Myths: How a Hunger for Roots Shapes Our Notions About Appalachian English
by Michael Montgomery

Think all those folks in Appalachia are speaking pure Elizabethan English? Think again.

Speaking the ’Speak
by Christine M. Goldbeck

In the Pennsylvania coalfields, CoalSpeak has been transformed from a badge of shame to a badge of honor, thanks in part to the Internet.

You might be surprised at the hackles you can raise just by how you pronounce a single vowel in the word Appalachia.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee work hard in the mountains of North Carolina to keep one of Appalachia’s first languages alive.

Read an excerpt.

A writer from Sevierville, Tenn., tries to figure out what to make of accents — his own and everyone else’s.

A native of Southwest Virginia writes about a fellow from Northern Virginia who shows all the sensitivity that Central and Southern Appalachian mountaineers have come to expect from people who use the long a pronunciation of Appalachia.

A young woman tries to bridge the communication gap between kin in Lost Creek, Ky., and Manhattan.

Read an excerpt.

With her Southern drawl and ample girth, Mrs. Treadway is an endless source of entertainment for her class of seventh graders in the North Carolina mountains.

“Today, our townfolk say, this community, Sylvantia, a town once alive with more than 29,000 residents, is going to pot. What they mean is that the place is going downhill. I am not certain they are right about this. I understand that they are worried about underage drinking, drugs, unruly youngsters, and the lack of respect for the town’s ordinance on doggie business. I am concerned about their lack of understanding for our newest residents. Tiny was the one who brought the issue to the forefront in here early this morning. The story is worth repeating...”

The Hard Girl
by Kathy L. May

“Hours later, Denise woke in the dark and found Beverly on her knees rummaging through boxes on the floor, two shopping bags filled with her clothes. ‘Beverly, what are you doing?’ Denise asked. Beverly rose clumsily and settled herself on the edge of Denise’s bed. She looked a mess — one side of her hair smashed flat and hanging in strings, the skin under her eyes smudged black with mascara. ...”

Papaw Doesn’t Speak Much by Wesley Blalock

Aspiration by Lynn Powell

Kain-tuck by Ken Goosens

Songcatcher by A. Jane Hicks

Longing for a Kentucky Voice by Noel Smith

Immaculate Morning by Robert Carl Williams

Along the Widow’s Fence by Charlotte Pence

Beekeeper by John Crutchfield

Orville Hicks: Mule Egg Seller & Appalachian Storyteller produced by Orville Hicks and Thomas McGowan, reviewed by Elizabeth C. Fine

Jane Hicks Gentry: A Singer Among Singers by Betty N. Smith, reviewed by Thomas McGowan

Creeker: A Woman’s Journey by Linda Scott DeRosier, reviewed by Winifred Hazucha

Illustration credits (from the top): Nancy Fischman; Christine Goldbeck; courtesy of Anita Puckett; Smithsonian Institution and Museum of the Cherokee Indian; Nancy Fischman; M.T. Photography; Anya Liftig; Nancy Jane Earnest; Edward E. Shank; Sherri Hager; courtesy of Wesley Blalock; Thomas McGowan. Images may not be reproduced without permission.

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