My Sense of Appalachia - The Role of Voice

After completing this class, I feel like I have a pretty decent handle on what’s going on in Appalachia. Overall, we’ve learned that Appalachia isn’t as simple as it seems. Just like any other culture, it’s complex. I’d argue that Appalachia is more complex both locally and nationally than any other American subculture because Appalachia’s image is skewed and distorted by the media, and by Appalachians’ themselves. Appalachia is certainly the first American culture, besides some inner-city cultures, that shames themselves and is embarrassed to be who they are.

We discovered how Sohn illustrated how the women she researched were afraid to speak with their accents, and even one of our guest speakers revealed that she was taught to speak “proper” in school, instead of accurately speak in her own dialect. Of course, Sohn removed all signs of dialect within her book, something I’ve rarely seen in a text like that. Everyone in America has some kind of accent, so I was sort of astounded when I learned that Appalachians were ashamed of the way they speak. We don’t see New Yorkers, Chicagoans, or Bostonians embarrassed of their dialects, and we all know how silly some of their accents sound. I think that Appalachians know that the national media already has given their culture a bad name, so they’re weary of being a part of the negative stereotype. 

I thought this dialect map was interesting to look at. You can see Appalachian dialects outlined on the map, along with the other accents I mentioned (New York City/Chicago Urban accents). The link below is a larger version of the picture attached:

http://robertspage.com/diausa.gif

During class, we watched previews of Hollywood films depicting Appalachians (or “hill folk”) as dangerous and creepy people. I feel that Appalachians are quite aware that they’ve been stereotyped unfairly like this, so they want to change it and act “properly.” I think Appalachians would be better off being themselves, being proud, and refusing to care what the rest of the country thinks about them – that’s the best way to gain respect.With unique geography, haunted histories, important ancestors, spread out towns, and complex individuals, Appalachia is a one of a kind place.