ABSTRACT
JAMES BUCHANAN was an eighteenth-century schoolmaster, grammarian, and maker of pronouncing dictionaries who played an important part in the contemporary movement to "fix" the English language. The significance of this movement is recognized in several recent books.1 The latter half of the century was more prolific than the earlier half. The third quarter in particular, the period of Buchanan's activity, produced many significant works, among which are Harris's Hermes, Johnson's Dictionary, Priestley's Rudiments, Lowth's Grammar, Kames's Elements, Sheridan's Elocution, A. Campbell's anonymous Lexiphanes, Baker's Reflections, Kenrick's Dictionary, Buchanan's Essay, to name but a few of the books which illustrate pioneer tendencies.
