A Critical Study of John Camden Hotten and the Slang Dictionary
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&M Repository A CRITICAL STUDY OF JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN AND THE SLANG DICTIONARY A Dissertation by DRAGANA DJORDJEVIC Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2010 Major Subject: English A CRITICAL STUDY OF JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN AND THE SLANG DICTIONARY A Dissertation by DRAGANA DJORDJEVIC Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, J. Lawrence Mitchell Committee Members, C. Jan Swearingen Jennifer Wollock Rodney C. Hill Head of Department, M. Jimmie Killingsworth May 2010 Major Subject: English iii ABSTRACT A Critical Study of John Camden Hotten and The Slang Dictionary. (May 2010) Dragana Djordjevic, B.A., University of Belgrade; M.A., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. J. Lawrence Mitchell Many lexicographers found some words unsuitable for inclusion in their dictionaries, thus the examination of general purpose dictionaries alone will not give us a faithful history of changes of the language. Nevertheless, by taking into account cant and slang dictionaries, the origins and history of such marginalized language can be truly examined. Despite people‘s natural fascination with these works, the early slang dictionaries have received relatively little scholarly attention, the later ones even less. This dissertation is written to honor those lexicographers who succeeded in a truthful documentation of nonstandard language. One of these disreputable lexicographers who found joy in an unending search for new and better ways of treating abstruse vocabulary was John Camden Hotten. This study investigates the importance of Hotten‘s Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words in the evolution of dictionary making. I analyze how many editions exist, the popularity of the 1864 edition, and differences between this and preceding editions, suggesting the inexorable growth of Hotten as a compiler. A short history of British cant and slang lexicography is provided and questions concerning the inclusion and exclusion of obsolete words and who makes such decisions are answered. Key iv terms such as slang and cant are defined and discussed briefly within the context of recent, relevant scholarship. The conclusions drawn from this research are laid out in extensive annotations embedded in the lexical items of a critical edition demonstrating once again that Hotten‘s compilation was extremely important in the evolution of dictionary making. That Hotten‘s work was accepted as authoritative is evidenced by the number of allusions and borrowings from it as seen in the work of later lexicographers: Barrère and Leland draw extensively upon it in A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant, 2 vols. (1889-90) as do Farmer and Henley in Slang and Its Analogues, 7 vols. (1890-1904), and Eric Partridge in A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (1937). Hotten‘s work seems to have been very influential in the preservation of words as well. A vast number of slang words that are cited in Hotten‘s dictionaries were used for a long time among the common people; in fact, the popular literature of the nineteenth century, particularly historical fiction, draws upon this vocabulary, and may well prove to be specifically indebted to Hotten‘s work. Thackeray‘s Vanity Fair and Joyce‘s Ulysses are full of slang expressions; Conan Doyle shows himself familiar with the terminology of pugilism in Rodney Stone, as does George Bernard Shaw in Cashel Byron's Profession. This dissertation places John Camden Hotten as a writer/publisher/compiler and his work within contemporaneous scholarly argument, and, contrary to popular opinion, acknowledges the publisher‘s significant contributions to the development of Victorian literature and late nineteenth- and twentieth-century lexicography. v DEDICATION In Memory of John Camden Hotten vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Jennifer Wollock, Dr. Jan Swearingen, and Dr. Rodney Hill, for their support throughout the course of this research. A special thanks goes out to my committee chair, Dr. J. Lawrence Mitchell, for offering his knowledge, guidance and encouragement when I needed it most. This dissertation owes more to his patience and diligence than words can tell. Thanks also go to my colleagues and the department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. I also want to extend my gratitude to all of my friends who offered their knowledge of English slang and helped me write this dissertation, especially Dr. Rochelle Bradley who worked tirelessly at polishing my work. Finally, thanks to my parents for teaching me the importance of education and to my husband Nikola for his continuous support, encouragement, patience, and love. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II: HOTTEN‘S CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERARY WORLD ..... 6 Victorian Publishing Practices ........................................................ 6 International Law ............................................................................ 9 Hotten as an Author ........................................................................ 14 Hotten as a Publisher ...................................................................... 16 In Hotten‘s Defense ........................................................................ 40 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER III: A STUDY AND OVERVIEW OF SLANG DICTIONARIES........ 53 A Short History of Slang and Cant Dictionaries from the Beginning to 1859 ........................................................................... 54 Arguments Concerning Slang in Nineteenth-Century England ...... 59 Hotten as a Lexicographer: Different Uses of Slang in the Nineteenth Century ......................................................................... 67 Present Status of the Question ........................................................ 75 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 80 viii Page CHAPTER IV: HOTTEN‘S CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEXICOGRAPHY .......................................................................... 81 Survey of the Research ................................................................... 81 Research Question I: A Comparative Analysis of the Three Editions ........................................................................................... 83 Introduction ..................................................................... 83 Methodology ................................................................... 88 Analysis and Results ....................................................... 91 Conclusion ...................................................................... 105 Research Question II: Hotten‘s Sources ......................................... 106 Dictionary Sources .......................................................... 107 Literary Sources .............................................................. 118 Field Research ................................................................. 122 Conclusion ...................................................................... 126 CHAPTER V: SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS ..................................................... 127 A Critical Study of The Slang Dictionary (1864) ........................... 127 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................ 134 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 140 APPENDIX B …… ................................................................................................... 181 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................ 190 VITA .......................................................................................................................... 195 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Percentage of the Total Number of Entries ........................................ 89 Table 2 Increase in Entries through Three Editions Compiled by Hotten ...... 90 Table 3 Number of Entries under Chosen Letters........................................... 108 Table 4 Percentage of B.E.‘s Entries Used in Hotten Considering the Total Number of Entries in the 3rd Edition ............. 109 Table 5 Percentage of Grose‘s Entries Used in Hotten‘s 3rd Edition .............. 112 Table 6 Percentage of Vaux‘s Entries Used in Hotten Considering the Total Number of Entries