Program

Preservation and Access: Humanities Collections and Reference Resources

Period of Performance

7/1/2009 - 6/30/2010

Funding Totals (outright + matching)

$350,000.00 (approved)
$350,000.00 (awarded)


Dictionary of American Regional English [DARE]

FAIN: PW-50315-09

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI 53715-1218)
Joan H. Hall (Project Director: August 2008 to August 2013)

Lexicographical work to complete all entries of the "Dictionary of American Regional English" (DARE), which documents geographical differences in the vocabulary, pronunciation, and morphology of American English.

The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is a reference work describing regional and folk varieties of American English. Based on a large body of oral data collected in all fifty states between 1965 and 1970, it also draws on thousands of written and electronic sources covering the colonial period to the present time. A unique feature of DARE is its use of computer-generated maps to show distributions of regional terms. Volumes I (A to C), II (D to H), III (I to O), and IV (P to Sk), published by Harvard University Press in 1985, 1991, 1996, and 2002, respectively, have been highly acclaimed by scholars and public alike. Volume V (Sl to Z) will appear in 2010, with a supplementary volume of data and an electronic edition to follow. DARE's materials will remain available for scholars both in electronic form and through the maintenance of an archive of research and reference materials.



Media Coverage

DARE to Be Finished--Maybe Next Year (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Buss, Dale
Publication: Wall Street Journal
Date: 6/12/2010

The year that was: squelette, yarnbombing, and other vocabulary to remember 2009 (Media Coverage)
Author(s): McKean, Erin
Publication: Boston Globe
Date: 1/10/2010
URL: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/10/the_year_that_was/

Why Dane County is Dane County (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Moe, Doug
Publication: Wisconsin State Journal
Date: 1/6/2010
Abstract: The author recalls an interview with DARE founder Frederic G. Cassidy. He refers to Cassidy as "the engine driving the ambitious and acclaimed Dictionary of American Regional English".
URL: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/doug_moe/article_03bd06d6-fb1d-11de-8af5-001cc4c002e0.htmlhttp://

Regional eats: What's in a name? (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Pujol, Rolando
Publication: AM New York
Date: 2/2/2010
URL: http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/regional-eats-what-s-in-a-name-1.1738933http://

Planting the Strip Between Sidewalk and Street (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Tortorello, Michael
Publication: New York Times
Date: 5/26/2010
Abstract: Several DARE definitions are mentioned for the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the street--a problem area for gardeners.
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/garden/27garden.html

National following for local 'Words' (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Wilkens, John
Publication: SignOn San Diego
Date: 11/29/2009
Abstract: San Diego-based public radio show "A Way With Words" is featured. A color photo shows co-host Grant Barrett leaning on a stack of reference books that includes three volumes of DARE.
URL: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/29/national-following-local-words/

The Dictionary of American Regional English (Media Coverage)
Publication: Copyediting
Date: 7/29/2009
Abstract: A brief news item notes that DARE's website was recently updated.
URL: http://www.copyediting.com/dictionary-american-regional-english

Dream Senses, New York Minute (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Alice, Matthew
Publication: San Diego Reader
Date: 7/8/2009
Abstract: DARE is referenced in a discussion of the origin of the phrase "in a New York minute".
URL: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/08/dream-senses-new-york-minute/

Getting it right (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Barrett, Grant
Publication: Star Online (All Malaysia ed.)
Date: 11/4/2009
Abstract: Cites the DARE entry for "sorry" as authority for stating that there are two main pronunciations of the word in the United States.
URL: http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2009/11/4/lifefocus/5027719&sec=lifefocus

Hatfields and McCoys got nothing on Cokes and Pepsis (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Crump, Steve
Publication: Times-News (Twin Falls ID)
Date: 9/9/2009
URL: http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_f9ba8583-6242-5b96-aed1-87cac42066a6.html

Logophilia runs in the family (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Salter, Cathy
Publication: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
Date: 8/3/2009
Abstract: The writer calls DARE a "dictionary filled with quotations and illustrating the richness and diversity of America's spoken and written culture."
URL: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/aug/03/logophilia-runs-in-the-family

Say What? (Media Coverage)
Publication: AirTran Magazine
Date: 10/1/2009
Abstract: A U.S. map is featured, along with DARE definitions for several regional phrases. The article encourages travelers to "brush up on regional lingo before you touch down".
URL: http://www.airtranmagazine.com/features/2009/say-what

Remembering the Madisonians who 'got away' in 2009 (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Moe, Doug
Publication: Wisconsin State Journal
Date: 12/30/2009
Abstract: Moe mentions that his favorite piece in the New York Times' "The Lives They Lived " series was one published in 2000, reporting the death of DARE founder Frederic G. Cassidy.
URL: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/doug_moe



Associated Products

The Dictionary of American Regional English (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Dictionary of American Regional English
Abstract: General lecture on DARE.
Author: Hall, Joan Houston
Date: 04/29/2010
Location: Carthage College, Kenosha WI

American English Dialects are Alive and Well (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: American English Dialects are Alive and Well
Abstract: The editor of DARE explains that regional English has not been as homogenized as some people think.
Author: Hall, Joan Houston
Date: 04/20/2010
Location: The Caxton Club, Chicago IL