Readers in eitheenth-century English grammars

Abstract

In the present study I will examine how audience was represented in the title pages and prefaces of twenty-five teaching grammars of English. This group of grammar books advocated for a wide audience by covering both schooling and private instruction. An analysis of the discourse of the title pages and prefaces in these English grammars, both of them paratextual elements (Genette 1997), has revealed relevant and fruitful, since these elements present the main text to the reader, thus influencing on its reception. The paratext of eighteenth-century English grammars still remains relatively unexplored, so the research on the prefatory material of these books reported on this study is timely and will aid to shed light on the intended readership of these books.