Project aims to capture the wide variety in Appalachian accents in North Carolina and instill pride in its speakers

Map by North Carolina Language and Life Project; click the image to enlarge it.

If you hear someone talk about an Appalachian accent, you might hear the echo of a Kentucky twang in your head. But accents and terminology vary widely even within Appalachia, which nearly 26 million people in 13 states call home. Mountains foster isolation, which has led to communities even a few miles apart having slightly different accents and vocabulary.

Walt Wolfram, a linguistics professor at North Carolina State University, is trying to showcase the variety in Appalachian speech in his state through the North Carolina Language and Life Project, Cass Herrington reports for Blue Ridge Public Radio.

"We celebrate our wonderful Southern writers, we celebrate our artists, we celebrate our songwriters, but we tend to stigmatize language," Wolfram told Herrington. "One of the things we need to understand is that language is part of our history, it’s part of our tradition and we need to start celebrating that." Because of that stigma, many Appalachians have worked hard to lose their native accent to gain an edge in the workplace.

The project also aims to capture the ethnic diversity that informs North Carolina Appalachian accents, contradicting the narrative that Appalachian means white. In fact, 18.2% of Appalachians were racial minorities in 2016, up from 16.4% in 2010, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission. "But there have been communities of color in the region all along," including the Cherokee, Herrington reports.

The project has produced material that teachers can incorporate in lessons. "Wolfram says he hopes instead of feeling shame, people will be encouraged to celebrate their heritage, to include how they sound," Herrington reports.