The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)
is
a reference tool unlike any other. Its aim is not to prescribe how
Americans
should speak, or even to describe the language we use generally, the
"standard"
language. Instead, it seeks to document the varieties of English that
are
not
found everywhere in the United States--those words, pronunciations, and
phrases that vary from one region to another, that we learn at home
rather
than at school, or that are part of our oral rather than our written
culture.
Although American English is remarkably homogeneous considering the
tremendous
size of the country, there are still many thousands of differences that
characterize the various dialect regions of the United States. It is
these
differences that DARE records. Volume I, including
extensive
introductory matter and the letters A-C, was published in 1985 to the
acclaim
of scholarly and lay reviewers alike (it had gone into a fifth printing
within a year of publication). Volume II (D-H) came out in 1991, Volume
III (I-O) in 1996, and Volume IV (P-Sk) in
2002.
Volume V, containing the remainder of the alphabet, is presently
scheduled for publication in 2009. This will be followed by a
volume containing the bibliography, maps, responses to the questions in
our questionnaire, etc.
Depending on where you live, your conversation may include such beguiling terms as si-fog (Arkansas), pirok (Alaska), or pestle-tail (North Carolina); if you're invited to a potluck dinner, in Indiana you're likely to call it a pitch-in, while in northern Illinois it's a scramble; if you have a scrap or small piece of something, it's a scrid in New England, but in the South and South Midland it's a scrimption; if your youngsters play hopscotch, they may call it potsy in Manhattan, but sky blue in Chicago.
Like the popular first three volumes of DARE, the fourth is a treasure-trove of linguistic gems, a book that invites exclamation, delight, and wonder. More than sixty-five hundred entries pinpoint where you might live if your favorite card games are schafskopf or sixty-three; if you eat plate pie or potato bargain; if you drive down a pent road or run into a pogonip; or if you see a scaper or a scrunt.
The language of our everyday lives is captured in DARE, along with expressions our grandparents used but our children will never know. Based on thousands of interviews across the country, the Dictionary of American Regional English presents our language in its infinite variety. Word lovers will delight in the wit and wisdom found in the quotations that illustrate each entry, and will prize the richness and diversity of our spoken and written culture.
To purchase DARE, go to Purchase
DARE.
Please direct inquiries about this page to Luanne von Schneidemesser, who welcomes comments, questions, and suggestions.
University
of Wisconsin-Madison