Accent Test, Common Stereotype, & How to Say Appalachia 

Tipper, I want to also address stereotypes. We have them up here in Massachusetts too. But what you've been teaching through your videos is the most important thing, and that is quite often, stereotypes prevent people from learning the truth. And you Tipper, you speak the truth.

I was born in Chattanooga, TN. and have lived *almost* all of my 51 years here. But I’ve had a couple of instances when non-local strangers attempted to correct my pronunciation of the very town/city where I grew up. It’s always been truly fascinating when it happens, because I cannot fathom (especially, incorrectly) correcting a perfect stranger’s grammar.

I live in Indiana, but my people came from North Carolina about 100 years ago. My grandmother spoke the same way you do and that is how I speak today. You are completely correct, the way you have been taught is the way you say things and it is not wrong at all.

This is from Mike. I have been struck by listening to your channel, how much of the Appalachian folkways and language were passed on to me by my family (grandfather and grandmother) in TX. My grandfather moved from the Appalachian Mountains to Texas, where my parents raised me and my siblings. Thank you so much for what you are doing and helping me learn a new appreciation for my heritage.

The dictionary says you are right in how you pronounce Appalachia ☺️. Even so, I love this episode!!! I like your non-judgmental way of talking about how people grow up saying things.

Please settle the pecan issue... my daddy would always correct me if I would say Pee-can....he would say no that's what you put under the bed in case you can't get to the outhouse 🤣❤️

When we moved to Appalachia, my neighbor asked me if I wanted a mess of beans…😳 It sounded to me like a bushel and would be too much, I told her I could use a dinners worth but a mess might be too much, she laughed and told me a mess was a dinners worth. I love your channel because I am learning so much about where I now live.

I have watched your videos for a long time, and this is one of my favourites. Your intelligence, grace, and curiosity about the world are such a gift. I'm sorry that not everyone seems to see that. Keep doing your good work! :)

I'm from the South East of England, and I love your accent, and everything you invite us in to watch. I especially enjoy, when you and Matt sit with your icelollys and tell us the most interesting and informative things. I'm so glad I found your channel, it gives me so much pleasure learning about your beautiful history and the beautiful place that you live. I look forward to seeing your next video. Have a wonderful week 💞

I'm from Liverpool in England and we have an accent which is unique to this city. I love that you cherish your culture so much. It is precious and I hope you never lose it.

I LOVED THIS!! I’m from Tennessee, now living in Alabama, the only word we pronounce different is “in vellop” envelope! We are all God’s creatures, no matter our accent.

I am in Kentucky and currently writing about our family and it includes dialects. One part of it I wrote about how some people judge that you must be ignorant based on simply hearing your dialect. Intelligence does not equate dialect, it bears repeating apparently - Intelligence does not equate dialect. Those who judge based on that are actually showing their own ignorance. Let that sink in. My brother has a much heavier accent than me and he was a 4.0 student, a college graduate. Pray for people, "bless their heart"

Hi Tipper, I’m from south Georgia and many of the things you say and how you say it along with the phrases you use is the exact same way I speak. My daughter is the same and she is working on her doctorate in nursing practice and I have a BS in nursing. Our accents and phrases we use have nothing to do with how intelligent we are, does it? I say okry, all drinks are coke or cocola, I do say Appalaecha. Everyone who thinks we don’t know better well I will just say bless their hearts! I just love your videos about your culture which is the same as mine!

People always say i have an accent, i just laugh and tell them they do too. Love your family, accent and all. I truly wish everyone could see beyond color, "accent", bank accounts and just see lovely friends. Thank you for sharing.

I could listen to you talk for hours! Just love your accent, lyrical and descriptive words, and sayings! I said Appalachia with the “sha” sound but once I heard folks like you say it who actually live there, I started saying it your way. It felt more respectful to me to use your pronunciation. I think people who use stereotypes to judge or lessen another person are the ignorant ones. Ignorant and insecure and not worth my time or yours. 💕

Love this video. I was raised throughout East TN, and a bit Center and as far into Nashville. Moved north for many years, and was made fun of so much I learned to ‘neutralize’ the way I spoke. Now older I’ve come to embrace it, and my accent is such a mess, but I love it. What I love about our accents too, is they tell a story of where we come up, but also where we’ve been, and what we been through. My family came up throughout Appalachia (Apple-ATCHA) and all speak this way, so why I ever felt shame is my fault for letting folks get to me. I’m living in West KY now, and glad to be that much closer to home.

