Adelung’s English-German dictionary (1783, 1796)

Abstract

Summary This article examines Johann Christoph Adelung’s English–German dictionary (1783, 1796). The dictionary deserves our attention because it was undertaken by the author of a ground–breaking German dictionary (Adelung 1774–86, 2 1793–1801), working from Samuel Johnson’s equally epoch–making English dictionary (1755, 41773). Yet the work has thus far been almost entirely overlooked. This article seeks to address that research gap. It reveals the very significant differences between the first dictionary volume (1783) and the second (1796), and argues that the second volume – for which a dictionary by Johannes Ebers is a major source (Ebers 1793–1794) – is almost certainly not the work of Adelung at all. Close analysis of the first volume nevertheless reveals the care that Adelung took with it, drawing not just on Johnson, but also on his own German dictionary and other sources, resulting in a dictionary that was innovative in English–German lexicography. I also show that Adelung’s experience of preparing the English–German dictionary informed his revision of his better–known German dictionary (1793–1801) in at least two concrete ways: his treatment of pronunciation and his use of metalinguistic labelling.