The digital version of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is one of the newest additions to the library's research resources. 

DARE is a rich resource of information for linguists, lexicographers, and wordsmiths. The dictionary catalogues and maps words and phrases from regional dialects all over the country, providing example quotations from interviews with dialect speakers (sometimes with accompanying audio recordings). 

The DARE features several words that will be familiar to any long-time resident of Dutch West Michigan. 

In the entry for hutspot (defined as "a dish of potatoes and other vegetables, usually simmered with meat"), you'll find references to the dish being made in Holland, MI. 

In the entry for banket (a rolled pastry filled with almond paste), one interviewee states, "The original Dutch is banket letters, almond filling in puff pastry baked in the shape of your initial for your birthday. . . The Polish bakers on the West Side of Grand Rapids make banket and do not know it is Dutch."

Some of these West Michigan-based interviews most likely came from the fieldwork of one of Calvin's very own, the late Professor Vande Kopple. 

Explore these close-to-home words and many many more with the new online DARE!