I am from a different part of NC, in an urban area, and I say most of these things the same as you! ❤️ That comment about celebrating ignorance is just downright mean. Why would anyone say such a thing?? They must not have learned the old adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all." I am completely intrigued by Appalachia, and by so many other cultures. I appreciate your channel, your gir'ls channel and all y'all do to educate us about your ways, your language and your lifestyle. Thank you!

my family on my mother's side were from the mountains of Arkansas. To this day I can tell if a person is from that region by the way they speak. It's almost a type of singing the words and it's so comforting for me to hear it.

I just love learning about the Appalachian expressions. This has nothing to do with it, but I thought you would enjoy the story. I was enjoying a visit from my friend from Yorkshire, England. (Note that I live near Boston, MA). We went grocery shopping and he looked around and said "shall I get a trolley?" I looked around for an above ground train that was designed to travel on tracks on city streets. I suddenly understood that he meant "shopping cart". I told him and we both laughed and laughed.

I say most of those words the same as you. I also say 'Coke' when I want a soft drink. I was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN but my grandparents were from Madisonville, TN, Trenton, GA and Ider, Alabama so I definitely have a southern accent. I married a man who came from Ohio to Chattanooga to go to college. We were visiting Ohio a few years ago and someone from there was talking about how southern people speak and said that people in the south are too lazy to speak correctly. Of course, being southern, my first thought was "bless their heart, their elevator doesn't go all the way to the top". I really enjoy and look forward to your videos. I check for them every day. Thank you for all that you do to teach others about Appalachia. ❤

I am 47 & live in Mississippi,,, I love your Channel. I can't tell you how much Joy your Readings as well as other postings give me. Thank you so much for All you do. As far as language,,, It varies from Age group here it seems but for the most part our actual language is very similar to yours.

I am from Nebraska. I use a lot of your words and phrases. I love your accent. Never let anyone correct you.

You don't have an accent! You talk just like I do only I speak an old version!

Love these videos. My papaw is from Appalachia, and I have been to visit once but would love to go back. My Mammy (great grandmother) was born/ raised there until she got married, she passed away when I was 8. These videos remind me of the both of them, and are always my go to. My fiancé’s family is also from Appalachia, and we love to watch them together after work!Thank you 😊

I’m Michigan born and raised and pronounce many words the same as yours. “Pop” is any carbonated beverage. My maternal grandmother was from Alabama and had many peculiar words and expressions. Panties or underwear were “step-ins”, children were “cheeruns “, just beautiful, cherished memories. Thank you❣️

Love your perspective! We do need to be more understanding that we all are different, and have our own way of communicating! No right or wrong, just wonderfully diverse.💜

American Sign Language has regional dialects & accents, too. The Deaf in different areas of the country use some (not all) different signs, and modify some of the signs they use. When Katie & Corey were little & hid under the table, Matt might have said, "Come on out from up in under there." 7 prepositions

Appalachia is a huge area. It makes sense that people in different parts would say things differently from each other. I think people saying your aren't from Appalachia don't realize how ignorant they sound. I so enjoy your videos about language. It's absolutely fascinating, all of it!

What I am realizing is that I pretty much pronounce the words you were going through the way you do and I have lived in Indiana all my life. My father was born and raised in Indiana and my Mom came to Indiana as a very young girl but she was born in Maryland. My husband is from England and I have picked up some of his words for things ( I guess you would say that I learned a bit of a different language and so has he- even though it's the same language some words are different). There must have been some connection to Appalachia but I don't know where. My Mother in Law taught me how to cook and she was born and raised in Evansville, IN. A lot of things you cook I cooked too when my kids were growing up.

It's so true how you explain the way we say things. Funnily enough I grew up in Murphy and I say Appalachia with the "chuh" sound on the end and a hard a. Not the soft "shuh" sound as you said it. I agree it is the way we learned at our grandparents or parents knees and I wouldn't change a vowel! As far as the condescension that you mentioned I have experienced it all of my life. I came to know that I was the lucky one to have been born and raised in this wonderful unique part of the world. Thanks for all of your good work.

