Professor Lynda C Mugglestone
Position: Fellow and Tutor in English
Subject(s)
Profile
Contact Details
| Email: | lynda.mugglestone@pmb.ox.ac.uk |
Member of:
- Governing Body
- Standing Committee
- News International Liaison Committee (English Faculty)
- History of the Language Committee (English Faculty)
- History and English Standing Committee
Affiliations
- Faculty of English Language and Literature
- Faculty of Linguistics, Philology, and Phonetics
- Member of Dictionary Society of North America
- External examiner, University of Leeds 2005-2009
Teaching Activities
Recent Lecture Courses include:
Language of specific authors, including Chaucer, Johnson, Dryden, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens.
Standardization and the History of English.
Dialect in Literature: representing the regional.
The Language of Advertising
Research Interests
- My research focusses on two main issues - (1) the history of the English spoken language in the nineteenth century. (2) metalexicography and the cultural, social, as well as linguistic history of dictionaries. The role of language as social institution provides the hinge between the two; my work on nineteenth-century language has investigated a range of aspects of social thinking about language, most prominently perhaps in the rise of the peculiarly English obsession with accent, discussed in 'Talking Proper. The Rise of Accent as Social Symbol (the 2nd revised paperback edition of which came out in 2007). In my recent work on dictionaries, I have similarly been engaged in looking at aspects of their social formation - and especially on what is left out alongside what is sanctioned for inclusion. I explored this in part in Lexicography and the OED. Pioneers in the Untrodden Forest, and it forms a main theme in my book on the Oxford English Dictionary (Lost for Words. The Hidden History of the OED), which was published by Yale University Press early in 2005. In 2006 the Oxford History of the English Language, published by Oxford University Press finally reached completion; the paperback edition of this appeared in the autumn of 2008. As well as writing for a variety of other academic publications on subjects to do with the history of the spoken language and the history and reception of dictionaries (including Dictionaries; A Very Short Introduction to be published by OUP in 2010), I am continuing with research on a new book on language and the First World War, which again explores the links between social and linguistic change.
Recent Activities
- Recent Publications include:
Books:
- 2nd Edition of Talking Proper: The Rise of Accent as Social Symbol (2003), and the new revised paperback (2007)
- Revised (paperback) edn Lexicography and the OED: Pioneers in the Untrodden Forest (2002)
- Lost for Words. The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary (Yale University Press, 2005)
- The Oxford History of the English Language (ed.), (OUP, 2006) Paperback edn. Sept 2008.
Book Chapters:
- 'Prescribed conflicts, James Murray and the Writing of the OED' In K. Lentz and R. Mohlig, Of Diversity and Change of Language (Heidelberg, 2002)
- 'Sheridan in the Schoolroom'. In F. Austin and C. Stray (eds.). The Teaching of English in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Essays for Ian Michael on his 88th Birthday. (2003). pp.22-28.
- 'Proof and Process: The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary'. In Insights into Late Modern English eds. Charles Jones, Maurizio Gotti, Maria Dossena. (Peter Lang, 2003), pp. 107-130.
- 'Departures and Returns. Writing the English Dictionary in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries', The Victorians and the Eighteenth Century: Reassessing the Tradition eds. F. O'Gorman and K. Turner (Ashgate, London): pp.144-162.
- 'Politics and English Dictionaries'. Forthcoming in The Encyclopaedia of Literature and Politics (Greenwood Press) ed. M. Keith Booker.
- Articles on 'John Walker', 'Thomas Sheridan', 'Academies Laying Down a Standard through Their Dictionaries', in The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics 2nd edn. (Pergamon, 2006)
- ‘A History of the English Language?’. In L.C. Mugglestone (ed.), The Oxford History of English (OUP, 2006), pp.1-6.
- ‘English in the Nineteenth Century’. In L.C. Mugglestone (ed.), The Oxford History of English (OUP, 2006), pp.274-304.
- ‘Accent as Social Symbol’. In Changing English eds. D. Graddol. D/ Leith, J. Swann, M. Rhys, J. Gillen (London: Routledge, 2007), 153-78.
- 'The Indefinable Something'. Taboo and the English Dictionary', in Rude Britannia ed. M. Gorji (London: Routledge, 2007), 22-32.
- ‘The Rise of Received Pronunciation’. In M. Matto and H. Momma, Blackwell Companion to the History of the English Language. (Oxford: Blackwells, 2008), pp.243-50.
