Posted on 03/12/2010 6:19:58 AM PST by jay1949
The unenlightened assume that Appalachian accents and usages are a “hillbilly” corruption of the flatlands Southern drawl. This is not so; the accents and usages of the Backcountry developed contemporaneously with the versions of English spoken in the other areas of European settlement. The society and culture of the Backcountry were dominated by the large numbers of Scotch-Irish immigrants, blended with the influence of German, Dutch, Welsh, Scottish, and yeoman English settlers. Appalachian speech developed from the versions of English introduced by these settlers, independently of the development of the Southern drawl and the Yankee accent of New England. The traditional speech and vocabulary of the Backcountry is not a "corrupt" dialect. It is in certain respects more true to its roots than other versions of American English.
(Excerpt) Read more at backcountrynotes.com ...
He might have meant the Scots-Irish and Lowland Scots....I read it several years ago.
Scots and Scots-Irish are what most of my people are. In fact, my family name is a misspelling (people weren’t all that literate back then, shall we say) of one of the oldest clans in Scotland, said by some historians to be a fusion of Dalraidan settlers from the 6-7th centuries and the native Picts.
Thank ye kindly!
Thanks, Jay, Fascinating subject!
I have often wondered where the Scots-Irish dialect came from as I was raised with it. I believe the author of the book on the battle of King’s Mountain (can’t recall his name right now) commented that they all spoke an unusual dialect when he was a child, I suppose meaning something like Lowland Scots (Lallands). this would have been in the late 1700’s.
Certainly different from the ‘Cavalier’ accent from the non-hills south.
My guess has long been that the pronouciation of ‘i’ and ‘u’ as ‘oi’ is a coastal dialect. One finds that along the southern coasts from New Orleans to Delaware. old-timers in New Orleans both black and white say ‘choich’ for church and ‘nois’ for ‘nurse’, just as you mentioned regarding the SC coastal accent.
As for the dark hair and blue eyes, I have found two mentions of that. One is in a study from the 1900s(also can’t recall who, I am out of reach of my library shelves right now)in the British Isles that found the greatest number of dark-haired, blue-eyed people were to be found in the south-eastern areas of ireland and the south-western areas of Wales, Cornwall.
I believe it was Stephen Oppenheimer quoting an early study.
Also a mention from another author, something to the effect that the people of south-eastern France were typically black-haired, blue-eyed people.
I have several relatives with that coloring, it’s quite startling.
But the origins of the hills dialect still eludes me. It certainly is different from the northeastern. You caan hear people in England even now that sound similar to northeasterners. But the speech patterns of, say, KY, TN, NC and hills SC is distinct.
I would be very sorry if America were to lose that pattern but it seems to be going that way.
My 88 year old mother stills says “Going outdoors” for meaning the bathroom. She has had indoor plumbing for as long as I can remember. I have to explain some of her speech to my 16 year old. He just laughs.
Genetic studies on Melungeon ancestry are well along.
They show overwhelming European ancestry, with a significant amount of African input. But the Native American contribution is extremely small -- a finding that of course is going to disappoint a lot of Melungeon descendants.
On the other hand, a significant amount of "Mediterranean" DNA has been found among some Melungeon families, which lends credence to the old claims by 19th century Melungeons that they were "Portugee."
For a pretty good reference, see:
Thanks for the link — interesting article.
My nearly 96 year old grandmother, born and raised in Southern WV has some good ‘uns in her vocabulary.
Thank you...
This is a very interesting article.
When we were living in the Upper Eastern Shore of Maryland, our church bought land to build a new church building just over the Delaware line. It was expected to be a straight forward project to build the church ( about a year).
Ah!...What we didn’t know was the foundation of the building sat right on the line where the Piedmont ridge began. Half the foundation would be on the firm granite of the Piedmont Ridge and the other half would be on the softer alluvial land that formed the Eastern Shore. BIG problem!
Five years later we finally opened the doors on our new church.
Thanks for posting this. I’d always wondered about the origins of different dialects. Texan here, with roots all over the south.
Bump!
This is a very interesting post. I recommend it.
lol
Sadly, today the only celebrated colloquial language is that of urban blacks.
You and me both, brother.
Many thanks.
PS — Good rule: Don’t mess with Texas!
Ironically, there is an historical link between the culture and lingo of urban blacks and the culture and lingo of deep south rednecks. The paths have diverged since the migration post WWII, but the linkage is there.
For example: if you want to see men drinking beer sitting on a cloth upholstered sofa on the front porch in the city, where do you go? If you want to see men drinking beer sitting on a cloth upholstered sofa on the front porch in the Southern Piedmont, where do you go?
hm? The porch?
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