Wednesday, September 4, 2019

How to speak Appalachian

A fascinating little video on Appalachian English, which briefly features the late Popcorn Sutton, a celebrated moonshiner (he's the skinny little fellow at the beginning with a long gray beard and a fedora, thank you very much). I can really relate to the opinion expressed by one woman, who lived in Washington, DC for four and half years, and then moved back home: "I'd just as soon be in hell with my back broke as live 'err [sic]".




8 comments:

Deborah said...

I love languages. This reminds me of the Pennsylvania Dutch phrases that my Mom's family used, such as "put out the lights", or "red the table".

Mike_W said...

Great stuff :)

bruce said...

Yeah it's great. I thought "It's like we're singing, not talking" is a good observation.

bruce said...

Here are some Scots Irish from the other side of the Atlantic:
https://youtu.be/rHVeNvBetwY

It all 'resonates' as they say.

RebeccaH said...

I heard a lot of that language when I was growing up in Texas because so many Appalachians moved west after the Civil War, my grandparents and great-grandparents among them.

bruce said...

As a local heritage historian I think what you said there is important RebeccaH. Mass movements of people like that always are. I know about the Folkways studies, I hope they include that.

Deborah said...

The story of the iconic Festus Haggin character from Gunsmoke was that he was among the "hill people" who moved to Texas. The writers and the expert portrayal by Ken Curtis made Festus a beloved character.

Spiny Norman said...

Some Appalachian words made it out as far as Kansas, like "plumb" and "gaum". My grandfather's family used those.