Thursday, June 24, 2010
Appalachian Dialect
Once upon a time, when I came to O.U. as an undergrad, I took a linguistics class. The prof. told me that the Appalachian use of phrases like "a-huntin'" and "a-runnin'" had disappeared generations ago. I explained to him that I was familiar with the phrases and that they were still in regular use. He pointed to the textbook's unquestionable passage on the matter. He, nor the other students in the class, would listen to me since the book said otherwise. It gives me pleasure today when I hear my students or other Appalachians use those phrases. I wonder if the students, mainly from Cleveland, were unwilling to listen to me, the Appalachian, about my dialect, because I was an Appalachian. Hmmm.
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Obviously, if it's in a book, it can't be wrong. Too bad we never read the book or we wouldn't have talked that way.
ReplyDeleteApparently he never went "a-swimmin" or "a-sleddin" either. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm from Mentor, Ohio. While I lived there for 23 years, I've spent the last 23 years in Athens. Anyway, around 10 years ago, my sister - who still lives in Mentor's neck of the woods - was teasing me. When I said that Mener had changed, she laughed at me and said I had really changed my accent. This was news to me.
ReplyDeleteI have been continuously inspired by the international students I have had the privilege of teaching. Many of my students were bi-lingual and tri-lingual. We embraced and celebrated the diversity in our classroom!
Clearly that professor needs to spend a little time in east Kentucky, or central W. Virginia... or southern Ohio.
ReplyDelete