Recently I found out we have an ancestor from Appalachia. It’s fascinating that the language intricacies have been past down through the generations, even in our very Midwestern Wisconsinite dialect.

Thanks for this awesome video Tipper! I'm from the Appalachian mountains in NY. My family has been there for many many generations like yours. Everyone in my family talks similar to you too. Very comforting to hear you speak so kindly about our culture. It's a rare thing to have nowadays- culture. I appreciate you sharing the wealth of knowledge. I never knew quite how to say Appalachia, so I ask my dad (Irish) how to say it- Apple-atch-ya or Appa-lay-sha. He said it didn't matter too much, but that he says Appa-lay-sha. So I grew up sayin it like that too. I think it is a difference of north or south.

We moved from eastern Tennessee to Ohio in the middle fifties, so many of the classmates and even the teachers ridiculed the way we talked.It was a tough time so I appreciate you explaining languages and not ashamed! A few words I thought of was pop was called dope and a bag or sack was a poke. Mom still called a stove burner an eye, sink was zinc. Just a few of many😊

I grew up in central Kentucky with parents from the foothills of the Appalachians, and grandparents from Appalachia, except for one grandmother from Georgia. I use, or am familiar with many of the words and phrases you use, but you also use some that I've never heard. I was raised to say Appa-lay-sha, but I've trained myself to say it the way you do. I'm fascinated by different dialects in the different parts of this country and I think they're wonderful.

Being raised in north Alabama, I sound very much like you. I love learning about cultural differences. It's so interesting!

I grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana which is the north west corner just a few miles from the Arkansas and Texas line. My Momma was born in a very small town in East Texas and Daddy was born in a small town in NW Louisiana just a hope, skip and a jump from the Arkansas line. All the words you said are the same way my folks said them and I said them growing up so I love the way you talk and your stories. Makes me feel right at home. I also grew up calling the refrigerator the ice box and we called the trunk of the car the turtle hull. You cook good old country cooking like my Momma always did to. I live in Buchanan, Virginia now for about 13 years. They call it the south but it's not the deep south like I'm use to. HaHaHa! Love your channel! God Bless you for keeping the old ways of things and stories passed down, going on to the next generation.

It's so funny, because I'm from Michigan and I've been told I have an accent from people out west. So I've come to believe we all have an accent to someone!!

When I was in college at Appalachian State 1979 to 1983, I was fortunate to take a class taught by Dr. Cratis Williams, the father of Appalachian Studies. So much fun! I grew up near Mt. Airy watching the Andy Griffith show and still talk like those characters in the show today.

My family came from Kentucky, Tennessee and we say all the words and phrases you say Tipper. And I’m blessed to have that as part of my family history. Of course in my professional career I have to modify some words but I love my old family phrases!

Wow, I can't believe that people would make comments about how people who live in different parts of the world pronounce words. I love to hear you talk and I also have no problem knowing what you are saying. I think those people have nothing better to do and should dig the junk out of their own backyards, and leave others' yards alone. You have a beautiful Lingo. Beautiful I say. It is one of the reasons that I always enjoy your shows. Your accent is so colourful.

My favorite from Tennessee kin folk is, "Well, I'll swanee." Have you heard that one?

I heard these words all of my life. I grew up in Tennessee and my husband is from Kentucky. We lived 18 miles from each other and we both talked alike when we married 43years ago. I'm country and I can't and won't change the way I talk.

I grew up in Pittsburgh PA, and many of the phrases and words are the same as what I learned. Except we call Coke Pop. I have lived in several different States so I find this all very fascinating.

We're one of a kind! ( I also did a college research paper focusing on Appalachian vocabulary and roots from 'old English'. I was really amazed!!!)

Thank you. I am from NE Alabama and I say all the words the same way you do. I lived up north for a time and people assumed I was stupid because of my accent. I asked for a sack one time at a store and the cashier had no idea what I was asking.

When I was first married my husband came in after mowing the lawn and told me my ( Easters)) were getting ready to bloom . I looked at him rather bewildered and he took me outside to show me. He was referring to my daffodils. He also always refers to Windows in our home as( Window Lights) . This was also new to me . He was born 5 Counties away from where I was born in Ky. There are also Many other things today that he says that I smile about when I realize what he is saying . So I have had 46 years of Smiles when listening to him talk . I would not trade those years for anything ! I also have said many things that he thinks is different .

