The following volumes featured in the 2010 conference exhibition trace the development of the Canadian English dictionary from the first Indigenous language dictionaries published for European colonists to contemporary editions on regional varieties of Canadian English. Dictionaries in both England and America influenced the form that Canadian English dictionaries would take: Samuel Johnson’s eighteenth-century dictionary boldly endeavoured only to describe, and not prescribe, word meanings; the Oxford English Dictionary (“the OED”), initially titled the New English Dictionary, was the first dictionary compiled according to “historical principles,” i.e., that recorded how word meanings changed over time; and Noah Webster’s “compendious” dictionary of American English was the first to distinguish and define a national variety of the language outside the United Kingdom. When in 1967 the Gage company published the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles to mark the centennial of Confederation, it was not only the first dictionary to be published on Canadian English, but also the first to be printed by a Canadian publishing house. As seen in the Survey of Vancouver English by Janice McAlpine, Director of the Strathy from 2000 to 2010, the Strathy Language Unit continues in this ongoing effort to define the unique features of our language.
Joseph Laurent. New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues, the first ever published on the grammatical system. Quebec : Printed by L. Brousseau, 1884. By Jos. Laurent, Abenakis chief. Added t.-p.: New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues, the first vocabulary ever published in the Abenakis language, comprising: the Abenakis alphabet, the key to the pronunciation and many grammatical explanations, also synoptical illustrations showing the numerous modifications of the Abenakis verb, & c. to which is added the etymology of Indian names, of certain localities, rivers, lakes & c. Original edition by Jos. Laurent, Abenakis, chief of the Indian village of St. Francis, P.Q. (Sozap Lolo Kizitow) 1884.
Albert Lacombe, 1827?-1916. Dictionnaire de la langue des Cris. Montreal : C.O. Beauchemin & Valois, 1874
James Evans, 1801-1846. The speller and interpreter, in Indian and English, for the use of the mission schools, and such as may desire to obtain a knowledge of the Ojibway tongue. New York : Fanshaw, 1837.
Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784. A dictionary of the English language : to which are prefixed a History of the language of an English grammar. 1st ed., London : Knapton, 1755.
Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784. A dictionary of the English language : to which are prefixed a History of the language of an English grammar. 1st ed., London : Knapton, 1755.
title page from A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles
Noel Webster, 1758-1843. A compendious dictionary of the English language. [New Haven] : From Sidney’s Press, for Hudson & Goodwin, book-sellers, Hartford, and Increase Cooke & Co. book-sellers, New-Haven, 1806.
A Dictionary of Canadianisms on historical principles : dictionary of Canadian English / produced for W.J. Gage Limited by the Lexicographical Centre for Canadian English, University of British Columbia, Canada ; editorial board: Walter S. Avis ; editor-in-chief, Charles Crate …[et al.] Toronto : Gage Educational Pub., 1991. Reprint. Originally published: Toronto : W.J. Gage, 1967.
Dictionary of Newfoundland English. Toronto ; Buffalo : University of Toronto Press, c1982.
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R.J. Gregg, et al. The Survey of Vancouver English. A Sociolinguistic study of urban Canadian English. Kingston, Ont. : Queen’s University, Strathy Language Unit. Occasional Papers no. 5. Edited by Gaelen Dodds de Wolf, Margery Fee and Janice McAlpine
![Noel Webster, 1758-1843. A compendious dictionary of the English language. [New Haven] : From Sidney’s Press, for Hudson & Goodwin, book-sellers, Hartford, and Increase Cooke & Co. book-sellers, New-Haven, 1806.](../wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Webster.jpg)
![A Dictionary of Canadianisms on historical principles : dictionary of Canadian English / produced for W.J. Gage Limited by the Lexicographical Centre for Canadian English, University of British Columbia, Canada ; editorial board: Walter S. Avis ; editor-in-chief, Charles Crate …[et al.] Toronto : Gage Educational Pub., 1991. Reprint. Originally published: Toronto : W.J. Gage, 1967.](../wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/dictionary.jpg)
