An international master key to the languages of trade: PH.A. Nemnich’s universal European dictionary of merchandise

The aim of this paper is to bring to the forefront the English adaptation of Nemnich’s Waaren-Lexicon in Zwölf Sprachen (1797), a polyglot dictionary of names of goods in twelve languages published in England as a Universal European Dictionary of Merchandise in 1799. The work had the practical purpose of allowing the merchant to “find at one view all the languages in which he is concerned”. To provide merchants with all the possible names available for an article of merchandise the compiler also included non-standard forms and regional varieties. Nemnich moreover requested the help of his audience to assist him in correcting and enriching the dictionary; still, “applying economy” in its compilation. The study thus investigates the dictionary, its contents and the way in which it has been adapted for English users.