Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)
The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE, 1985-2013, Harvard University Press) documents the language of the American people, recording the words, phrases and pronunciations that vary from one part of the country to another. Internationally regarded as the authority on American English, DARE has proved valuable not only to linguists, teachers, writers, historians and librarians, but also to lawyers, physicians, forensic linguists and dialect coaches. The digital edition (www.daredictionary.com) has made DARE even more widely useful. The project also has a substantial collection of audio recordings from across the U.S. made between 1965 and 1970, which are available here: https://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/AmerLangs/.
Outcomes
DARE received the 2013 Dartmouth Medal for outstanding reference work, granted by the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association. DARE is held by more than 2,500 libraries, including 70 in Wisconsin and 23 in foreign countries. It is included in the libraries of the Pentagon, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Senate, U.S. Supreme Court, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project is frequently mentioned by language columnists, bringing kudos to UW–Madison. The Fall 2013 issue of the journal American Speech was dedicated to articles about DARE.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
George H Goebel
Chief Editor
- Department/Unit
- English
- School or College
- College of Letters & Science
Project Sites ( 1 total )
- {{ site.site_name }} ({{ site.city.city_name }})
- {{ site.site_name }} ({{ site.city.city_name }})