[Hawthorn]

Very sad to report that the fine old Appalachian dialect is disappearing very fast.

I recently spent the night in soutwestern Virginia. A visit to the local Walmart Supercenter gave ample evidence that most natives above the age of about 25 still speak in the dulcet tones of the classic mountain twang.

But the teenaged waitresses at IHOP and Cracker Barrel all sound like Britney Spears.

So I predict that in 50 years, almost everybody in Appalachia will be speaking the “Valley
Girl” dialect.

Ugh!

[jay1949]

Right on point, H. Television will eventually kill off most of our regional dialects. The next generation, like, will all go, like, like, youknow. All the more reason to voice-record dialectical speakers while we can. Not just in Appalachia -- DownEast Maine also, for example (I love the DownEast accent!)