Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 34:1 (2007) ► pp.1–18
Marginalia as evidence
The unidentified hands in Lowth’s short introduction to English grammar (1762)
Published online: 19 June 2007
https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.34.1.02nav
https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.34.1.02nav
Summary
This article provides a detailed study of the annotations in the two Winchester College copies of Robert Lowth’s (1710–1787) Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762) which R. C. Alston used for his facsimile edition (1968). Alston believed that one of the copies belonged to Lowth and that the other copy was used for the second edition of the grammar in 1763. My article, however, demonstrates that this was not the case. It present arguments that serve to identify the owner of the second copy, and it demonstrates that there is one feature in his language the historical development of which was very likely due to influence from Lowth’s grammar. From a wider perspective, this article will highlight the extent to which contemporary readers responded to books they owned by including annotations in them.
Résumé
Cette contribution offre une analyse détaillée des annotations de la Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762) de Robert Lowth (1710–1787) qui se trouvent en deux exemplaires au Collège de Winchester. R. C. Alston les a utilisés pour son édition facsimilé de 1968. Alston croyait que l’un d’eux appartenait à Lowth lui-même et que l’autre fut employé pour préparer la deuxième édition de cette grammaire en 1763. La contribution actuelle montre par contre que cela n’était pas le cas. L’auteur présente des arguments qui servent à identifier le propriétaire du deuxième exemplaire et elle demontre un trait linguistique particulier qui fut lui-même influencé par la grammaire de Lowth. Plus généralement, cet article indique dans quelle mesure les lecteurs contemporains ont réagi aux livres qu’ils possédaient en y ajoutant des annotations.
Zusammenfassung
Der Beitrag bietet eine ausführliche Untersuchung jener Anmerkungen zu Robert Lowths (1710–1787) Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762), welche in zwei Exemplaren des Winchester Colleges zu finden sind, die R. C. Alston für seine Faksimile-Ausgabe von 1968 genutzt hatte. Alston ging von der Annahme aus, eines der Exemplare habe Lowth selbst gehört, das andere aber sei für die 2. Auflage der Grammatik von 1763 benutzt worden. Der vorliegende Beitrag weist jedoch nach, dass dies nicht der Fall ist. Er liefert Argumente, welche dazu beitragen, den Besitzer des 2. Exemplars zu identifizieren und zeigt, dass sogar ein sprachgeschichtlich identifizierbares Charakteristikum seiner Sprache sehr wahrscheinlich dem Einfluss von Lowths Grammatik zuzuschreiben ist. Im weiteren Sinne trägt der Artikel auch dazu bei, die Art und Weise hervorzukehren, mit der zeitgenössische Leser mittels Notizen sich mit den Büchern auseinanderzusetzen pflegten, die ihnen gehörten.
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2014. Eighteenth-century English normative grammars and their readers. In Norms and Usage in Language History, 1600–1900 [Advances in Historical Sociolinguistics, 3], ► pp. 129 ff.
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