Speech on “Appalachian Culture: Mountain Dialects”
Our supervising teacher, my classmates, Ladies, and Gentlemen-GREETINGS!
One significant point about culture is the language that individuals speak. Dialects, to be precise, are instrumental in ensuring a clear understanding of the phonetical potential of any given language. Dialects establish an abstract system of a language by breaking its automatisms, which is the effort to comprehend the difference in any community. For this, the Appalachian Mountain Dialects is essential for my speech.
Featured by unique accents, vocabulary, and syntax, with originality spicing, the Appalachian dialects have for the most extended period served as an emblem of Kentucky mountain’s natives. It is one that has been perceived to inspire contradictory, fanciful, and far-stretched views about the region, the communities, and their culture. Outsiders have and continue to remain fascinated by the Appalachian speakers’ linguistic dexterity, their story-telling skills, and archaic phrasing of words. Currently, the world knows the Appalachians as surviving speakers of the Elizabethan English, despite some people scorning them as backward users of substandard English, which originates from their isolation from the mainstream. An example comprises Cramer (205) arguing “…These words included the following: confusing, weird, ridiculous, odd, far-fetched, nonsense/nonsensical, subjective ….”
No way-Factors such as geography, history, and any other subject lack adequate evidence to the complex roles of English in influencing the life and history of Appalachia and its communities. Despite mountain speech maintaining the most distinctive regional variations in the United States, Appalachia still holds a record of having the most spectrum dialects. According to research, the Appalachian speech has mixed ancestry and mirrors microcosm of American English.
Many features associated with the Appalachian grammar are located elsewhere-mostly in the Deep South, despite them occurring with greater frequency in the mountains. An example comprises ‘a’ as a prefix on verb present participles. The same applies to possessive pronouns that have the suffix n, both of which originated from England. Anderson (3) states “… writing on the low back vowel merger in Kentucky (2007), notes the spread of the merger of /ɑ/ and /ɔ/ in just one generation, despite the prevalence of the Southern back upglide in earlier generations …”
Emigrants from Ulster also introduced others; such pronunciation includes all to indicate inclusion and pronouns hit to show ‘it.’ The Appalachian dialects also comprise pronunciations representing more recent developments but are shared with the Deep South. These include prolonging and splitting vowels into two syllables. Examples include red as re-uhd/ray-uhd, which is known as the “Southern drawl.”
The mountain dialects have either retained or developed some sense of words that individuals may not hear elsewhere in the United States that may influence miscommunication. A good example is a case of perceiving the mountain people as being backwards and shy speakers. The Appalachian dialects have a soft tone, which is the hard-to-hear structure of language for many strangers that visit the area, depending on the context of a statement. For example, ‘clever’ may mean ‘hospitable’ while ‘ill’ may represent ‘bad-tempered’ among the mountain communities.
Several social factors influence individual speech among the Appalachian dialects. Among them include the formality connected to given situations, education levels, and the respective ages. Less-educated speakers have a high affinity of using speech considered typically Appalachian. Some pronunciation features are employed at all educational levels among the communities. An example includes the peoples’ modification of “long I” in a word such as Time. Subregion within Appalachia has also ensured varying vocabulary. Currently, the people have been experiencing the development of mainstream terms which have been displacing the older and rural counterparts.
The changes in the pronunciation of terms bring speakers into a contract with factors such as formal education and national norms, which influences them, mostly younger ones, to shift between different English varieties and styles according to contexts and situations. However, they can also influence self-consciousness/defensiveness associated between one’s “Native English” and ones “school learned English,” which pits the value of family and place against those of the larger society. In turn, this will emphasize social mobility. Since there is pressure for the rural Appalachians to conform to local norms, individuals’ education level may not robustly impact their way of speaking English.
To conclude my speech, I reiterate that no region, community, or individual is homogenous in speech, to be precise. One has to understand that change and variation are universal and natural. The Appalachia dialects are shaped differently depending on different places. Examples include contact with nearby lowlands, by migration into new areas, and by cultural experiences that the local Appalachians come into contact within their new settings. For this, I wrap my speech with an appreciation to everyone.
Outline of the Speech
- Introduction
- Greeting the congregation of students and supervising teachers.
- Introducing cultural importance from the speaking aspects of individuals.
- Introducing dialects as providing a clear understanding of a language and abstract system of a language.
- Thesis- Focusing on the Appalachian Dialects as a component of the culture of the Kentucky People.
- Body
- The Kentucky Mountains and its People-Accents, Vocabulary, and Syntax
- Unique accents, vocabulary, and syntax serving as an emblem of the Appalachians.
- Language considered contradictory, fanciful, and far-stretching perceptions about the mountains, culture, and its people.
- The dexterity, story-telling skills, and archaic word phrasing amaze outsiders.
- The Appalachians known to be speaking Elizabethan English despite other outsiders calling them backwards.
- Roles of English and History of Appalachia
- Lack of adequate evidence from history and geography on the relationship between complex roles of English and the Appalachia communities.
- The Appalachians have the most spectrum dialects than any other region in the United States.
- Appalachian speech comprises mixed ancestry and mirrors American English microcosm.
- Most features of the Appalachian dialects acquire their origin from the Deep South.
- Emigrants and Pronunciation of Words
- Ulster Emigrants introduced other terms despite some influences from the Deep South.
- Example- all to indicate inclusion and pronouns hit to show ‘it
- Also- red as re-uhd/ray-uhd, which is known as the “Southern drawl.”
- Changes of Language among the Appalachian Dialects
- Some either experience retention or developed new words compared to other parts of the United States.
- For example, ‘clever’ may mean ‘hospitable’ while ‘ill’ may represent ‘bad-tempered’ among the mountain communities.
- Factors such as situations, education levels, and the influence of the respective age speech.
- Changes in terms pronunciation only emphasize social mobility but do not affect how people speak.
- Conclusion
- Lack of homogeneity among communities, individuals, and regions, to be precise.
- Change and variations are natural and universal.
- Places affect Appalachian dialects differently.
- Concluding Remarks
- Thanking everyone for listening and ending the speech.
Work Cited
Anderson, Bridget L., et al. “Needed research on the Englishes of Appalachia.” Southern Journal of Linguistics, vol. 30, no. 1, 2014, 1.
Cramer, Jennifer. “Is Shakespeare still in the holler? The death of a language myth.” Southern Journal of Linguistics, vol. 38, no.1, 2014, 195.