1066 - Standardizing the Language

Standardizing the Language

“Elocution Walker”

John Walker published his English pronouncing dictionary in 1791

A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language:

to which are prefixed, Principles of English Pronunciation: Rules to be Observed by the Natives of Scotland, Ireland, and London, for Avoiding their Respective Peculiarities

The book would see over a hundred subsequent editions

“Walker” became a household word, both in Britain and the USA

Walker did for pronunciation what Murray and Johnson had done for grammar and the lexicon

“Though the pronunciation of London is certainly erroneous in many words, yet, upon being compared with that of any other place, it is undoubtedly the best” (John Walker)

It is “more generally received” (that is “received among the learned and polite”)

Walker saw the outlying areas of the British Isles through a colonial mentality: their accents were inferior to the received standard of pronunciation spoken in London