American Dialect Society facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
American Dialect Society

Organization logo
Motto	"dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it."
Formation	1889; 136 years ago (1889)
Type	Not for profit
Purpose	"The American Dialect Society is organized in the interest of the academic community and not for profit. Its object is the study of the English language in North America, together with other languages or dialects of other languages influencing it or influenced by it."
Location	United States
Region served	North America
Membership	550
Official language	English
President	Luanne Vonne Schneidemesser
Vice President for Communications and Technology	Grant Barrett
Executive Secretary	Allan Metcalf
Parent organization	American Council of Learned Societies (admitted 1962)
Website	http://www.americandialect.org/

The American Dialect Society (ADS) is a group of experts who study the English language in North America. They also look at other languages that have affected English, or that English has affected. This group was started way back in 1889.

Their main goal has always been to understand how English is spoken in the United States and Canada. Over time, they expanded this to include other languages and their different forms, called dialects. The Society publishes an academic magazine called American Speech.

History of the Society

The American Dialect Society was created to help make a huge dictionary of American dialects. This big project took almost a hundred years to finish! It resulted in the famous Dictionary of American Regional English.

In 1889, a linguist named Joseph Wright was working on a dictionary for English dialects. At the same time, a group of American language experts decided to start the ADS. They wanted to create a similar dictionary for the United States.

Members of the Society started gathering information. Much of this was printed in their early magazine, Dialect Notes. But it wasn't until 1963 that real progress was made on the dictionary. That's when Frederic G. Cassidy became the main editor. The first part of the Dictionary of American Regional English came out in 1985. Another important project of the Society is the Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada. This atlas maps out how language is used in different places.

Who Can Join the ADS?

The American Dialect Society has a few hundred active members. These members are language experts who help the field grow. People who join the Society include:

• Linguists (people who study language)
• Lexicographers (people who write dictionaries)
• Etymologists (people who study where words come from)
• Writers, authors, and editors
• Professors and university students
• Independent scholars

The Society also has an online mailing list. Here, members discuss topics mainly about American English. They also talk about other interesting language issues.

The Word of the Year

Since 1991, the American Dialect Society has chosen a "word of the year". This is a word or phrase that was important or popular during that year. Some people say the ADS was the first group to start this "word of the year" tradition. However, a German group, the "Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache," has been doing it since 1977.

The ADS also picks special words for longer periods:

• Word of the 1990s: web
• Word of the 20th Century: jazz
• Word of the Past Millennium: she
• Word of the Decade (2000-2009): google (used as a verb, like "to google something")
• Word of the Decade (2010-2019): they (used as a singular pronoun)

The Society also chooses words in other fun categories. These categories change each year. Examples include "most original" or "most unnecessary" words. They also pick the "most likely to succeed" word. Many words chosen by the ADS also appear on the lists of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year.

List of Words of the Year