Appalachian English

Indo-European (West Germanic, English, North American)

FamilyIndo-European (West Germanic, English, North American) Speakers~5M (regional) ScriptLatin CountriesUnited States (Appalachian region: WV, KY, TN, NC, VA, OH, PA) Official inNo (American English is de facto) Vitalitysafe

Appalachian English is a regional variety of American English spoken across the Appalachian Mountains (especially West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, western North Carolina and Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania and southeastern Ohio) by ~5M people. It descends largely from 18th-century Scots-Irish (Ulster Scots) and Northern English settlers who arrived via the Great Wagon Road, in relative isolation from coastal English. Distinctive features include a-prefixing on -ing verbs (a-runnin'), 'liketa' (almost), 'youns/y'all', the older 'might could' double modal, archaic vocabulary (poke 'bag', reckon), and rhotic /r/ retention.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Appalachian English

Water

water

ˈwɔːɾɚ

Fire

fire

faːɚ

Sun

sun

sʌn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑːɹ

Night

night

naɪt

Rain

rain

ɹeɪn

Snow

snow

snoʊ

Wind

wind

waɪnd

Earth

earth

ɝθ

Stone

stone

stoʊn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmaːʊntn̩

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmʌðɚ

Father

father

ˈfɑːðɚ

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɔːɾɚ

I

I

aː

You

you

juː

We

we

wi

Name

name

neɪm

Person

person

ˈpɝsn̩

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

aː

Ear

ear

ɪɚ

Nose

nose

noʊz

Mouth

mouth

maːʊθ

Tooth

tooth

tuːθ

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hænd

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

hɑːɹt

Bone

bone

boʊn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poop

puːp

Love

love

lʌv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɑːɡ

Cat

cat

kæt

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɝd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʌɾɚflaː

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔːɹs

House

house

haːʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔːlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɑːklət

Iron

iron

aːɚn

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wʌn

Two

two

tuː

Three

three

θɹiː

Four

four

fɔːɹ

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

howdy

ˈhaːdi

Thank you

thanks

θæŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

nuː

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blæk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɑːkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːɾɚ

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaː

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔːfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡɚ

Orange

orange

ˈɔːɹɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdoʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

æt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (West Germanic, English, North American)

Meaning Appalachian EnglishSouthern American EnglishAfrican American EnglishEnglishCanadian EnglishWest Country EnglishAmerican English
Water water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɑːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɑɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔɾɚ/
Fire fire /faːɚ/ fire /faːɹ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /mun/
Star star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/
Night night /naɪt/ night /naːt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /nʌɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹæɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Appalachian English
I want to try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Appalachian English
I want to try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum që pashë në një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ἐγὼ βούλομαι πειρᾶσθαι ἱμάτιον ὃ εἶδον ἐν καπηλείῳ ἐναντίον τοῦ πανδοκείου
Yo quiero probarme un traje que vi en una tienda enfrente del hotel

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