Appalachian English
Appalachian English is a regional dialect of American English. Similar to Southern American English, Appalachian English nevertheless has many uniquely distinctive features. One cannot properly understand Appalachian English without understanding the culture of its native region, but that is not within the scope of this article.
Appalachia Appalachia refers to the region of the Appalachian Mountains. Portions of the mountain range are found in the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The only state which lies entirely within the boundaries of the Appalachian mountains is West Virginia. The residents of this last state have largely shaped the core of the regional dialect.
Characteristics Much of the syntactical variation of Appalachian English is derived from the Scots-Irish dialect. This is due to the fact that many of the settlers of this region were of that ancestry. Some of the linguistic features of Appalachian English include alteration to the pronunciation of extant English words, such as wash, which is pronounced as [warsh], [crick] = creek, and the word hollow, as it refers to a valley or landform depression is pronounced "holler". The word hills sounds, to speakers of standard English, like "heels". Words and phrases which are linguistically distinct in standard English are commonly compounded. For example, "Did you eat yet?" is pronounced as, "Jeet yet?", "Would have", "Could have", "Should have" are pronounced as "Woulda", "Coulda", and "Shoulda" respectively. Grammatical variation which would otherwise be considered improper is standard in Appalachian English. The construction, "Me and him" is common, as is, "Is you?" (Or "You is?"), or "You was?" instead of, "You are?", or "You were?" Many operators which are uncommon in standard English are widespread within the Appalachian dialect. The word "done" is used in an alternative manner, for emphasis, as in, "I already done went to the store". The word "kin" is commonly used, to indicate familial relationships. The word used in Appalachian English to refer to the act or condition of conjecture is "reckon", as opposed to the words 'guess' or 'figure' in standard English. Speaking of which, the word 'figure' in Appalachian English is pronounced as "figger". A shopping cart is a "buggy", a frying pan is a "skillet". In Northern Appalachia, the word "pop" is substituted for the more common "soda", while in southern Appalachia, the whole class of beverages is commonly referred to as "Coke", reflecting that product's long association with the region. The use of the contraction ain't, in place of "are not" or "am not" is not considered incorrect. Grammatically, Appalachian English has many distinguishing features. Many irregular past tenses of English words are "improperly" regulated in Appalachian English. These include, drank, gave, and knew, which become "drinked", "gived", and "knowed" respectively. The word 'ran' is also altered, but rather than transmogrifying into "runned", the common usage is "run", as in, "I done run down th' store already". This is also the equivalent case for the standard English 'went'. The inflection of various verbs may not agree with the plurality, or lack thereof, of the subject. For example, "They was down on the street" as opposed to, "They were down on the street." The double negative, a taboo within the confines of standard English, is commonplace in Appalachian English. "He hasn't done anything!" becomes, "He ain't done nothing!". "I will not go to that funeral", becomes "I won't be goin' to no funeral." The terms for the phrase, "you all" vary, from, "y'all" in the southern regions to "y'ins" in the northern regions. The latter is also a feature of the Pittsburgh, PA dialect, which is influenced in part by the dialect of Appalachia. To the ears of non-Appalachian English speakers, the dialect shares many phonological features with the dialect of the deep South. Both dialects broaden the vowels, and both feature similar rhythym. Also, both dialects have contributed to the devlopment of African-American Vernacular English, with particular respect to the grammar and syntax, as well as the basal pronunciation. However, Appalachian English is a much more localized and specific set of dialectical behaviors. Its peculiarities have a true reciprocity with its people and their culture.
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