A Grammatical Institute Of The English Language: Comprising An Easy, Concise, And Systematic Method Of Education

by Noah Webster Jr

Part 2, Containing A Plain And Comprehensive Grammar, Grounded On The True Principles And Idioms Of The Language.

124 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[Brent Woo · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you need to know what Noah Webster is all about, just read the intro to this "Institute". He lays out all his strong opinions that the British "neglect" their own language with "ridiculous practices", on the proper way to teach children to read, and how all other existing dictionaries fall short. It is interesting to see the supposed progression here: apparently schoolkids are supposed to know words like "effulgence" and "testatrix" by page 40 in order to figure out syllables. The list of cities and populations is funny. This would probably be a fun piece to read next to other dictionary essays like "Authority and American Usage" in Consider the Lobster and Other Essays.

Also it preſents an occaſion for the modern reader to practice reading ſome long S and catchwords!