"First, a bit of history to enable you, the reader, to better understand the jargon/dialect of the people of Appalachia: those wonderful, Majestic Appalachian Mountain people!
Most importantly: prounouncing the word "Appalachian" - it is "app" - "uh" - "latch" - "in" (not "App - uh - lay - shin)
Until the 1960s, when the Interstate highway system really made travel in and out of the mountains easy, the Majestic Appalachian Mountain jargon/dialect had been fairly well preserved since the 1700s. Linguists noted that there were words and forms of speech found there that were very closely related to Elizabethan English forms, and that did not exist anywhere else in the world.
Probably the one aspect of the Majestic Appalachian Mountain Culture that is misunderstood the most is the way the people of Appalachia talk. They still speak in the purest form of "Virgin English." Their dialect developed as a result of the merging of four British dialects when America was in it's infancy.
Not long after the first settlers landed at Plymouth Rock, it didn't take long for the east coast to become overcrowded and the migration westward began. Europeans began flocking to the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains were rugged and hard to cross. During this crossing many people found that the mountains were abundant with wildlife and the valleys were rich in minerals and were perfect for farming. They decided to end their travels, stay and build their homes.
The relative isolation of the mountains insured a quality of life in the people of the Majestic Appalachian Mountains reminiscent of their earlier way of life. Life in the wilderness and the continuing isolation have made the Appalachian people different from most other Americans. The Appalachian value system that influences attitudes and behavior is different from the national norm. The more important values of the Appalachian Mountain people are religion, family solidarity, individualism, self reliance, pride, love of place, modesty, being oneself, sense of beauty, sense of humor, neighborliness and patriotism. The Appalachian Mountain people have learned to combine the wisdom of the old ways of living with the technologies of the new.
Even with the modern day Interstates traversing the Appalachian Mountains, life is still slow to change; the laid-back and slow way the people of the Appalachia still speak is testament to this. By studying the dialect in different regions of Appalachians, one can find subtle differences in the pronunciation of words and phrases.
Even the meanings of some words and phrases will vary from region to region. The dialect is rhotic and characterized by distinct phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. It is mostly oral but can also be found in some writings. Author John A. Blankenship has some interesting reading about the Appalachian dialect.
The original settlers, the English speakers, that settled the area came mostly from West Anglia, the Scottish Lowlands, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland via Northern Ireland in the middle 18th and early 19th centuries, and their speech forms the basis of the dialect. Along with German immigrants, these groups populated an area which is still largely homogeneous culturally. Like many regional dialects it is used most often or most characteristically in discussing cuisine, in storytelling, or when discussing native industries (i.e., coal mining, forestry: logging). The characteristic syntax and morphology of Appalachian English gives way to more standard forms in schools, public speaking venues, and courts of law, but the phonology is likely to remain the same. The Appalachia language is considered Shakesperian from the days of Queen Elizabeth I.
For this author, the most distinctive feature of the Appalachian dialect is often the double, even triple negatives, the very flat vowels, the odd words and colorful phrases, such as:
* Adorable: "cuter than two speckled puppies"
* Something not straight: "crooked as a dog's hind leg"
* Soda in a can: "dope" - I've heard the elderly use this one: "sody-dope." I personally use the generic word "Coke."
* One who has difficulty an ins truction: "couldn't pour piss out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel."
* Reference to either 'up' or 'down' the road: "over the road."
* I haven't seen you in a long time: "haven't seen you in a coon's age" (referring to a raccoon, not as a racial slur)
* Everyone: whereas in the deep south one hears "y'all," the common Appalachia term is "you-un's."
* A long way - a Distance: a "fur piece."
* Did you eat yet? "jeat?"
* Hot "fire" will burn: "far"
* How far away was the fire? "How fur was the far?
* Children: "chillin"
* Young Children: "yung-uns"
* "You:" The person that I'm specifically talking to: "chu"
* What are you doing? "whachu doin?"
* Pretty: "purty"
* Potato: "tater"
* A person without any clothes on: "nekid"
* A tire on a vehicle: "tar"
* To be sleepy: "tard"
* If you were the youngest of five children: You were "the least" of five "kids." (They really do mean children, not 'kids' as in baby goats!)
