[Ads-l] BBC video: How a US island kept hold of its 17th Century dialect

[Jonathan Lighter]

The illusion that it's "Elizabethan" comes from its preservation of some
noticeable Elizabethan and Stuart traits that have died out elsewhere.

But it's still an illusion.

Similarly, the dialect of the Southern Appalachians frequently used to be
called "Elizabethan" mainly on the basis of rhoticism and a handful of
surviving vocabulary items.

JL

On Thu, Jul 1, 2021 at 4:51 PM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:

>
> The video itself is rather good--it's basically Walt Wolfram explaining a
> topic that he's an expert in.
>
> The headline is unfortunate and inaccurate. As Wolfram points out in the
> video, the dialect has been changing continually since the 17th century,
> like any other dialect. But the fact that it's been isolated until recently
> means that it has changed in different ways than other North American
> dialects.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Edward Aveyard" <edwardaveyard at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Thursday, July 1, 2021 2:21pm
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: [ADS-L] BBC video: How a US island kept hold of its 17th Century
> dialect
>
>
>
> This video was published last week on the BBC: How a US island kept hold
> of its 17th Century dialect - BBC Reel<
> https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09m94fy/how-a-us-island-kept-hold-of-its-17th-century-dialect
> >
>
> I'd be interested to hear American opinions on this video.
>
> It seems to have been done as a second anniversary of this article: The US
> island that speaks Elizabethan English - BBC Travel<
> https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190623-the-us-island-that-speaks-elizabethan-english
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org