LL-L "Appalachian" 2002.11.18 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 18.NOV.2002 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Appalachian

Dear Lowlanders,

This afternoon, during a brief rest at home, I was fortunate enough to tune
into our local community access TV station and watch a part of a series of
presentations about Appalachia made by a group of young East Kentucky
documentary filmmakers, sponsored by a number of organizations (including
the National Endowment for the Arts) and backed by Appalshop
(http://www.appalshop.org -- a terrific site, with audio! [They just
broadcast an Appalachian rap song on "The Streaming Voice of Appalshop"!]).

Most of the little bit I was able to watch of the production was about
Appalachian language. As far as I am concerned, there are two good thing and
one bad thing about it: good: (1) it was a rare presentation about
Appalachian language, culture and history, (2) it was very well and
sensitively put together; bad: it was not shown by a major television
station, not even by one of the Public TV stations (which cater less to
commercial interest), but by a community access channel whose programming is
pretty much open to all (including what many would consider the "very
weird") and does not exactly enjoy much respect.

I was very much impressed by the way the team compiled and edited the
material.  There were some snippets of old-timers of Kingdom Come Creek,
Kentucky, speaking their home dialect, also one older man singing a hymn.

I was indeed reminded of Scots quite often, even though the overall sound is
quite different.  I noticed phrases such as _She laakt him awfu well_ (with
[e:] in _well_) -- Scots _She liked him awfu weel_ (?) 'She liked him a
lot.")  One man was mentioning the expression _ta daa off_ ("to die off")
for 'to die' (yes, even in reference to a single person).  Does a similar
phrase exist in Scots?

Most of the presentation consisted of bits of interviews with various
Appalachian people, without the interviewers' questions being heard.  The
central theme was what it means to "talk dialect" in the United States,
where this is rare and is getting rarer, the general message in the media
and in the work place being "Don't! But if you have to, don't mind us making
fun of you and your people."  Coming across as "traditional
non-mainstream" -- be it "too regional" or "too ethnic" -- is not
encouraged, is even still openly ridiculed, safe for a few patronizing token
tributes to pearls of "country" or "ethnic" elders' "wisdom."

The interviewees talked about their perspectives of being speakers of
"mountain dialects" that are considered the most "hick" and "country" in the
US and tend to conjure up in many Americans' minds stereotypes of "poverty,"
"lack of education" and "ignorance."

All of the people interviewed were obviously highly intelligent and
eloquent, and they had reached various levels of wisdom about living with
these prejudices while being proud of their heritage.  They related this in
variously modified ("cleaned-up") varieties of Appalachian, often bemoaning
the fact that its special features are dwindling from generation to
generation.  They also talked about the difficult issue of feeling
patronized by people who -- in their minds for the wrong reasons -- take an
interest in their speech.  ("You're from Kentucky? Say something!" or a
theater play researcher calling up asking to be talked to for a few minutes
so they can get a general idea of what a mountain accent sounds like.)  Of
course, many of us on this list who speak Appalachian and other variously
suppressed Lowlands minority languages have experienced this sort of thing.
One of the interviewees was a television news anchorman who elaborated on
his quest to lose his "accent," because with the "accent" all he reported on
the air would be perceived as lacking validity and authority.  Another
interviewee was a playwright and drama director who seemed to be saying that
she makes actors "enunciate the dialect well," which I understood as meaning
she wanted to let Appalachian shine and in the process develop some sort of
elevated style.

The young people that are responsible for this documentary ought to be
congratulated.

If anyone knows the title and more detail about this presentation, I would
appreciate it if they shared it with us.  Perhaps video versions of it are
available.  I am also bcc'ing Appalshop in the hope of eliciting their
cooperation.

It so happened that last night a medical staff member taking care of me told
me that she was from Eastern Kentucky, had to "lose the accent but secretly
wear[s] it as a batch of honor," and she "will always miss the mountains and
the kindness of the unpretentious people back home."  Her husband is
Cajun-French- and -English-speaking from Louisiana (both dialects being also
considered "low-class" in their respective language communities), and he is
half Cherokee, the Tselagi (Cherokee) language having been discontinued in
his family with his parents' generation.  The whole family now wants to
learn Tselagi but finds it impossible to do so here in the Pacific
Northwest.

I am also reminded that lately we have been neglecting Appalachian on this
list, and that we ought to come up with an introductory blurb for
Appalachian for "Lowlands Talk" (on which some of us are working busily -
http://www.lowlands-l.net/talk/).  I would be happy if anyone would
volunteer to write it, and I would be prepared to collaborate if needed.  At
the very least, folks, let's start on Appalachian online and offline guides
at our Lowlands-L site (http://www.lowlands-l.net/).  Any help with any of
this would be appreciated.  Appalachian is one of our Lowlands languages,
and we ought to give it its rightful place, considering that there is
surprisingly little easily accessible information about.  The Appalshop site
would be a great start!  I am pleased with its community involvement
engagement and its focus on Appalachian youth.

It was a delight to listen to Appalachian today, and to people who actually
care about it.  As a born and raised European (living in the US) I did not
grow up with the set of prejudices the average American is raised with, and
my intellectual awareness of these prejudices does not in any way impede my
enjoyment of listening to people speaking Appalachian.

Is there any genuinely Appalachian literature?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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