I'm a hillbilly,I've lived in the Missouri ozarks all my life. We had a teacher one year in elementary school that hated our accents and speech. She was always on to us over the words poor and pour. And that ain't wasnt a word! She didn't break us!

You are so right. Different areas have different dialects, pronunciations and slang. I was born and raised in Iowa and grew up around Iowa and Illinois (Chicago area) and now I have lived in Ontario Canada for over half my life and there are differences in things between here and there. I find it interesting and amusing. Nothing "right" or "wrong" just is what it is.

Excellent video! As I grew and obtained my education I realized very quickly just how many people don’t understand that when they speak about others perceptual filters that they, themselves, are showing their own perceptual filters. Common sense is absolutely more important than book smarts. I use quite colorful language also...and when people pop into my live chats trying to call me stupid I just switch gears in my brain and discuss their behavior from a psychological standpoint lol. They usually leave. As I tell them...if you think you’re slicker than a lard bucket in the hot summer sun, you’re just a blind hog rootin for acorns under a walnut tree lol. 😂. We are a conglomerate of wonderfully rich personalities, superstitions, and religious beliefs. It creates a great and gaudy culture that I love to belong within! I write about hometown historical heroes who keep the old ways alive also...there’s a lot of substance to our neck of the woods. I’ve noticed that many places have lost that..I’ll take Appalachia over anywhere else!

Tipper....I enjoy your channel so much. My family roots are from Fentress County, Tennessee. Love learning...you are a great teacher ‼️ Thank you.

I know since watching your channel I have learned an important lesson. We are all raised differently and how we are taught is why we speak and pronounce the way we do. I will never correct or judge another human being for their different words. I will only see it as endearing because of you Tipper. 💖 We here in east coast Virginia say most of the words the same.

Although I'm familiar with the phrase "TP'ing", "rolling" was more commonly used when I was growing up in a suburb of Cleveland. Our house got rolled several times, since the practice was a tradition among band members and my sister played the flute. Groceries go into a cart, but the employees rounding up "trolleys" from the "cart corral" are "pushing buggies". And soft drinks are pop!

Please let any negative comments go right over you guys. You do not have it in you to offend anyone. All who harbor that negativity have the option to not watch. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this very subject hehe. So interesting. 43 years old in WI, and we are very different. If everyone was the same, imagine how boring that would be. Some people are unhappy and feel the need to bring others down with them. Please keep sharing and thank you for these videos! Talk about family values! Amazing!

This is very interesting, I'm 61 years old and I grew up in North Georgia (Gainesville) and as a Boy Scout we hiked throughout a lot of the Appalachian Mountains. But we were always taught to pronounce it as "Appa-lay-shun" Mountains. It was only a few years ago when I began watching some of APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY football games that I had been pronouncing the word wrong all these years. Hum, never too old to learn something new.

In Minnesota we called “coke” pop. When we moved to the Dallas area of Texas my son went to a fast food place, ordered a burger, fries and a coke. He got a burger, fries and a Dr Pepper as that is what most people drink there. He drove around and told them he wanted a coke a cola not Dr Pepper. He learned that day to ask for a coke a cola. Lol. He doesn’t like Dr Pepper at all!

Anybody who would say you're celebrating ignorance is obviously showing their own ignorance. You are celebrating your culture and it's an extraordinarily rich one that you are rightfully very proud of.

As an Australian that listens to your stories, I adore your accent and vocabulary. It is sometimes completely foreign to me but sometimes it’s similar. Accents and words are fascinating and I love learning about your home and culture. ❤

You are just delightful. I enjoy your perspective and all you share. Thank you. Well, my dad was from New York City and my mom from Missouri, so I also grew up fascinated with the differences in slang when visiting family here & there. ( NYC - “pop” and south St Louis - “sody”) I’ve lived most my adult life in the city of St Louis, until ten years ago when I moved to a holler in the Missouri Ozarks. I took care of an elderly family there who took great pride in their Hillbilly ways (they taught me so much). They’ve since passed on and I’ve returned to the city. I see many similarities with their Ozark speech when watching your videos. Goodness, you really warm my old heart. Tipper, I must share my favorite saying I learned the first time asking Ms Mildred how she was doing. She just sighed, looked in the mirror and replied (in the cutest, thick, country accent) “ Why I feel like the rear end of hard times.” Guess accents are all just painting a picture with words. Some sparkle more than others. Take care. And thanks again.

