Question

What did Johnson hope to achieve by his work?

Answer 1

The Preface of the Dictionary by Samuel Johnson the 17551755 work that defined the English language is a mixed feelings of Johnson's efforts and the fate of his dictionary Johnson reveals all his feelings and hurdles in the making of his work and its response. There was little assistance from the learned. Yet he finished his work successfully and became the pioneer of The Compilation of a dictionary. What prompted Johnson to write a dictionary? is a million dollar question. It is not a rewarding job and yet he pursued it. Spread of knowledge is not possible without a dictionary. He wanted to enrich the English language with innovation. Such thoughts made him to write a dictionary. Johnson made a survey and found the abundance of the Language and its rich vocabulary. But it was without order or syntax. The language was energetic without rule. There was complication everywhere. He decided to regulate the words to avoid confusion. He decided to develop selection procedure to sort the boundless variety of the language. He purified all adulterations.