennett
Edited by Javier Ruano-Garcia

Reviews and Awards

"The publication of this edition should have a real impact on our understanding of the history of English Lexicography... this is an outstandingly valuable book...Javier Ruano-García has made a real difference to our knowledge of the historical development of English lexicography, and Oxford University Press has done a handsome job of presenting his edition." -- International Journal of Lexicography

"This is a meticulously researched volume, which is persuasive in asserting the importance of Kennett's work, and it will be of interest to anyone interested in dialectology or lexicological work in the period." -- The Year's Work in English Studies

"[An] interesting and valuable text: a philological landmark in the transition from the early antiquarian interest in the vernacular to the comparative etymological approach that announces the development of modern linguistics. Also praise worthy is the choice of Javier Ruano-García as the scholar in charge of this neat, careful and well-informed edition: an outstanding contribution to the study of English regional lexicography." -- J. Camilo Conde-Silvestre, Nexus

"In my view, this edition is exemplary and deserves nothing but praise." -- Anatoly Liberman, University of Minnesota, Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America