I grew up on the gulf coast of southern tx..i speak many of your words and exactly the same.when i married my yankee husband and moved up to nebraska. My dialect was and still is a subject of dinner time conversations.

11:09 so true about accents and education. I had teachers in middle school try to break me from using Appalachian language. But my junior year of high school, my teacher had us to research the history of the Appalachian phrases and I create a Appalachian dictionary. Defining the word and using it in a sentence along with the family members who said it.

My family came into Maryland from Ireland Ad down through MD and NC and settled in central TN. And I talk just.Ike you! And so proud ! Okery,peas,butter beans, Atalanter, Vienna, USA, not Europe, tight as a tick, , pig in slop, You are great,

I love this video ❣️ I'm so glad that you covered our accent because some people think we are stupid. I grew up in Northeast Birmingham Alabama and pronounce everything exactly how you did☺️. I've been in Panama City Beach nearly 40 years and my accent hasn't changed. I remember when I was 15 I visited cousins in California and the guys were in awe.. they wanted me to talk just to hear that Southern drawl. Now my cousins in the very north of Alabama that live in rural areas that we call the country speak even more with that southern dialect. Far = fire. Warsh =wash and so on. I think it sounds so cute! I love our accent and grateful I have no other ❣️ So again Tipper, thank you for covering this topic. BTW, I'm an educator and not an illiterate 😂

Very interesting video this morning. You made so many comments that I find to be true. When you were talking about different southern accents I agreed that there are many and they are so different. I think people outside the south just think there is a southern accent, period, not realizing how different they are. People do have the perception that anyone with a southern accent was uneducated. Also if you’re a rural person they assume you are dumber a turnip. I find that thinking very ugly. I was born in the southwest and grew up in Nevada and Wyoming, now live in north Idaho,I have lived in the west my entire life, but southern culture permeated my childhood and even my life now to a certain degree. Because my family, like so many families went west after the civil war. But their speech and accents came with them and were passed along. There were only about four words/ accents that you went through earlier in the video that I say different. You basically talk like my kin. I enjoy your channel so much, you seem like a wonderful neighbor that I could come and have a visit with. Blessings, TeresaSue.

I was raised in rural western Pennsylvania, and I learned to say "Appa-lay-sha" in school in the 1960's. The one trait I notice about myself is that I often drop the "g" on "-ing" words. I say "singin'" for singing, "washin'" for washing (and I say wash, not worsh), and so on. I have an extensive vocabulary, but I definitely have an accent! I really enjoy your videos, and this has been one of my favorites.

I talk much like you. I was born in Kingsport, TN but raised at Natural Tunnel, VA about 30 to 40 minutes from Kingsport. I too love how I talk but people think I'm so country. One word I use daily is y'all and love it. Thanks for the Appalachia lessons.

I am a hillbilly from Appalachia, Roanoke Virginia. We are in the Blue Ridge Range. I am thankful for my roots!

It is fascinating, for sure! I knew someone whose family was from Washington State and he would always say "down" when talking about traveling somewhere or visiting someone, no matter where on the map it may have been. "I have to go down and see my parents soon," although they lived 200 miles north. It never mattered, it was always down.... Hugs

Tipper, the only things that you said in your video that I don't use or haven't heard is when you described eating alot of fish, I can't remember the term you used but I have never heard of that. And 'sliding up' , instead we would say "slip and fall" but those really are the only differences I could remember. My folks came over from The Isle of Mann' in Wales in 1700, and landed in North Carolina, then migrated into Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee until the last ones came to Texas in 1832 to help the others to start Texas independence and they've stayed. I swear when I call you my long lost Cousin, I mean that with my whole heart. I feel like you're blood kin, somewhere down the line and listening to you just makes me feel like 'I'm home.' Matter of fact, after working the night shift I came home this morning, cored a couple of apples, filled them with butter sugar and cinnamon and listened to your video while eating bakes apples in my fleece pajamas, with my critters sitting at my feet. Let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than that! LOL I enjoyed the video, you guys have a good week and stay warm. ::::waving from north Texas::::

I love it that you want to keep your language alive. What a joy. I don't know if you ever want to address it, but I think that the awful way that people in the south can treat others, (not that that is limited to the south, but some of the harshest examples in the last few hundred years are fairly common knowledge) and our limited willingness to see the error of those ways contributes to folks biases around the sounds of these dialects. I hope that changes more and more as time goes on, and it seems as if you are the kind of person that emits peace and the brotherly love that gives to the emitter and the recipient.

