In this book Werner H llen examines Roget's Thesaurus in relation to linguistics, philosophy and history. He explores the influence of Roget's Thesaurus abroad (Germany and the Romance countries). He epitomizes its history and compares the various editions of the book. In lexical case studies he evaluates some entries with pertinence to their cultural and political implications. He discusses the didactic potential of thesauri in general and considers the implications of the Thesaurus for the study of scholarly linguistics and psychology. He discusses how Roget's Thesaurus prepared the way for the more recent idea of network semantics. By analyzing retrieval techniques one can show, he claims, how the words of languages were (and are) stored in the minds of those who speak them. Professor H llen concludes by considering the role of synonymy in language from a perspective of cognitive linguistics showing that it is indispensable for communication.

Over the past few decades, the book series Linguistische Arbeiten [Linguistic Studies], comprising over 500 volumes, has made a significant contribution to the development of linguistic theory both in Germany and internationally. The series will continue to deliver new impulses for research and maintain the central insight of linguistics that progress can only be made in acquiring new knowledge about human languages both synchronically and diachronically by closely combining empirical and theoretical analyses. To this end, we invite submission of high-quality linguistic studies from all the central areas of general linguistics and the linguistics of individual languages which address topical questions, discuss new data and advance the development of linguistic theory.

Between the beginnings of European lexicography and 1700, many glossaries and dictionaries were arranged not according to the alphabet, but in a topical order which followed the influential paradigms of theology, philosophy, and natural history at that time. Together with related text genres like treatises on terminology, didactic dialogues, and thesauri, they constitute the topical (or onomasiological) tradition which is an important lexicographical tradition in its own right. This book discusses the tradition's principles and origins, and by way of illustration draws upon early glossaries, treatises for the learning of foreign languages, and didactic dialogues. Later comprehensive works are presented as detailed in-depth studies. Professor Hullen demonstrates that the English tradition is embedded in a complex Continental tradition whose important representatives, such as Adrianus Junius and Comenius, had a great influence on the English scene.

In 1852 Peter Mark Roget eclipsed a rich tradition of topically based dictionaries with the publication of his Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas. Based on intuition as much as on specific linguistic principles Roget's book has been a bestseller ever since and is one of the most widely-used reference works ever published. In this book Werner Hullen gives the first history of its genesis and publication, and investigates the principles of its structural design. The author opens with an account of Roget's life and his background in natural science. He then charts the parallel histories of dictionaries of synonyms and concepts within the general context of lexicography. Synonymy, he argues, is a necessary feature of languages without which communication would be impossible. He traces its theory and practice from Plato to the emergence of French and English synonym dictionaries in the seventeenth century. Roget's was the first such book to be arranged by topic and the first to encompass the semantic network of the entire language. The author examines the manner and method of its compilation, the practical outcomes of the traditions on which it was based, and the ways in which the Thesaurus reflects and reveals Roget's beliefs and background. A History of Roget's Thesaurus will interest students and scholars of linguistics, semantics, and lexicography, as well as anyone wishing to know more about a great literary achievement and an astonishing publishing phenomenon.

In 1852 Peter Mark Roget eclipsed a rich tradition of topically based dictionaries with the publication of his Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas. Based on intuition as much as on specific linguistic principles, Roget's book has been a bestseller ever since and is one of the most widely-used reference works ever published. In this book Werner Hullen gives the first history of its genesis and publication, and investigates the principles of its structural design. The author opens with an account of Roget's life and his background in natural science. He then charts the parallel histories of dictionaries of synonyms and concepts within the general context of lexicography. Synonymy, he argues, is a necessary feature of languages without which communication would be impossible. He traces its theory and practice from Plato to the emergence of French and English synonym dictionaries in the seventeenth century. Roget's was the first such book to be arranged by topic and the first to encompass the semantic network of the entire language. The author examines the manner and method of its compilation, the practical outcomes of the traditions on which it was based, and the ways in which the Thesaurus reflects and reveals Roget's beliefs and background. A History of Roget's Thesaurus will interest students and scholars of linguistics, semantics, and lexicography, as well as anyone wishing to know more about a great literary achievement and an astonishing publishing phenomenon.

From the Anglo-Saxons to the end of the Tudor era, many English glossaries and dictionaries were arranged topically rather than alphabetically and thus reflected the prevailing concerns of theology, philosophy, and natural history. These works are a fascinating part of the topical or onomasiological lexicographical tradition in England. In this book Werner Hullen presents a learned and readable account of the topical tradition's principles and origins. He considers early glossaries, treatises for the learning of foreign languages, and didactic dialogues, and provides in-depth examinations of later, more comprehensive works. He shows that the English tradition is embedded in a rich European tradition whose important representatives, such as Junius and Comenius, had a marked influence on the English methods. The book makes an important contribution to the history of the English lexicon and English semantics, and to the study of English lexicography. It also reveals a great deal about the history of English ideas over nine centuries. "This is a work of enormously broad scholarship, which brings together a range of quite diverse elements into a coherent narrative which makes for absorbing and often surprisingly entertaining reading..... This is a rich and multifaceted book, and one which will appeal to a variety of audiences." International Journal of Lexicography "Hullen brings to life relatively dry and difficult material by applying modern techniques to remote frameworks (such as conversation analysis to Caxton's Dialogues, feminist linguistics to Withals's Dictionarie, and semiotic theory to Wilkins's Philosophical Language and Comenius's Visiable World), setting new standards for research in dictionary history." Anglistik. Mitteilungen des deutschen Anglistenverbandes