- ‘BBC English. In the Beginning’. In: Schwyter, Jürg Rainer; Maillat, Didier; Mair, Christian (eds). Broadcast English. Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik 33, G. Narr, Tübingen (2008), pp.197-215.
- ‘The Oxford English Dictionary; 1857-1928’. In A. Cowie (ed.), The Oxford History of Lexicography. 2 vols. (OUP, 2008)
- ‘‘Living History’: Andrew Clark, the OED and the Language of the First World War’. In I. Tieken Boon van Ostade and Wim van der Wurff (eds.), Current Issues in Late Modern English. Peter Lang. 2009: pp. 229-249.
- ‘Benjamin Smart and Michael Faraday; The Principles and Practice of Talking Proper in Nineteenth-Century England’. Forthcoming in M. Adams and A. Curzan (eds.) Contours of English and English Language Studies: In Honor of Richard W. Bailey. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- ‘Received Pronunciation’. Forthcoming in A. Bergs and L. Brinton (eds.), Historical Linguistics of English, Mouton de Gruyter (2009).
- ‘Representing English: Dictionaries in the Eighteenth Century’. Forthcoming in R. Hickey, Language in the Eighteenth Century: Ideology and Change. CUP, 2009.
- ‘“The Illusions of History”: Words in Time and the OED’. Forthcoming in G. Iamartino and M. Sturiale (eds) English Words in Motion Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher. (2009)
- ‘The Oxford English Dictionary’. Forthcoming in Die großen Lexika Europas (Great European Lexicons: European Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias) ed. U. Hass. Mouton de Gruyter.
Articles:
- 'Metrosexual and Other Blends'. The English Review. Vol.15 (2005), 28-30.
- 'Describing the English Language in the Oxford English Dictionary'. Forthcoming in Proceedings of the Queen's English Society.
- ‘‘Decent Reticence’: Coarseness, Contraception, and the First Edition of the OED.’. Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America Vol. 28 (2007) 1-22.
- ‘Samuel Johnson the Undergraduate’, Transactions of the Johnson Society (2008), 5-11.
- Other Activities:
- Convenor and Organiser of Textbook Colloquium, Pembroke College, September 2002.
- Language consultant on Victorian phonetics for production of Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde, Oxford Theatre Company, Old Fire Station, December 2003.
- Convenor of 'Celebrating Johnson 1755-2005', a three-day conference held at Pembroke College, Oxford, 26th-28th August 2005.
- President of Johnson Society of Lichfield, 2007-8
- Convenor of 'Johnson at Three Hundred', a tercentenary conference to be held at Pembroke in September 2009
- Recent papers and presentations include:
- Paper on Language and lexicography at the University of Sheffield (Nov 2003)
- Paper presented at the History and Philology Seminar, Oxford University, January 2004:
'Hidden Histories. Crafting the Oxford English Dictionary' - Paper 'Language and Literary Language', Oxford University English Faculty Open Day, March 2004.
- 'The Oxford English Dictionary - Histories and History'. Paper presented at the Oxford University Dept for Continuing Education/ Summer Programme in Literature 2004. Exeter College, July 2004.
- 'The Indefinable Something - Rude English and the Dictionary'. Day conference 'Incivility and English Identity, 1740 to the Present'. Faculty of English, University of Oxford. July 2004.
- 'Gardener's Question Time - for Language'. Cheltenham Literature Festival, October 2004. With Michael Rosen. To be broadcast as part of special edition of Word of Mouth, New Year's Day 2005.
- 'Describing Language; the Duties of the Lexicographer in the OED'. Paper presented at the Queen's English Society, Senate House, London, 23rd October 2004.
- Paper 'Is there a Literary Language?', Oxford University English Faculty Open Day, March 2005.
- 'The Hidden Histories of the English Dictionary', English UK conference, May 26th
2005. - 'Hidden Histories: Making the Oxford English Dictionary', Paper presented at the Oxford University Dept for Continuing Education/ Summer Programme in Literature 2005. Exeter College, Oxford, July 2005.
- 'Samuel Johnson and Pembroke College; The early History of a Lexicographer'. Paper presented at 'Celebrating Johnson's Dictionary 1755-2005', Aug 26th-28th 2005, Pembroke College, Oxford.
- Keynote speaker at ‘Broadcast English: Past, Present, and Future’, University of Lausanne June 14-16 2006. Paper presented: ‘‘In the Beginnings’: The Early BBC and its Attitudes to Language’
- ‘Redefining the English Dictionary: Samuel Johnson, James Murray, and the Oxford English Dictionary. Paper presented at the Oxford University Dept for Continuing Education/ Summer Programme in Literature 2006. Exeter College, Oxford, July 2006.