I love languages: Daddy was born in the Appalachian Mountains in Leslie County, KY. He said Appalachian differently from you “Apa-lay-shun”, “pee-con”, “oak-ruh,” his sister called all pop “coke”, but he didn’t. I was born/raised in Michigan and if we visited kinfolk in KY I remember them thinking us saying “pop” or “guys” (instead of y’all) was very strange. They would laugh at us for it. By the time we’d leave I had my fully developed southern accent back. I became a French teacher & I’d really get a giggle out of my students when I’d “story tell” in a different accent! Lol I could code-switch with ease in English.

My great grandparents came to Texas from middle Tennessee, I was extremely close to my Nana and Papa, so I heard and learned to speak the same. 99% of the way you pronounce things and phrases is the same way I talk. So throw in the wonderful Texas accent and it's wonderful!

Beautiful channel. Makes me homesick. ❤ I almost collapsed on the floor laughing when you mentioned that some people in the comments asked “Didn’t your teachers correct you?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Did the teachers of these commenters correct them if they did not speak the Queen’s English?

I love your language videos. I hear words and phrases that I grew up hearing and still say . I think the way we speak is part of what makes who we are. It's our heritage.

Interesting to me that my folks from Southeastern Oklahoma spoke very much as you do, not only pronunciation, but inflections and rhythms as well. I think that’s why I enjoy listening to y’all’s content so much. Of course I’ve known for years that my Great-great grandparents moved from Tennessee to Oklahoma Territory shortly after the Civil War for probably the usual reasons you put your family and possessions in a 1 or 2 horsepower wagon and move on. But it’s clear to me that they brought Appalachian dialect and culture with them which I was lucky enough to grow up around. Your channel is like comfort food to me. Right up there with poke sallet and black-eyed peas. And your tolerant attitude about folks who talk or think differently is exactly the way I was taught.

We get stereotyped very badly in WV too. A lot of people think we all live like the Hatfields and McCoys, a-shootin', a-feudin' and makin' moonshine! We say Appalachia just like you, Tipper and we call it pop, no matter what kind it is, it's all pop to us.

Your such a classy lady. I love your diplomacy! God bless.

My undergraduate major was linguistics-I dearly appreciate your channel.

was raised in southeastern New Mexico and I was surprised that there are many commonalities in our communities' vocabulary. I still call all kinds of cokes Coke, rolypolys are my favorite bug, and my great grandparents always called it a buggy, too. There were so many others, too. One thing I grew up saying that I didn't realize I said funny until I saw it written was "barbed wire," I called it "bob war."

I learned to say soda for pop or coke in California. Love this conversation!

Hi,iam from Germany,i lived in so many different States in the USA this is the most beautiful language i have heard. I love the way you Folks talk .My husband is from Delaware, sometimes i use words i hear from your Videos, it is so funny when he is asking me :What did you say.

I grew up in a county right next to the county where my first husband grew up here in North Carolina (foothills) and his family had lots of words and phrases that I had never heard!

I love language and the history that it comes from. I'm born and raised in Ohio, but my grandparents all come from the south, and I have deep Appalachian roots. I learned so many words and phrases from my grandparents, and even my parents, that you said in this video. I wish I appreciated them more when I was younger, or "coming up" as my mamaw would say. I love these videos about language, I hope to see more, thank you 🥰.

From my area we say pop and okra but we say most everything the exact same! Love the channel and love to see Matt involved in the videos! Would love to see a neck roast recipe and other recipes from a deer Matt kills this season! Y’all do wonderful! Stay warm and looking forward to next video!

