Let’s Read: A Linguistic Approach

About the Authors, Back Cover

About the Authors Leonard Bloomfield (1887–1949) was a professor at the universities of Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, and Chicago. He was Sterling Professor of Linguistics at Yale at the time of his death in 1949. Among his many significant writings, three stand out as basic to modern linguistic science: “A Set of Postulates for the Science of Language” (Language II.3, 1926); Language (New York, 1933); and “Linguistic Aspects of Science” (International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, I.4, Chicago, 1939). Clarence Barnhart (1900–1993) is best known as the editor of the Thorndike-Barnhart school dictionaries (Chicago, 1952–1971) and of the World Book Dictionary (New York, 1963). During his career, he introduced many important innovations now common to most dictionaries, including the simplified pronunciation key, a single alphabetic entry list, and placement of common meaning first. Consistent monitoring of English usage and reliance on an active editorial advisory committee assured the authority of Barnhart dictionaries. Robert K. Barnhart (1933–2007) was a dictionary maker who combined his knowledge of language and vocabulary with considerable gifts for storytelling, which he put to good use in creating reading passages for Let’s Read. In addition to the 1976 edition of the World Book Dictionary, his most important dictionaries were the Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (1988, now titled The Chambers Dictionary of Etymology) and the First, Second, and Third Barnhart Dictionary of New English (1973, 1980, 1990).| 501 502 | about the authors Cynthia A. Barnhart is also a dictionary maker with a special interest in new words and usages. She has been involved with Let’s Read since its initial publication and was the first Barnhart family member to teach a child to read, working from the manuscript of Let’s Read. ...