- ‘“Shining a farthing candle at Dover” – Samuel Johnson and Thomas Sheridan’. Paper presented at ‘Samuel Johnson and the Theatre’, Pembroke College, Oxford, 21-23rd June 2007.
- ‘The Inventory of English: The Oxford English Dictionary’. Oxford University Summer Programme in English Literature, July 2007.
- ‘Living History’—Andrew Clark, the OED, and the Language of the First World War’. Plenary lecture presented in Leiden, Sept 2007, at the Third Late Modern English Conference.
- Presidential Address, Johnson Society of Lichfield. ‘Johnson the Undergraduate’. September 2007.
- Invited speaker at ‘Researching the OED’. ‘The Inventory of English’. Day conference at Rewley House, 15 March 2008
- Invited speaker. ‘The Dictionary as Watch’, the Johnson Society of London, 12 April 2008
- Invited plenary speaker at ‘Words in Time’, an international conference on language and socio-cultural change, Sicily May 2008
- Chair at panel discussion (with Simon Winchester, John Simpson, Ammon Shea) at OED 80th Birthday Event, Oxford: Divinity School, 14th October 2008.
- Invited speaker at the Langwidge Sandwich seminar (‘Dictionaries, the OED, and the Illusions of History), University of Manchester 2008
- Invited speaker. Dialect Representation: policies, practices, problems. Sheffield, August 2009.
- Invited plenary speaker at ‘Patriotism and Prescriptivism’, an international conference on language and nation in Toronto, August 2009
- Broadcasting: Recent appearances include
- Omnibus, 'George Bernard Shaw and Pygmalion', BBC2, March 2001
- BBC Radio 4:
- Word of Mouth. 'Oxbridge Terms' with Michael Rosen, July 2001
- Pick of the Week Aug 2001
- Word of Mouth A presentation as invited speaker - with Michael Rosen - at Dartington Hall, Devon, July 2002
- A Word in Your Ear With Fiona Shaw. Discussions of Dickens and contexts of nineteenth-century language. 1st broadcast January-February 2003.
- Word of Mouth 8th September 2003.
- 'Educated Accents?'. Word of Mouth With Michael Rosen. October 2003.
- 'What's the Point?'. Word of Mouth With Michael Rosen. December 2003.
- 'The Language of Terror', Word of Mouth With Michael Rosen. September 2004.
- 'Gardeners' Question Time - for Language' - recorded at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, October 2004. To be broadcast New Year's Eve 2005.
- Consultant for 'This other England' - a project (Winner of the Peggy Ranway Award for 2001) involving 9 commissioned plays on the subject of language by writers including: Simon Armitage, Edna Walsh and Philip Ridley. 2002.
- Invited speaker at 'This other England' Seminar Day - January 2002, Aldwych Theatre, London
- The Adventure of English with Melvyn Bragg (broadcast Autumn 2003)
- 'Caring for Language'. BBC3. Screened Nov 2004.
- Radio Oxford/ Breakfast Show with Anne Diamond (on launch of Voices 2005); including 'Call My Bluff' in 'Anne Diamond's Dodgy Dictionary Game?'(!) 17th Jan 2005
- Radio London (with Vanessa Feltz); Call-in programme on Launch of Voices 2005 (17th Jan 2005)
- A range of Radio Oxford appearances in 2005, including Breakfast Show/ Business (discussion of the commercial disadvantages of an RP accent (March, 2005), Bill Heine show (discussion of taboo and changing parameters of linguistic acceptability, April 2005), slang and teen speak (July 2005) and celebrating the launch of the Oxford History of English (in July 2006); swearing and propriety (June, 2009).
- 'People and Politics'. BBC Radio 4. With Austin Mitchell MP. Discussion of Estuary English. July 2005.
- Word4Word. 'You Don't Want to talk Like That'. BBC Radio 4. 23rd August 2005.
- Samuel Johnson: The Dictionary Man. Documentary broadcast on BBC 4 July 2006.
- ‘The Verb’, BBC Radio 3 (live performance and broadcast in BBC theatre, Nov 29th 2007). Discussion of Talking Proper.
- ‘Night Waves’. BBC Radio 3. Review of first night of new production of Pygmalion (dir. Peter Hall), the Old Vic. 15th May 2008.
- Omnibus, 'George Bernard Shaw and Pygmalion', BBC2, March 2001
Relevant Links
- On Directory of Experts. (see Oxford University Online Media Guide, www.admin.ox.ac.uk/mediaguide