Dictionary of American Regional English
The Dictionary of Regional English (DARE) is a multi-volume reference work that documents words, phrases, and pronunciations that vary from one place to another across the United States. DARE is based on face-to-face interviews carried out in all 50 states between 1965 and 1970 and on a comprehensive collection of written materials (diaries, letters, novels, newspapers, histories, biographies, government documents, etc.) that cover our history from the colonial period to the present. The entries in DARE include regional pronunciations, variant forms, some etymologies, and regional and social distributions of the words and phrases.
Below is a list of in-print works in this collection, presented in series order or publication order as applicable.
Sort by title, author, format, publication date, or price » | Dictionary of American Regional English The digital Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), offers powerful searching and interactive browsing by region, quotations with a complete bibliography, and maps illustrating where words were collected. The addition of DARE Survey data and audio recordings provides a dynamic resource for understanding the nature of words and their usage. | |
| 1. |  | Dictionary of American Regional English: Volume I: A–C Capturing the language spoken on America’s main streets and country roads—words and phrases passed along in homes and communities across the map—this series is built on an unprecedented, nation-wide survey of spoken English and bolstered by extensive historical research. DARE preserves the language with all its idioms and peculiarities. |
| 2. |  | Dictionary of American Regional English: Volume II: D–H Like its popular predecessor, Volume II of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is a treasury of vernacular Americanisms. The more than 11,000 entries contained in Volume II—from the poetic and humorous to the witty and downright bawdy—will delight and inform readers. |
| 3. |  | Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume III: I-O Built upon an unprecedented survey of spoken English across America and bolstered by extensive historical research, the Dictionary of American Regional English preserves a language that lives and dies as we breathe. It will amuse and inform, delight and instruct, and keep alive the speech that we have made our own, and that has made us who we are. |
| 4. |  | Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume IV: P-Sk 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 six hundred maps pinpoint where you might live if your favorite card games are sheepshead and skat; if you eat pan dulce rather than pain perdu. The language of our everyday lives is captured in DARE, along with expressions our grandparents used but our children will never know. |
| 5. |  | Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume V: Sl-Z DARE readers now have the full panoply of American regional vocabulary, from Adam’s housecat to Zydeco. Volume V is filled with words reflecting our origins, migrations, ethnicities, and neighborhoods. Whether we talk about foods, games, clothing, family, animals, or any other aspect of life, our vocabulary reveals much about who we are. |
| 6. |  | This companion volume to DARE enhances readers’ use of the five volumes of text. It includes all the regional maps, an index to entries, and more than 400 fieldwork questions and the speakers’ answers. Like its predecessors, Volume VI is a treasure trove of American linguistic creativity. |
Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
I Tatti Renaissance Library
Loeb Classical Library
Murty Classical Library of India