My Mother's family is from Eastern Kentucky and we had a Pawpaw and a Mamaw. My Father's family is from Boston Massachusetts and we had a Pa and Granny. Most of the grandchildren spent summers in Kentucky with our Mamaw. We put out her garden and her tobacco. She owned 127 acres and most of it was mountain and timber. One of my Uncles would take some of the cousins up the big mountain and we would pick up coal to heat Mamaw's house in the winter. We would always have chores to complete and we all wondered how she and one Uncle managed all work when we were gone. Uncle told us that we all did so much work for them while we stayed there, we made the rest of the year easier for them. He said that all the wood was chopped for the winter, filling up the coal house, getting the garden and tobacco harvested for them made putting up with all of us, mostly 10 of us young'ens were there all summer sometimes more, easier cause he knowed we were leaving in the fall. I learned so much from my Mamaw, I still plant my garden the way I was taught as a child. It was a blessing to go "home" every summer. I didn't know it then but I cherish the time now. I do enjoy your page and sometimes you bring a memory back to me that makes me smile. I thank you for sharing.

Tipper, on a particular Appalachian Trail channel I follow, there was a discussion the last couple of years as to the proper pronunciation of the Trail. The thru hikers and others knowledgeable about the Trail pretty much agreed that the LATCH version was used in the southern states, and the LAY version in the more Northern ones, although I don't remember geographically where the pronunciation began to change. I think they also said what the official pronunciation is, but I'm not going to repeat it in case I'm remembering wrong :-)

I like "waybackinunderthebed"! That means you have to get the broom to get it out.

I love all the differences in accents across the United States. I appreciate the work you do and the fun you have w it. I am so glad you are teaching on here. One set of my grandparents were fm Utah. They said "warsh" for wash, and "cartains" for curtains. Never got used to that though. Most of the words you discussed you say the same way I do. Except for the obvious Southernisms. Sending love fm a northern California coast girl who loves grits, cornbread, black-eyed peas, and violets lol.

my husband was born in one county,,i was raised just 20 miles away from him..his mama said lots of words different than we did..and just another few miles away they said things even different..i love hearing all the different words,,some make me remember how the older people said things..like , get me a hickory,, im goin to give you a whoopin..or whippen..haa,, so he whent and got a switch,,and a whoopin..we always said the late meal was supper,,but on sunday the lunch meal was called dinner,,sunday dinner..we had a warshing machine, with a wringer,,a kelvinator,,which was any brand of refrigerator, all were called kelvinator,,kleenex was the name for any brand of tissue,,the stoves were heaters, we had rat cheese,,and rag bologna,,syrup was surp, water was mostly called warter..we lived in the foothills of north carolina mountains,,and my grands were from the mountains,,dads family was tennessee, and he had different words also..i love your channel..

Such an interesting video. I enjoyed it very much!

I was born and raised in Mitchell county. I grew up hearing unique variations of words. I am an avid reader and I strive to follow the pronunciation of words according to the dictionary. I have no problem with other people that don't. My only issue is when someone say words differently depending upon who they are speaking too. If you say mater and taters to me and say tomatoes and potatoes to another, it implies a lack of understanding. Speak the way you are comfortable with. We Appalachians are not stupid, we know the difference between being spoken to, or being made fun of. I am proud of my heritage. Our ancestors were strong and hardworking, and while probably not highly educated, extremely intelligent. There is much to be said about common sense, I feel we are losing it fast. Our past helps us to become who we are. Who we are is better than ok. Love your channel. Keep on keeping on.

