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A push to restore pride in the way Appalachians speak - The Washington Post
West Virginia University linguist Kirk Hazen is among a wave of scholars seeking to put to rest “Beverly Hillbillies”-style myths and stigmas about Appalachia.
Three books in the past year and a fourth to be published soon challenge these century-old stereotypes by noting, among other points, that Appalachian residents speak a variety of Englishes — and not a single monolithic dialect — and that scorn for the region’s speech is often based on outdated notions of how they talk.
snip
In southwest Virginia, English professor Amy D. Clark has held summer workshops for 15 years to help rural teachers teach students to write effectively without shaming them about their speech. The same message runs through teaching units on dialect for schoolchildren in North Carolina and West Virginia.
“You’re trying to get across the idea that all language varieties are legitimate. There’s not one that’s somehow damaged and then others that are just fine,” Hazen said.
snip
Despite Hazen’s research, many outsiders still have negative impressions about mountain accents, sometimes based on outdated speech features. It can take decades for perceptions to change.
The interview questions turn to how outsiders react to Smyth and Culicerto’s accents.
“I think they look at me and they’re like: ‘Oh my gosh, she lives way back in the holler ... and is so redneck!’” said Smyth, who’s 17.
Increasingly, educators are seeking improve students’ confidence and test scores with novel ways of teaching grammar.
Now when, you bring up blacks and "ebonics" there was this huge cry about people not learning properly and lowering the bar. but but but NOW, ......This must be liberals fault!
West Virginia University linguist Kirk Hazen is among a wave of scholars seeking to put to rest “Beverly Hillbillies”-style myths and stigmas about Appalachia.
Three books in the past year and a fourth to be published soon challenge these century-old stereotypes by noting, among other points, that Appalachian residents speak a variety of Englishes — and not a single monolithic dialect — and that scorn for the region’s speech is often based on outdated notions of how they talk.
snip
In southwest Virginia, English professor Amy D. Clark has held summer workshops for 15 years to help rural teachers teach students to write effectively without shaming them about their speech. The same message runs through teaching units on dialect for schoolchildren in North Carolina and West Virginia.
“You’re trying to get across the idea that all language varieties are legitimate. There’s not one that’s somehow damaged and then others that are just fine,” Hazen said.
snip
Despite Hazen’s research, many outsiders still have negative impressions about mountain accents, sometimes based on outdated speech features. It can take decades for perceptions to change.
The interview questions turn to how outsiders react to Smyth and Culicerto’s accents.
“I think they look at me and they’re like: ‘Oh my gosh, she lives way back in the holler ... and is so redneck!’” said Smyth, who’s 17.
Increasingly, educators are seeking improve students’ confidence and test scores with novel ways of teaching grammar.
Now when, you bring up blacks and "ebonics" there was this huge cry about people not learning properly and lowering the bar. but but but NOW, ......This must be liberals fault!
