The Language of Appalachia

Imagine my surprise when I went to Jamaica a few years ago and learned that I do, indeed, have an accent. You see, unlike my paternal grandmother, I don't stretch the word "cornbread" into four syllables. She might say, "Here. Have ye some co-orn-bray-ed;" whereas I might say, "You want some corn-bread?" See? Two syllables on the cornbread; "you" rather than "ye."

Unlike my maternal grandmother, I say "carrion" rather than "kyarn." In fact, I had no idea what she was talking about until recently when I mentioned the word to my husband. I told him, "Grandmother used to say, 'That stinks like kyarn.' I never figured out what 'kyarn' was." He said, "Road kill." My jaw dropped. "You mean, carrion? Kyarn is carrion?" "Yeah," he said. "Put the Appalachian accent to it." It made sense.

Unlike my mother-in-law, I say "they fought," not "they fit."

Thus, I concluded that I have no accent. After all, I'm fairly well educated. I studied French for three years, and I did some self-study of German and Greek. Plus, I'm well read, and I've authored several books. Ain't I the berries? I couldn't possibly have a hillbilly, Appalachian accent. And, yet, in Jamaica, everyone I met asked, "What part of the South are you from?"

So, I did a little research and learned that the Appalachian region has its own language. Linguists call it "Appalachian English." The Scots-Irish settled the entire region known as Appalachia (all of West Virginia and portions of Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia) in the mid-1700's. At the time, physical boundaries kept modernization out. Then in the 1940's, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created; and that brought tourists to the area. By the 1950's, highways and telephones were more prevalent throughout Appalachia, bringing the modern world another step closer to its rural inhabitants.

Now, I don't want you to think we in Appalachia are a bunch of snobs. We realize that the same immigrants who settled here settled land elsewhere, but the linguists tell us that our speech patterns will not be found in any other dialect to the extent that they are in Appalachia. In addition, we Appalachians use variants of our own speech patterns. Just because I don't use the same words as my grandmothers doesn't mean that I don't have an Appalachian accent. In fact, the linguists say that each region has its own speech patterns and that most of us allow our situations to govern our speech. For example, when I'm talking with my family, I'm liable to let down my guard a little-use a bit more Appalachian English and a bit less Standard American English. In a more formal situation, I'll try to employ a lot less Appalachian English. Even though I know from personal experience that most Appalachians are not "dumb hillbillies," I'm afraid that others might see me that way if I use the language I naturally use. And yet, some phonological differences are so inbred, that I can't not use them.

Did you know that the t at the end of slept is not silent? You might say, "I slept in this morning." I would say, "I slep in." To me, that "t" just doesn't feel right. It reminds me of an episode of "All in The Family" where Edith met a Jewish baker and he called her "Edit." She told him, "My name's Edith! Th!" So then he called her "Edit-th." To me, "slep-t" would be every bit as awkward.

Do you say "exactly" or "exackly"? And how about ten? I've actually heard people say "ten" with a short e sound-like in the word "bed." How weird is that? Tin and ten are words with the "exack" same sound but different meanings.

The linguists also point out some lexical differences in Appalachian English. For example, the Standard American English word might be faucet, but the Appalachian English version would be spigot. If somebody looks sick, we might say, "he's peaked" (that's peek-ed). Did you hurt your finger? Then we might say you "stoved it up." I once knew a man who substituted "for" for "because." He'd say, "I need to go to the store, for I'm out of milk." My brother would substitute the entire remainder of our family with the word "nim." He'd ask me, "Did Mama and nim go to the store?" Some people say "knowed" rather than "knew." We're famous for our double negatives. "I don't have none of that." Our present perfect tense has raised some eyebrows, too. "He's done done it now!"

This little foray into my Appalachian heritage has given me new insight. We might chop off some of our "-ings"; we might "reckon" rather than "guess" sometimes; and we might have places with such outlandish names as "Lick Skillet," "Frog Holler" and "Sugar Loaf," but we have a rich history. We know where we came from and, for the most part, where we're going. And if anyone thinks we're a bunch of ignorant hillbillies, then you ought to come and get to know us a little better. If you stay long enough, we might be able to teach you how to talk right.

Gayle Trent's latest book is a comedic mystery titled BETWEEN A CLUTCH AND A HARD PLACE. Find out more about the book at Gayle's Web Page.

Newsweek

Movie Review - Brolin's brings fresh humor to third 'Men in Black' StarNewsOnline.com But there's no urgency to this, no insistence to the humor. Sonnenfeld's whiplash-quick “Addams Family” and “Men in Black” movies were sprints compared to this ambling follow-up. We find out the secret behind supermodels (they're all aliens) and Andy ... What Is Will Smith's Best Performance?Cinema Blend Review: 'MIB3'San Antonio Express “MIB3:” The Men in Black are back!Easy Reader Orlando Attractions Magazine (blog) all 677 news articles »

World Peace retains sense of humor Las Vegas Review-Journal Dramatic endings usually play well in Los Angeles. But this is not a movie, and there was no last-second shot from superhero Kobe Bryant to save the season. The Lakers have been dumped from the NBA playoffs, left to panic and ponder another premature ... and more »

Graveyard Humor in Belgrade CounterPunch Wei Zhang assesses the social and health costs of China's incredible GDP growth. by DIANA JOHNSTONE Since graveyard humor is a Serbian specialty, it seems appropriate that Serbs just played a little joke on everybody by electing a former undertaker as ... and more »

Slain West Bloomfield teen remembered with humor, tears Detroit Free Press Pallbearers bring the casket of slain teen Jonathan Hoffman out from the Ira Kaufman Chapel in Southfield after his funeral Tuesday. / REGINA H. BOONE/DETROIT FREE PRESS By Tammy Stables Battaglia Mourners hug after the funeral. and more »

New York Times

Caustic Comedian in Italy Fosters a Movement Against Traditional Politics New York Times It is through a deft mixture of mordant humor, righteous anger and grass-roots organization that Mr. Grillo's movement is proving to others that it is no joke. Committed to changing Italy's entrenched political system by offering an Internet-driven, ... and more »

Humor Me: When cancer became an afterthought Lake County Record-Bee by Kevin N. Hume Until Saturday, I had almost forgotten my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer just about four years ago. I was covering the Relay for Life event at Clear Lake High School. I had never been to the event before. As I walked around, ... and more »

Museum's artist in residence colors still life with wry humor Evansville Courier & Press His paintings use classical still-life objects, including fruit, shellfish and eating utensils, but in quirky, humorous scenarios in which apples and oranges represent soldiers and acrobats and balloon dogs are animated personalities.

Comedian uses humor to heal depression PCC Courier By Mary Nurrenbern Brian Wetzel speaks to students about his experience as a comedian and depression at the Craveling Lounge in Pasadena City College in Pasadena,Calif. on Monday, May 21,2012. Comedian Brian Wetzel had the audience in stitches as he ...

Review: 'February House' is a fresh, humorous musical about 1940s commune with ... Washington Post The true story of this early 1940s international literary commune has been beautifully fictionalized for the stage in a fresh, humorous musical tapestry called “February House.” The imaginative, beguiling production that opened Tuesday night ...

Introducing Humor to an Expensive Fight Over Cigarettes ABC News (blog) “I support big tobacco because they killed my wife. And that's one less mouth to feed.” That's a line from a new parody commercial set to be shown during the “Dancing With the Stars” finale tonight, put together by advocates in California who are ... and more »