I love this video's subject matter - there are so many different ways of saying things, and none are "wrong" . . . they're just "different"! My mom's side came from Wales and England, hundreds of years ago, crossing over to Virginia, and North Carolina, mostly. But, like many, they migrated westward, moving through the Cumberland Gap, and who knows how many other ways. My dad's side came over from Yorkshire, England, and they came by ship, passing through Montreal, Canada, down through the Niagara Falls area, back in the early 1820's, traveling by boat down the Ohio, to the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi. They then journeyed up-river to where they bought land near Jacksonville, Illinois. Some of the words I say like you, but others, differently. I grew up saying, "warsh" ("He moved to Warshington state, not Warshington, Dee Cee.") My dad would pronounce "guarantee" = Gar-un-TEE, but most people around us would say, "Gair-un-Tee". My maternal grandma Rees called the piano, "the pie-ANN-uh" and my grandpa Rees, instead of saying, "There were some..." or "There was a..." he'd say, "They wasuh"... (His father, and on back before him, was from Roanoke, Virginia. Leaving there for Illinois, about the year 1890. They had some interesting speech patterns that I loved to listen to any time! Some words I found to be different: envelope is "IN-velope" or to surround is "envelope" but pronounced: "in-VELL-up". If I ask for a Coke, a Sprite, or any fizzy drink, it's a "Soda" to me, but my daughter grew up first part of her life in Minnesota, and later in northern Illinois - so she calls it all, "pop". (I think of "pop" to mean "to pop a balloon" but never to mean "dad" or "a carbonated drink"! The flowers called peonies (one peony bush, or peony plant) has an interesting pronunciation: some say "penny" and others say, "pee-OH-knee," while I say "PEE-uh-knee". In Minnesota, where I was a substitute teacher for a few years, I'd kid the students about how they pronounced "bag" - saying it more like, "beg" ("Don't forget your beg!") They would tease me about how I would say, "aunt" (like "ant") "You're calling your mom's sister a little bug!" We all would just have fun with our accents! You'd say, "coo-pon" where I say, "Q"-pon (Coupon)! Recipe - I've heard some say, "Re-seat". I say, "REH-suh-pee"). Of course, the word "caramel" I'd write "carmel" and pronounce it "CAR-mull" as well! -- but never "Care-uh-Mell"! There are so many fun words and expressions! Thanks for sharing yours with us!!

I have southern friends and western friends and I'm from Maine...we all say things differently and no one is wrong. Its what and how we learned.

I love your accent. I love your vocabulary. Raised in SW Arkansas I have my own accent and vocabulary. My county is Lafayette. We don't pronounce it like the city in Louisiana. We say "rhymes with how you say it". Sometimes ignorance comes from judging. Thanks for sharing your life and language.

I live in eastern Oklahoma, right on the Arkansas border, and my family has the same accent you have. I'm not so sure that my folks didn't come here from your area. Some of my family, my Granny's side, came to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears forced removal from Georgia but my Papa's accent and the words he used were exactly the way you talk. I never asked him where his folks came from but I suspect it was at least near Appalachia.

How a person pronounces a word or phrase is directly indicative to his/her cultural upbringing. For the majority of us, 'cultural upbringing' constitutes a localized physical area and a small population of family & friends, not education. People that don't understand this and try to diminish others for the way they speak (or for that matter, for anything different [speech, belief, etc.] from theirs) r themselves the very thing that they r accusing others to be. And to try and defend/explain yourself to those individuals is akin to....'never try to teach a pig to sing....pisses the pig off and wastes ur time'. A texas friend (read: good ol boy) taught me that. lol Luv ur family & channel!

Hi! I live in northern Appalachia (southwestern Pennsylvania) and we say app-a-LAY-sha (so good call on the northern observation!). Even in PA there are differences: we say "pop", but the other side of the state (Philly) says "soda". We say "yinz"---they say "yous". 😀

I'm so glad you talked-about the pronunciation of the word "Appalachia", because when you pronounce it, it makes me cringe---and I think you said you're from Western North Carolina, where I'm from---and I thought "Well, I have been sayin' it wrong, all these years", as I pronounce it Appa LAY cha. I also like how you said that even people in hollers, right next to each other, can say different things, cuz I remember, because TN was closer, we'd just go over there---we called it "over tuh way"---and they knew what we were sayin'; but, if we went to eastern NC, not a clue!! Almost all the words you use, we use, too!! I just think this is wonderful, what you're doin'!!!

Your language videos are my favorites. English is a fluid, ever-changing language, so even "proper" English changes. It used to be just fine to use double negatives until someone decided it wasn't. And "ain't" is the most commonly used word that isn't a word, or at least your English teacher said it wasn't. You're correct that you probably speak the way your parents taught you to speak, and that's just fine. I hate that our language is becoming so homogenized in the US and we are all starting to sound alike. Good on you for celebrating what makes you unique. ~ Betty

I am more interested in the ability of folks to communicate thoughts and ideas in an organized fashion that informs the hearer of the issue at hand. That ability of the speaker to bring you into their words and make a connection that can lead to a joint discussion. You, Corie, and Katie are born storytellers and what you say is more the point than how it is said. Congratulations to all of you for being yourselves.

It's so sad that some people still stereotype folks! Common sense is so sadly lacking it seems, without it we are losing so much. I personally love different accents, different ways of expressing ourselves like "way up in the middle of the night!!! I love all of your videos. God bless you and yours❤🙏🙏❤