American Regional English Dictionary Going Online

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Nearly 50 years ago University of Wisconsin students and researchers set out in “word wagons” to record the different ways people across America talked.

Now, they’re doing it again.

But this time around work to update the Dictionary of American Regional English will be done in front of computers, reading online survey results.

The dictionary has more than 60,000 entries exposing variances in the words, phrases, pronunciations, and pieces of grammar and syntax used throughout the country.

The first of five print volumes came out in 1985 with the final one released last year.

The new online surveys designed to track changes over the past 50 years went live on Monday and will be open for people to fill out for the next six to nine months.