Posted on 09/04/2015 10:29:23 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
In the idyllic setting of Warren Wilson College, many feel close to Appalachian roots.
But according to a study, some students in the South feel alienated from college because of how they speak.
"They are continuously stereotyped and seen as not being intelligent because of the way that they're speaking," says Julie Shepherd-Powell, a cultural anthropologist who teaches Appalachian studies.
North Carolina State University researchers did an in-depth study of how rural Appalachian dialect can impact the college experience. They concluded that sometimes the result is a language barrier.
"So, a lot of students, as the study indicates, do not feel [comfortable] speaking up in class or [giving] oral presentations or are made fun of," Shepherd-Powell explains. "Luckily, in my classes at Warren Wilson I have not experienced that."
Some feel they must adjust to classroom environments and make dialect harder to detect.
"I think accents are very dynamic," says student Mollie Donihe of Roanoke, Virginia. "If I'm in certain situations, such as an academic setting, I've taught myself to speak with a more standard English dialect."
Fellow student Lyn May of West Virginia says what we say should be far more important than how we say it.
"It's connecting with people on a human level," May says. "Not trying to put everyone on the same standard."
Shepherd-Powell hopes the research leads to a bigger lesson.
"Just because you speak with a dialect it does not mean you are not intelligent and it doesn't pertain to your education level," she stresses.
She encourages students to embrace diversity and respect every voice, because without that respect students like Donihe feel they have to hide part of who they are.
"It reminds me that it is not acceptable," she says. "My accent is being noticed over the content of what I'm saying."
That dog don’t hunt.
The kidz should grow up watching and hearing more of that Grade C rap.....
I remember meeting a guy years ago with a VERY strong southern accent.
I asked him “Where are you from?”
He said “Cleveland.”
I said “Wow. I didn’t think people talked like that in Cleveland!”
And he said “I’m from Cleveland, Tennesseee, damnit!”
Outlaw it like the confederate flag.
Shows how stellar Bill Clinton was.
1030 SAT score, southern dialect, still became POTUS.
Southern and ebonics sound pretty much the same to me
For a while there in the early 70s Cleveland, Ohio had a modest influx of “Appalachian-Americans.” They fit right in.
I was unable to persuade a selection group to accept a candidate who had done some brilliant work on pyroxenes for his PhD for a mineralogist position. The reason the committee declined his application was his Southern accent.
They should not feel alienated—they should be proud!
But a Brooklyn accent is pure genius! Or Bostonian.
U mean. That 0bama has less?
I had that happen in southern Va. decades ago. Some rebels in the restaurant sounded ‘xactly like northern ghetto speech inn their use of phonemes.
I often interact with people from Savannah River and Oak Ridge (those are two national DOE science labs, located in South Carolina and Tennessee, respectively).
It is to your peril and embarrassment if you think a Southern accent means that someone is uneducated.
I had a DI from Maine. It took a while before we understood anything in drill.
I was on a search committee that rejected a guy because of his Southern accent.
The California surfer dude that was hired turned out to be a slick-talking, dishonest train wreck.
the Entertainment INDUSTRY....is at the root of this.
Tv and Movies....used a recognizable style of speech....as a “gag” several decades ago.....and it stuck in the “minds” of many.
That is the biggest bunch of drivel I have ever heard. Everybody in the South has an accent. Its not a problem unless you are not from around here. :-)
The selection committee finally decided on a candidate, and by the time they had, he had accepted another position. The position went unfilled for a year.
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