Dictionary of American Regional English: Contrastive Maps, Index to Entry Labels, Questionnaire and Fieldwork Data

Fans of the long-running project to create the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) have much to cheer and to consider. To cheer: this sixth volume follows its predecessor after only one year, and the work as a whole won this year's Dartmouth Award for outstanding reference source. To consider: a digital version is slated for launch later this year by Harvard University Press, for which beta testers are currently being recruited. This volume is anchored by 1,600 contrastive maps and a regional index. Many, but not all, maps from volumes one through five have been included, and new ones have been produced, including social-contrast maps indicating factors such as age and education level. Examples include six traditional DARE maps for the base word "potluck"; these identify Indiana as using multiple other words, such as "dinner on the grounds." A social-contrast map indicates that older people in Indiana, but not many other states, still use the phrase "barn-raising." Want to learn other words that are likewise special to Indiana? The index section allows searching by state, region, and ethnic background, such as German words. Listings for cities are included with their states—New Orleans appears within Louisiana's list, for example. Naturally, many items are labeled with reference to the preceding volumes. Here the appeal of a digital version becomes clear; instead of obtaining a second printed volume and following the reference, the reader can simply click a mouse. The DARE project already offers some resources online at dare.wisc.edu, including indexing and basic searching, to be used with the printed resource. Together with Harvard UP, the project has established both a Twitter feed and Facebook page.