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 Appalachian English 
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So during class I was having a hard time coming up with examples of how my family and I talk (sometimes), which is probably due to the fact that most people rarely pay attention to how they talk. After I class I called my mammaw and pappaw to talk to them to try to "code switch." I also googled the dialect and found some sites with some great examples and some rather complex linguistic jargon.

I found several examples of things that I say quite a lot:

isn't gets pronounced like idn't
"Is you?"
"They was there"
words like wash pick up an "R" after the "a"
feel becomes fill
running becomes a-runnin'
words like yonder, plumb, dang
dropping the "-ly" off the end of some adverbs
and of course "ain't"

From what I know of my family's genealogy and the history of the region, it was no surprise to find out that most characteristics of this dialect are from old Victorian English and Gaelic. The isolation of the Appalachians preserved bits and pieces of these old dialects and languages.

Here are some pretty cool links:
[url]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_English[/url]
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/dictionary/index.html
http://www.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/dialect/features.htm


Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:05 pm
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Just like Justin, I say all of those things as well. Like I said in class I also say:

"done did it"
"fixin to do it"
I use -te instead of -ight like Crystal said in class

I never realized how often I did this until I came to college and most of the people around me were using standard English. I also grew up around my older family members and they say things like:
"cheer" for chair
and poke for brown paper bag

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Angela Nicole Sain


Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:43 pm
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I'm so bad about the a- prefixing and the "fixin to" or "about to" do something. I'll even say "I'm a-fixing to fix supper," haha! Anyways, some more examples I can think of:

-Adding a 'c' to words that begin with 'h' (Out chere instead of out here.)
-Several meanings of 'allow' like think or expect (I allow..or I 'low...I'll see him tomorrow or I allow she'll be here soon)
-Double negatives (I ain't got no fork)
-Did You = Joo (Joo go to the store? Or, a step further, Jeat = did you eat?)
-Multiple modals (We maybe should/might should leave soon. He should can be able to go. They ought to can write by now.)
-Insertion of 'right' (She's right pretty. He's right smart.)
-Lots of expressions like Ah/Eh law! (Oh well, can you believe it, is that so...depends on how you say it), Tee-totally, Directly (I'll be over directly), Druther (I druther have candy than ice cream), Great day (or Great day alive...both are expressions of disbelief), Liketa (almost..He liketa hit my car)

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Natalie Brady


Last edited by Natalie Brady on Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.



Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:55 pm
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I am familiar with most of the words/changes that everyone has mentioned so far but I also want to add a few:

the switching of seen and saw "I have saw" or "I seen"
recken "I recken" means i suppose
the pronunciation of oil is more like "ol" or "erl"
words like "will" can be more like we-ul and become 2 syllables
also words like "yonder" and/or "yender" "its over yonder" or "its a yonder ways away"
my nana uses words like "you-uns" for ya'll and "half pint" for a small child

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Katherine Stover


Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:57 am
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I talk the same way. I will never forget my freshman year here when someone told me I sounded like Forrest Gump when I talked. My feelings were so hurt because I thought they were implying that I sounded stupid like he does but they said I just talk so country. A few words that me and my family say is...

-my Pawpaw called the radio-rouzer (i dont know how to spell that)
-cut the lights on
-im fixin to do something
-im done with something when it should be im finished
-when i cant think of someone's name I call them Doo flotchey (again i dont know how to spell that haha)
-one time i said it was pourin down rain and someone gave me the funniest look


Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:23 pm
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Haha yeah. I've grown up in a small town where everybody talks so country that you don't notice it until you're around people that aren't. When I came to college, and especially since I lived in White (pronounced hhhwhyite) I got a lot of comments. It's hard to change how you pronounce words, and given, I haven't really consciously tried, when that's all you've known for 18+ years. When I was little and helping my Dad do something, he'd always ask me if I was finished by saying "How much do ya like?" That confused me for about 10 years. Apparently, he wondered what I lacked being done. Who knew. Also, tire is said like "tar". It’s nice to know that I'm not alone in code switching.

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Crystal Brooke Ritchie


Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:35 pm
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