Appalachian English

E11006

Appalachian English is a distinctive regional dialect of American English spoken in the Appalachian Mountains, known for its unique pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammatical features.

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Statements (67)

Predicate Object
instanceOf dialect
regional dialect
variety of American English
country United States of America
hasFeature /l/ vocalization in some subvarieties
/r/ retention in all positions
conservative phonological features compared to mainstream American English
consonant cluster reduction
distinctive grammar
distinctive intonation patterns
distinctive local vocabulary for flora and fauna
distinctive local vocabulary for kinship and social relations
distinctive local vocabulary for traditional crafts and occupations
distinctive pronunciation
distinctive vocabulary
influence from Midland American English
influence from Scots-Irish English
influence from Southern American English
influence from Ulster English
irregular past tense leveling
lexical archaisms preserved from Early Modern English
lexical items of British English origin
lexical items of Native American origin
lexical items of Scots-Irish origin
monophthongization of /aɪ/
multiple negation
nonstandard subject-verb agreement in some contexts
rhotic pronunciation
use of "a-" prefix in progressive aspect (e.g., a-goin')
use of "ain't" as a general negator
use of "anymore" in positive polarity contexts in some areas
use of "done" as an auxiliary
use of "done" to mark completive aspect
use of "fixin' to" to mark immediate future
use of "liketa" meaning "almost"
use of "might could" and similar double modals
use of "never" as a past tense negator (e.g., I never did)
use of "right" as an intensifier (e.g., right cold)
use of "seen" as a simple past form
use of "them" as a demonstrative (e.g., them apples)
use of "was" leveling (e.g., we was, they was)
use of "yonder" as a deictic term
use of "you all" and "y'all" as second person plural pronoun
use of "you'uns" or "yinz" in some northern areas
use of a-prefixing on -ing verbs
use of double modals
use of existential "it" and "they"
use of nonstandard past participles (e.g., drug for dragged)
hasPerception often stereotyped in popular media
recognized by linguists as systematic and rule-governed
sometimes stigmatized as nonstandard
hasVariation local subdialects within different parts of Appalachia
languageFamily English language
languageOf oral tradition in Appalachia
regional folk music in Appalachia
regional storytelling in Appalachia
region Appalachia
spokenIn Appalachian Mountains
Appalachia
surface form: Central Appalachia

Appalachia
surface form: Northern Appalachia

Appalachia
surface form: Southern Appalachia

United States of America
surface form: United States
studiedBy dialectologists
sociolinguists
usedBy rural speakers in Appalachia
urban speakers in Appalachian cities
writingSystem Latin script

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Upper South dominantDialect Appalachian English
Southern American English hasSubvariety Appalachian English
American English hasVariant Appalachian English
Walt Wolfram researchInterest Appalachian English