This article examines the significance of literary quotations in the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). DARE employs a diverse range of sources, including literary works, to illustrate the richness and complexity of American regional English. Although concerns exist regarding the authenticity of literary dialect, the author argues that such quotations offer valuable insights into extended discourse, cultural context, and language attitudes. The inclusion of literary quotations in DARE is guided by the author’s “personal sympathy” for regional speech and the reader’s “unusual interest” in its representation. By featuring quotations from regionally iconic authors, DARE strengthens the connection between regional lexis, culture, and identity. Through this approach to lexicography, DARE functions as an instrument of dialect enregisterment, prompting readers to engage more deeply with regional language varieties and cultivate a heightened awareness of their own linguistic identities.
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Research Article|
February 01 2025
DARE, Literature, and Enregistered Regional Identities
Michael Adams
Indiana University Bloomington
MICHAEL ADAMS is provost professor of English and adjunct professor of linguistics at Indiana University Bloomington. a past president of the American Dialect Society, and formerly editor of this journal. He is most recently editor of a critical/historical edition of Problems in Lexicography, edited by Fred W. Householder and Sol Saporta: (Indiana Univ. Press, 2022) and editor, with Edward Finegan, of The Cambridge Handbook of the Dictionary (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2024). Email: [email protected].
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American Speech (2025) 100 (1): 42–73.
Citation
Michael Adams; DARE, Literature, and Enregistered Regional Identities. American Speech 1 February 2025; 100 (1): 42–73. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-9116240
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