The Dictionary of American Regional English
A Linguistic Collection Documenting the Living Language of the U.S.
Apr 25, 2009
American English, according to the website of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), is "remarkably homogeneous considering the tremendous size of the country." Still there are innumerable differences that characterize the various regions, localities, and their dialects. It is these differences that this unique resource tool strives to record.
The four volume tome (with a fifth on the way) is a compilation of regional words, phrases, idioms, and their pronunciations and usage, from all over the United States.
The Origins of the Dictionary of American Regional English
The words in The Dictionary of American Regional English were collected during thousands of face-to-face interviews in over a thousand communities representing all fifty states in the nation during a five year period in the late 1960s. The project was helmed by the late University of Wisconsin English Professor Frederick G. Cassidy.
To annotate and illustrate word usage, a comprehensive collection of written materials was accessed as well, including diaries, letters, novels, histories, biographies, newspapers, and government documents.
According to current editor Joan Houston Hall, who has worked on the project since 1975, DARE is a historical dictionary in which the researchers seek to find the earliest known use of each word entered, similar to the way the Oxford English Dictionary is researched and organized. If the word in question is still in use, current quotations are included as well. The reference collection includes maps to show where specific words or phrases are used.
Volume I was published by Harvard University Press in 1985 to much scholarly acclaim and went into multiple printings. It contains extensive introductory matter and the letters A-C. Volume II (D-H) was published in 1991, Volume III (I-O) in 1996, and Volume IV (P-Sk) in 2002. Volume V (through the end of the alphabet) is scheduled for publication in fall of 2010.
The project is sponsored by the American Dialect Society and supported financially by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, private foundations, and individual contributions.
Who Uses this Regional English Language Dictionary?
According to the DARE website, this reference tool is used by teachers, researchers, librarians, historians, playwrights, and linguists, as well as everyday word lovers. But others have found the massive dictionary useful as well: dialect coaches, police investigators, journalists, and even doctors. A Wisconsin State Journal story reported that a forensic linguist used the DARE reference materials when he was profiling the Unabomber based on his writings.
The dictionary is used world-wide. In a recent email interview, Ms. Hall reported that the reference tool is widely used in Canada, but also in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, among other countries.
DARE Focuses on American English Language Study
The Dictionary of American Regional English seeks to illustrate the richness and diversity of the American linguistic culture. It represents the language of everyday American lives "along with expressions our grandparents used but our children will never know," according to the DARE website.
As an example, individuals living in Pennsylvania might say their troublesome washing machine "went kerflooey." While in parts of Kansas, Michigan, or Wisconsin, they might say it "went kaflooey." In West Virginia, they might say it "has gone kerplunk." In Indiana it's possible it "went kaflop" and in Alabama or Tennesse it may have "gone kafloonk."
Some people in Wisconsin (especially those of German heritage) might refer to a storage closet as "rumpelkammer." And in parts of the Midwest women's underwear might be called "skimpies. "
Plans for the Future of this Unique Linguistic Reference Tool
New words are always cropping up in the English language. Ms. Hall said that there has not been systematic one-on-one interviewing done since the initial fieldwork ended in 1970. "Although it would be very useful to do it, there is no nationwide effort planned to update the fieldwork. It would just be too expensive," she said. However, the project includes large files of new words and phrases, "both for things we included in early volumes and those we missed."
There are plans to launch an online edition of the dictionary after the final print volume has been published. At that point the DARE focus will turn to updating earlier entries and adding new ones.
How to Access the Dictionary of American Regional English
The Dictionary of American Regional English can be purchased in major bookstores or online at Amazon.com or the Harvard University Press website. The individual volumes can also be accessed through most public libraries. Volume V is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2010.
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