* A person who lives "locally"or in the neighborhood is someone "from around these parts."
* You checked books out from your local "liberry."
* If you picked a "mess" of beans, you had enough for a meal.
* Children are told to, "go out and pick me a pound and half of beans" and they would know exactly how much to pick!
* Or if one is going to the garden to pick some beans and gather some turnip greens they would say, "I'm fixin to head down thearin to pick me some pole beans and creasy greens."
* Stay a "spell" means to stay and visit awhile.
* A stocking cap as a "toboggan."
* "Yonder" is to designate some place "over there."
* A mite means a little bit of something.
* "His people" and "her people" were relatives.
* One's family is "our people" or "their people."
* Being in the midst of an issue, controversy or conversation or to be right on target is to be "smack dab" in the middle.
* Daylight savings time is "fast time."
* One does not drink a can of soda. They drink a can of "pop."
* If someone was not telling the truth: "There goes Pete Brown tellin' another one."
* Or if a child was one to easily cry: "There goes Lizzy Jones goin' to cry another river."
* A pregnant woman is a woman who "Is in the family way."
* When one is going fishing at the creek it is said, "I'm goen fishen down the crick."
* To "eyeball" something is to measure a given distance with one's eye.
* And listen to the "or" as a substitute for "a" - I have to WORSH some clothes.
* And listen to the adding a "c" to words that begin with "h" - "Out CHERE in the woods."
* She got pregnant: "She got KNOCKED UP."
* To "eyeball" an area: To give an approximate measurement to a given area simply by looking at it.
[I have] travelled the world over and has lived in many countries, currently maintaining a summer home in the Majestic Appalachian Mountains. When one is in an "English speaking" environment, psychologically, one expects to understand what they are hearing. However, such was not the case in my early days of living amongst the people of the Appalachia. I felt I had literally stepped off of a plane, into a country, where everyone spoke a language, totally foreign to my own ears. I had little or no understanding of what the people of the Appalachia were saying! When I first went to the Appalachian Mountains I opened a Thrift Shop. During that first, extremely cold winter many customers came in asking if we had any "toboggans." Not having any SNOW SLEDS in the store, the customers were told "no, toboggans." All the while I did not understand why our massive shipment of "knitted stocking caps/hats" were not selling!
I felt so blessed to find a wonderful church! The Pastor was from the Appalachians however he had spent a significant number of years "outside the mountains." Though his sermons were sprinkled with words that were 'foreign' to me, it was nothing like his Assistant! All feelings of being 'blessed' totally diminished when the Assistant was asked to bring the Message of the Hour! Seemingly every 12th word or phrase the Assistant spoke was either one that was "foreign" to my ears or was spoken with such a heavy accent that I did not understand what was being spoken! I found myself mentally 'stuck," laboring over the understanding of what I'd just heard.
The speaker says, "Back in those days I thought I knew it all - I was going to set the woods on far!"
Me: I'd learned "far" was "fire" - so why would he commit ARSON?
The speaker says, "We got a Johnny Cracker for a penny."
Me: What is a Johnny Cracker?
Meanwhile, the speaker had continued speaking. I'd momentarily set aside that word/phrase and attempt to focus on what was currently being spoken. Within two or three words, I'd find myself once again "stuck" on another "foreign" word or phrase. This "mental gymnastic" continued through the whole sermon! The feelings of frustration were beyond description! Why didn't I sit in the back of the church so I could just slip out and go home without being noticed??!!
As in all of my foreign travels, I was determined to conquer the language. Today, I still have some Appalachia language barrier challenges. However, they aren't accompanied with the deep frustrations that they used to be and they all are the ingredients for wonderful humerous conversations. And few laugh harder than the Pastor's Assistant!
Rather than think of the people of Appalachia's jargon or dialect as some kind of curse or sign of stupidity they should be looked at as a distinct cultural trait and embrace it as a proud, unique and special preservation of the past.
A visit to the Majestic Appalachan Mountains and conversation with the people of the Appalachia will indeed prove to be memories that you will cherish a lifetime!"
Article Source: http://appalachian-treasures.com/Jargon.html
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